UPS to be primary air cargo provider for the U.S. Postal Service
United asking pilots to take time off due to Boeing plane shortage
United Airlines is asking its pilots to take time off in May because of delays in receiving new planes that the airline ordered from Boeing, which is struggling with production due to manufacturing problems.
A United spokesperson said Monday that the offer is voluntary.
“Due to the recent delays in Boeing deliveries, our forecasted (flight hours) have been reduced and we are offering our pilots voluntary programs for the month of May to reduce excess staffing,” spokesperson Leslie Scott said.
Neither the pilots' union nor Boeing commented immediately.
United doesn't expect to get all the Boeing jetliners it ordered and was due to receive this year or next year. A month ago, United said it was contractually due 191 planes this year and 127 next year but expects to receive only 88 this year and 64 in 2025.
Almost all the shortfall consists of Boeing 737 Max planes, including a new, larger model. United had planned to begin flying 80 Max 10 jets this year. The Federal Aviation Administration has not yet certified the Max 10, however, and FAA approval is likely to be further delayed by increased scrutiny of Boeing since a panel blew out of an Alaska Airlines Max 9 in January.
United is considering options to replace orders for the Max 10.
Trump Media lost $58M on $4M in 2023 sales
Shares of Donald Trump's social media business wiped out their gains from going public last week after the company disclosed that it lost more than $58 million in 2023, as revenue for the former president's Truth Social platform trickled in.
Trump Media Technology Group Corp.'s stock fell as much as 22% on Monday to as low as $48.03 per share, below the $49.95 level where the blank-check vehicle it merged with was trading a week ago.
The company has still delivered a meteoric gain this year to date, with its market value sitting at about $6.6 billion after it became a meme stock and captivated retail traders.
The company generated just $4.1 million in revenue for the full year, results reported in a filing Monday morning show, underscoring how richly valued Trump Media is relative to its peers. The company doesn't report active user numbers, disclosing in its prospectus in February only that Truth Social has about 9 million signups across its platforms.
UPS will become the primary air cargo provider for the United States Postal Service.
The Atlanta shipping company said Monday that it had received an air cargo contract from the U.S. Postal Service that significantly expands an existing partnership between the two.
UPS will move the majority of air cargo in the U.S. for the postal service following a transition period, according to UPS.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
USPS's current air cargo contract with FedEx Corp. is set to expire in late September.
FedEx said in a regulatory filing that it wasn't able to reach an agreement on mutually beneficial terms to extend its contract with USPS. The company said that negotiations ended on Friday, after extensive talks.
FedEx Express will continue to provide air transportation services domestically and to Puerto Rico until the contract expires on Sept. 29.
Compiled from Associated Press and Bloomberg reports.