That was because Boeing had to do inspections on 110 already completed 787s because of the fuselage shim issue. Those are done and those workers are going back to the line, although it doesn't mean deliveries instantly start increasing because they have timed the supply chain to coincide with their labor availablity.

Boeing already said they expect to deliver 80 787s in 2025. This is more than "5 per month". Additionally they said in 2026 they expect to deliver 10 per month, which means we would get 1 or 2 each month, so roughly 18 deliveries in 2026.

Also they are building a 2nd line 787 line which will double production, to be completed by the end of 2026. So if they can build 20 per month we are now back at the 3 deliveries per month by 2027.

Will this happen? Who knows, but this is what they've said publicly and they have reassured our management they will get us the planes we need.

what about the Max 10s that are sitting there built, just awaiting certification?

They are flying those around. If you go to the fleet tracking website and click on the tail, several of them have been flying around recently.

Hopefully they get the engine anti ice thing figured out soon so we can take delivery of those 7-8 tails that are already built for us.

The discussion was only about the 787s, which will mostly go more senior than new-hires if recent history is any indication.

As far as hiring goes:

Still have 122 MAX9s on firm order coming at a much faster rate.
There are 167 MAX10s on order if they get worked out, and even if they don't, United can convert to other Max variants at a very good price.
Don't forget 222 A321Neo/XLR on firm commitment to buy or lease remaining.

That's OVER 500 narrow-body airframes in the coming years, and a heck of a lot of hiring.
Sure, a hundred or two will likely be for replacing older airframes, but certainly not all...

My understanding on the max 10’s is that Delta is the launch customer and expected delivery is around mid 2027. Until then, we take max 9’s instead. Should be solid and steady hiring moving forward, just not the extreme levels we saw for a short period.

Pretty sure we ordered them before Delta.

True, however I believe that Delta is now slated to be the first to take delivery of a 10, most likely in 2027. Can’t remember the details and some of the articles are behind paywalls.

Delta was not the launch customer, I would be surprised if Delta delivery before we do considering some our frames have been built already…

https://www.flightglobal.com/airfram...162981.article

“We originally intended to be… the first delivery customer for the Max 10,” United’s Nocella says. “We may not be that, and we are perfectly fine with that. We want to see the aircraft certified before we make the firm commitment to convert our 9s to 10s.”

There was also something mentioned in either an internal fleet plan or email. I can’t remember if it was an email to the LCP’s that someone showed me, or something on FT, but it implied that we will not be the first to take delivery. The “truth” changes daily around here, so who knows what will eventually happen. Either way, we’re just along for the ride.

This whole thing has been unbelievable just to end up with a plane with 3 more rows of seats.