United Airlines (UAL) Calls Off Flights on Inspection Failure

UAL TNK GATX

Per a Reuters report, United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL - Free Report) has canceled 25 Boeing 777-200 airplanes from service this week on failure to complete the required inspections on the wing leading-edge panels. On Monday night and Tuesday morning, it canceled around 18 flights.

United Airlines had already reported the issue to the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") through an internal audit, after which a plan was made accordingly to conduct the inspections.

The airline has completed inspections of 10 aircrafts and is coordinating with the FAA to complete the remaining ones.

While inspections will be carried for the next two weeks, the FAA is also trying to understand what led to the delay. The latest wing leading-edge panel inspections of 777-200 planes are not related to engines or recent engine work and are expected to get completed overnight.

We remind investors that United Airlines’ Boeing 777 jets, powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines, had been grounded after a Honolulu-bound flight suffered an engine failure in February 2021 and made an emergency landing at the Denver International Airport. Following the explosion of the engine debris rained on Denver suburbs. However, no one suffered injuries and the aircraft landed safely.

Such flight disruptions due to inspection failure seem to be a hindrance for this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) airline company. Notably, shares of United Airlines have lost 12.8% year to date compared with 20% decline of the industry it belongs to.

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader Zacks Transportation sector are GATX Corporation (GATX - Free Report) , Triton International Limited and Teekay Tankers Ltd. (TNK - Free Report) , each currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here

GATX has an expected earnings growth rate of 17.8% for the current year. GATX delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 28.9%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GATX’s current-year earnings has improved 2.1% over the past 90 days. Shares of GATX have gained 12.3% over the past year.

Triton has an expected earnings growth rate of 22.4% for the current year. TRTN delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 7.5%, on average. The company has a long-term expected growth rate of 10%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TRTN’s current-year earnings has improved 4.2% over the past 90 days. Shares of TRTN have increased 22.2% over the past year.

Teekay Tankers has an expected earnings growth rate of 140.1% for the current year. TNK delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 46.1%, on average. Teekay Tankers has a long-term expected growth rate of 3%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for TNK’s current-year earnings has improved more than 100% over the past 90 days. Shares of TNK have soared 142% over the past year.

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