United CEO dissapointed with Boeing manufacturing challenges, airlines reconsider the MAX 10

Scott Kirby the CEO of United Airlines has revealed his disappointment with the ongoing issues surrounding Boeing’s manufacturing processes though is confident the new ‘MAX 10’ aircraft will be safe.

“They (Boeing) need to take action,” Kirby told a CNBC reporter in a recent video interview. 

“I have a lot of confidence in the people at Boeing.

“There’s great mechanics, great engineers, great storied history.

“But they’ve been having these consistent manufacturing challenges and they need to take action.”

Kirby also revealed the carrier believes they are, “best case”, five years behind schedule on the original delivery of its order of Boeing MAX 10 aircraft.

“We’ve grown increasingly to believe that best case the MAX 10 just gets pushed further to the right,” Kirby continued.

“So we’d already started working on alternative plans.

“I think the MAX 9 grounding probably is the straw that broke the camel’s back for us.

“We’re going to at least build a plan that doesn’t have the MAX 10 in it.”

CNBC revealed that the CEO of Delta Airlines, Ed Bastien, is confident in taking the first delivery of its 100 strong MAX 10 order, but not until it’s safety is assured.

“We certainly will not take them ’til we have 1,000 per cent confidence that that plane is fully secure, fully safe … everyone has signed off to that,” Bastien, said.

Virgin Australia currently has an order for 25 of the new Boeing MAX 10 aircraft.

Travel Weekly has requested comment from Virgin Australia on its opinion and plans around the Boeing MAX 10 and Kirby’s quotes surrounding United’s plan without the new plane.