- Written by Mariko Oi
- business reporter
Watch: In-flight during air eruption
Major U.S. airlines said they expect losses for the three months from January to March due to the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 planes.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded 171 of the planes because an unused door broke during flight.
United Airlines has 79 aircraft in its fleet, more than any other airline, followed by Alaska Airlines.
Both airlines have been forced to cancel hundreds of flights this month as tests are carried out.
united Said The company expects its planes to remain grounded until January 26, with no flights expected at all this month.
The Alaska Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California, had reached an altitude of 16,000 feet (4,876 meters) when an unused emergency exit door was blown off and it began an emergency descent, according to flight tracking data.
“The safety of the flying public, not their speed, will determine when these aircraft return to service,” the agency said in a statement Sunday.
The 737-900ER model has completed 11 million hours of operation without incident, similar to the new 737 Max 9.
The FAA did not order older models to be grounded while visual inspections were conducted by operators.
In response to this incident, Boeing announced that it would improve the quality of inspections during the manufacturing process.
On Tuesday, United Airlines reported flat pre-tax profit for 2023 at $3.4 billion (£2.67 billion).
United Airlines is scheduled to discuss the results on a conference call with analysts and investors Tuesday morning, during which the airline is expected to provide an update on safety inspections of its grounded planes.
Alaska Airlines and Boeing are expected to report their results within the next two weeks.
