FurloughedAgain
Cabin Heating & Air Tech.
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- Jun 5, 2002
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US Airways to lay off 471 more pilots
915 attendants, daily flights also facing cutbacks
Saturday, October 26, 2002
By Frank Reeves, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Staff Writer
US Airways plans to lay off an additional 471 pilots by April and further reduce the number of its daily flights because of continued industry-wide declines in air traffic.
The company also plans to furlough an additional 915 flight attendants by December, although those reductions will involve voluntary layoffs.
The airline, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Aug. 11, had already announced plans to furlough 286 pilots by Nov. 2. On Thursday, the company told the Air Line Pilots Association that it planned to lay off an additional 326 pilots by Jan. 7, and another 145 pilots by the end of April.
If all the furloughs are completed, US Airways will have eliminated about 1,800 pilot jobs, or about 30 percent of the 6,000 pilots who were working for the airline before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Nearly 2,700 flight attendants have been laid off since 9/11. Once this latest round of layoffs is completed, the airline will have reduced the number of flight attendants by 3,675, or nearly 37 percent of the 10,000 flight attendants working for the company on 9/11.
The airline told the unions representing the pilots and the flight attendants that it would continue to maintain its mainline fleet at its current level of 279, although its contract with the unionized pilots allows the Arlington, Va.-based carrier to reduce the number of aircraft to 245. Even at its current level, US Airways has already pared the fleet by more than 30 aircraft.
The company declined to comment directly on the latest round of furloughs or the number of flights it planned to eliminate. But in a prepared statement US Airways said, "The airline continues to be faced with the difficult decision of implementing furloughs brought on by the prolonged industry recession. ... While these decisions are consistent with our restructuring plan, we recognize the impact it will have on employees and families."
In August, the airline said it planned to eliminate 305 daily mainline and commuter flights, from 3,785 to 3,480, by November. Under the schedule announced then, the number of daily mainline flights at Pittsburgh International Airport would drop from 205 to 161, while commuter service would shrink from 290 daily flights to 253.
Jeff Martinelli, spokesman for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said the agency, which manages Pittsburgh International Airport, had not received any information from US Airways regarding further cuts at the airport.
Roy Freundlich, spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association, said many pilots were disappointed that after they gave the company $465 million in annual wage and benefit concessions and sustaining 1,100 layoffs already, the company felt it necessary to slash more jobs.
He said the union was also disappointed at the slow pace of bringing MidAtlantic Airways, US Airways' new regional jet subsidiary, on line. In its renegotiated contract with the pilots' union, US Airways agreed to give furloughed mainline pilots first crack at jobs on the new commuter airline.
But MidAtlantic, based in Pittsburgh, isn't expected to begin flying until the second half of next year. Nor is the carrier expected to take possession of its fleet of small jets until US Airways emerges from bankruptcy protection. US Airways Chief Executive David Siegel has said that he hopes the company can leave Chapter 11 no later than March.
915 attendants, daily flights also facing cutbacks
Saturday, October 26, 2002
By Frank Reeves, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Staff Writer
US Airways plans to lay off an additional 471 pilots by April and further reduce the number of its daily flights because of continued industry-wide declines in air traffic.
The company also plans to furlough an additional 915 flight attendants by December, although those reductions will involve voluntary layoffs.
The airline, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Aug. 11, had already announced plans to furlough 286 pilots by Nov. 2. On Thursday, the company told the Air Line Pilots Association that it planned to lay off an additional 326 pilots by Jan. 7, and another 145 pilots by the end of April.
If all the furloughs are completed, US Airways will have eliminated about 1,800 pilot jobs, or about 30 percent of the 6,000 pilots who were working for the airline before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Nearly 2,700 flight attendants have been laid off since 9/11. Once this latest round of layoffs is completed, the airline will have reduced the number of flight attendants by 3,675, or nearly 37 percent of the 10,000 flight attendants working for the company on 9/11.
The airline told the unions representing the pilots and the flight attendants that it would continue to maintain its mainline fleet at its current level of 279, although its contract with the unionized pilots allows the Arlington, Va.-based carrier to reduce the number of aircraft to 245. Even at its current level, US Airways has already pared the fleet by more than 30 aircraft.
The company declined to comment directly on the latest round of furloughs or the number of flights it planned to eliminate. But in a prepared statement US Airways said, "The airline continues to be faced with the difficult decision of implementing furloughs brought on by the prolonged industry recession. ... While these decisions are consistent with our restructuring plan, we recognize the impact it will have on employees and families."
In August, the airline said it planned to eliminate 305 daily mainline and commuter flights, from 3,785 to 3,480, by November. Under the schedule announced then, the number of daily mainline flights at Pittsburgh International Airport would drop from 205 to 161, while commuter service would shrink from 290 daily flights to 253.
Jeff Martinelli, spokesman for the Allegheny County Airport Authority, said the agency, which manages Pittsburgh International Airport, had not received any information from US Airways regarding further cuts at the airport.
Roy Freundlich, spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association, said many pilots were disappointed that after they gave the company $465 million in annual wage and benefit concessions and sustaining 1,100 layoffs already, the company felt it necessary to slash more jobs.
He said the union was also disappointed at the slow pace of bringing MidAtlantic Airways, US Airways' new regional jet subsidiary, on line. In its renegotiated contract with the pilots' union, US Airways agreed to give furloughed mainline pilots first crack at jobs on the new commuter airline.
But MidAtlantic, based in Pittsburgh, isn't expected to begin flying until the second half of next year. Nor is the carrier expected to take possession of its fleet of small jets until US Airways emerges from bankruptcy protection. US Airways Chief Executive David Siegel has said that he hopes the company can leave Chapter 11 no later than March.
Does anyone have an idea what hire date that would go to. Would that get a lot of captains? That sucks!
