Originally Posted by
rosenkavalier
we can speculate (and probably rightly so) that its a combination of stretched out repaint schedule due to new livery, MAX issues and cost cutting, but bottom line, this doesn't happen on other airlines, and there are many airlines with MAX issues, new liveries and EVERYBODY has to watch their budget...
so, conclusion we can all agree on: exterior appearances seem to be unimportant for UA.
Mid 2000s UAL was cash strapped and thus delayed their new livery from a planned 2001 to 2004. Early rising blue reprints, especially on 744, had quality issues because of the vendor’s repainting practices. These things don’t look great, but the company isn’t going to just take a plane out of service until it gets back in the shop for another repainting fix.