United CEO Says at Least Another Year Before Air Travel Normalizes

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said this week that the delays and cancellations that have plagued the aviation industry will gradually get better.

But not for another year.

In an interview transcribed by Travel + Leisure, Kirby said it will take that lone for airlines to get back to normal schedules and on-time departures.

“Our base assumption is though that it’s going to gradually get better and we’re not going to get back to normal utilization and normal staffing levels until next summer,” he said.

Airlines round the world have found themselves in an untenable situation while combing out of the created by the pandemic. Virtually every domestic carrier that accepted the federal grant money issued two years ago also doubled down on savings by further trimming its expenses. Notably, that included offering early retirement and buyouts to many employees at a time when having a large staff didn’t justify the small amount of work available.

But things have changed.

Airlines were caught practically unaware when the pent-up demand for travel in the wake of COVID-19 came roaring back last year and into this year. Carriers simply did not have enough pilots, baggage handlers or even people to answer the phone to meet the demand for air travel. It resulted in numerous airlines cutting schedules, eliminating certain flights to smaller destinations, and fewer staff members to deal with the rush of travelers.

“The biggest challenge that faces us probably for the next 12 months is all the infrastructure challenges around aviation. It’s maddening to us at United right now because… we got ahead of the curve, we’ve been hiring,” Kirby said. “But you look at the mess that’s happening in Heathrow or some of the other challenges we’ve had with air traffic control or other things around the system and the system just can’t support our flying… So, what we’ve done is just pull our capacity back.”