American flight attendants take cuts
DALLAS - American Airlines, the world’s second-biggest carrier, will furlough 228 flight attendants and put 244 more on involuntary leave as travel demand wanes.
An additional 449 attendants volunteered to take as long as eight months off or move to part-time flying, the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier said. The changes are part of plans American announced in June to cut 1,200 attendant jobs, or 7.3 percent of that staff, after the US summer travel season.
The slowing economy cut business travel demand, reducing airline revenue and prompting carriers to trim fares. American, a unit of AMR Corp., is cutting capacity 7.5 percent this year to match the decline. The job cuts begin Oct. 1, when demand slips further as the US vacation-travel season ends.
“While it is no cause for celebration when even one flight attendant is furloughed, we are pleased that well over half of the potential job losses have been avoided,’’ Laura Glading, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said in a message to union members.
An additional 279 attendant positions were eliminated through “staffing requirement adjustments for the winter months,’’ American said, without being more specific. The 244 attendants placed on involuntary leaves won’t work in October and November, the carrier said.
AMR fell 23 cents, or 4.2 percent, to close at $5.23 yesterday. The shares have declined 51 percent this year.
The largest group of furloughed attendants, 105, is based at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. An additional 67 fly from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. The airline also has notified 289 workers at Los Angeles International Airport their jobs may be eliminated.
