CHICAGO: Airlines are racing to bring parked planes back into service now that post-pandemic travel demand is picking up. But some of those jets are looking a little rough around the edges.

       Eagle-eyed observers say some aircraft due for a routine grooming at United Airlines Holdings Inc didn’t get fresh coats before being brought back into its active fleet. After nearly two years in the desert, planes with giant flakes of paint peeling from their fuselages can face long wait times at paint shops.

       Aviation enthusiast Jerry Lai has noticed several worse-for-wear jets while travelling this year. But especially memorable was a Boeing 757-300, with paint stripped down to the primer, that Lai encountered twice within an eight-day span in February.

       The narrow-body jet stood out in a sea of largely pristine aircraft at United’s main hub at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. “It caught my eye,” Lai said. — Bloomberg