United Air Braces for ‘Essentially Zero’ Demand After Aid
- Executives warn that company, workforce will have to shrink
- Flight schedule in May will be 10% of what had been planned
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United Airlines Holdings Inc. warned employees of bleak times and potential long-term payroll cuts despite billions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer assistance, saying the outlook for travel demand will remain depressed into next year.
The carrier will further chop its flight schedule in May to roughly 10% of the capacity it had planned at the start of 2020, and similar cuts are in store for June, said Chief Executive Officer Oscar Munoz and President Scott Kirby. As an example of the shortfalls, the carrier will fly fewer people during all of next month than on a single day in May 2019.