United gives 30,000 frequent flyer miles to travelers hit by flight delays, CEO says schedule cuts needed

United Airlines' CEO Scott Kirby said that without much gates the hose volition person to trim oregon alteration schedules to grip predominant gridlock astatine its Newark, New Jersey, hub, a connection that came aft mass formation delays marred July Fourth vacation play travel. The bearer gave 30,000 predominant flyer miles to customers who were astir affected by the chaos.

"This has been 1 of the astir operationally challenging weeks I've experienced successful my full career," Kirby said successful a enactment to staff, which was seen by CNBC connected Saturday.

He said that the hose needs much gates astatine Newark Liberty International Airport due to the fact that of predominant craft backups there. "We are going to person to further change/reduce our docket to springiness ourselves adjacent much spare gates and buffer — particularly during thunderstorm season," helium added.

A time earlier, Kirby apologized for taking a backstage pitchy retired of New Jersey's Teterboro Airport portion thousands of passengers were stranded, CNBC first reported Friday.

Problems began with a bid of thunderstorms successful immoderate of the country's astir congested airspace on the East Coast past weekend, cutting disconnected routes for aircraft. While astir airlines recovered, United's problems continued during the week, angering some customers and crews. United and JetBlue Airways executives said aerial postulation power problems worsened the disruptions.

Kirby laid retired the weeklong troubles and said semipermanent changes were needed. He said that extensively delayed departures, which piled up astatine its hub astatine Newark since past weekend, wounded its operation. Takeoffs were delayed by arsenic overmuch arsenic 75% for longer than 8 hours successful immoderate cases from Sunday done Tuesday.

"Airlines, including United, simply aren't designed to person their largest hub person its capableness severely constricted for 4 consecutive days and inactive run successfully," helium wrote.

Aircraft and crews were past near retired of position, thing that happens often during terrible upwind and tin spark a cascade of disruptions for customers.

Unions complained astir hours-long waits for unit members to get assignments and get hotels, forcing them to enactment astatine airports longer.

Kirby said the bearer indispensable amended the platforms truthful crews tin get assignments and accommodation much easy connected its app, saying what happened implicit the past week isn't acceptable.

Kirby called for much concern successful the FAA and aerial postulation power to debar delays and staffing shortages, immoderate of which occurred aft hiring and grooming paused aboriginal successful the pandemic.

United sent the 30,000 miles to customers who were delayed overnight oregon didn't get to their destination astatine all, a spokeswoman said. She declined to accidental however galore customers received the email.

More than 42,000 U.S. flights arrived precocious from past Saturday done Friday and much than 7,900 were canceled — oregon much than 5% of airlines' schedules — a complaint that was much than triple the mean truthful acold this year, according to flight-tracker FlightAware. United fared worse than competitors with astir fractional of its mainline docket arriving precocious and astir a 5th canceled implicit that period, FlightAware information show.

United's cognition improved connected Saturday but disruptions lingered. About 11% of its mainline schedule, oregon adjacent to 300 flights were delayed and 43 flights, oregon 1% were canceled, down sharply from 1,324 delays and 252 cancellations connected Friday.