美联航下了其历史上最大的飞机订单

美国联合航空公司在大流行后的旅游热潮中下了大赌注。

周二，美联航宣布了该公司历史上最大的飞机订单，也是十多年来单一航空公司在该行业的最大订单。

"美国联合航空公司首席执行官斯科特-科比（Scott Kirby）在接受美国广播公司新闻采访时说："旅行回来了。"人们有大量被压抑的需求，希望相互联系，重新团聚。"

据报道，270架窄体飞机订单的潜在价值为300亿美元。它包括多达200架波音737MAX和70架空客A321neo飞机。美联航还宣布将对其所有的窄体飞机机舱进行改造--增加更大的头顶行李箱，并在所有座位上安装娱乐屏幕。

作为增加新飞机的结果，美联航表示，它预计在未来几年内将创造大约25,000个高薪的工会工作。

"他们真的是职业，而且因为你可以有一份工作--甚至不需要大学教育，作为空姐或登机口工作人员--当你到了资历最高的时候，你可以通过一份好的工会工作达到六位数的薪水，"科比说。

该命令是一个希望的信号，表明航空旅行被破坏的黑暗日子已经过去。

运输安全管理局周日在全国范围内对2167380人进行了检查--这是自大流行病开始以来最高的检查站数量。这比2019年同一天的旅客量只少了18%。

美联航首席执行官斯科特-科比周一透露，他的航空公司自大流行病开始以来首次实现了盈利。

科比在Instagram上发帖说："这一成就是我们的员工坚持不懈的努力和他们对客户的承诺的结果--所有这些都是在最艰难的情况下取得的。"

美国的航空公司在大流行期间收到了数十亿美元的联邦援助，以保持员工的工资收入。

"虽然我们还没有完全走出危机，因为我们在等待国际和商务旅行以更有意义的方式回归，但今天的成就就像再次看到繁忙的机场一样感觉很好，"柯比说。

随着航空旅行从历史低点迅速跃升至接近大流行前的水平，美国所有的主要航空公司和运输安全局都在努力解决人员配置问题。

当航空旅行在2020年3月停止时，数以千计的员工被提供提前退休和买断，但现在航空公司急于再次填补这些职位。

美国航空公司上周末取消了约400个航班，部分原因是人员配置问题。该航空公司现在警告说，未来几周内将有数百个航班被取消。

联合航空公司急于寻找行李员。

而在阵亡将士纪念日的周末，达美航空的自动服务一度告诉客户，与预订人员交谈的等待时间超过21小时。

专家说，随着美国人庆祝7月4日的假期，本周末旅行人数将继续上升。

美国汽车协会预计，7月1日至7月5日将有350万人飞上天空。

美国航空公司发言人说，预计从星期四到星期一每天有近5500个航班，其中最繁忙的旅行日是星期四和星期五。

美国联合航空公司预计从周四到周二将有200万客户乘坐飞机。该航空公司表示，周四和周一将是最繁忙的。

"7月1日将是自COVID开始以来最繁忙的一天，但它只会有四天的记录，因为7月5日将会打破它，"科比说。"这只是另一个迹象，说明我们真的在复苏的道路上。"

原文：

United Airlines is betting big on the post-pandemic travel boom.

On Tuesday, United announced the largest aircraft order in the airline's history and the largest for the industry by a single carrier in more than a decade.

"Travel is back," United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in an interview with ABC News. "There's an amazing amount of pent-up demand for people to connect with each other and reunite."

The 270 narrow-body jet order is potentially worth a reported $30 billion. It includes up to 200 Boeing 737 MAX and 70 Airbus A321neo aircraft. United also announced its going to be retro-fitting all of its narrow-body cabins -- adding larger overhead bins, and entertainment screens on all seats.

As a result of adding new planes, United said it expects to create approximately 25,000 well-paying, unionized jobs over the next few years.

"They're really careers and because you can have a job -- even without a college education required, as a flight attendant or a gate agent -- you can get to a six-figure salary with a good union job by the time you get to the top of the seniority scale," Kirby said.

The order is a sign of hope that the dark days of decimated air travel are over.

The Transportation Security Administration on Sunday screened 2,167,380 people nationwide -- the highest checkpoint volume since the start of the pandemic. It was just 18% shy of traveler volume on the same day in 2019.

United CEO Scott Kirby revealed on Monday that his airline is now profitable for this first time since the start of the pandemic.

Kirby posted on Instagram saying, "This achievement is a result of our employees' perseverance and their commitment to our customers -- all under the toughest of circumstances."

U.S. airlines received billions of dollars in federal aid during the pandemic to keep employees on their payroll.

"While we're not quite out of the crisis yet as we wait for international and business travel to return in more meaningful ways, today's achievement feels just as good as seeing busy airports once again," Kirby said.

All of the major U.S. airlines and the TSA have struggled with staffing as air travel has rapidly jumped from historic lows to approaching pre-pandemic levels.

When air travel came to a halt in March 2020, thousands of employees were offered early retirements and buyouts, but now the airlines are desperate to fill these positions again.

American Airlines canceled about 400 flights last weekend, in part due to staffing issues. The airline is now warning hundreds of flights will be canceled in the coming weeks.

United Airlines is desperate for baggage agents.

And at one point over the Memorial Day weekend, Delta Air Lines' automated service told customers the wait time to talk with a reservation agent was more than 21 hours.

Experts said travel numbers will continue to rise this weekend as Americans celebrate the July 4th holiday.

AAA is projecting 3.5 million people will take to the skies from July 1 to July 5.

American Airlines expects to operate nearly 5,500 daily flights from Thursday to Monday, with the busiest travel days being Thursday and Friday, a spokesperson said.

United Airlines expects to fly 2 million customers from Thursday to Tuesday. The airline said Thursday and Monday will be busiest.

"July 1 is going to be the busiest day since COVID started, but it'll only have that record for four days because July 5 is going to break it," Kirby said. "It's just another indication of how we really are on the road to recovery."