Posted on: Friday, March 7, 2003

United to lay off 900 more flight attendants

Associated Press

United Airlines is laying off another 900 flight attendants next month as it continues to lose money in bankruptcy.

United, which this week reported a net loss of $382 million for January during its first full calendar month in bankruptcy, cited economic reasons for the action and said it has a surplus of flight attendants based on current service.

Spokesman Joe Hopkins said the carrier would seek volunteers for the furloughs, which take effect April 1. Under the furlough program, workers are laid off but can be recalled.

The Association of Flight Attendants attributed the move to lighter-than-expected passenger traffic.

The world's second-largest carrier has 19,000 active flight attendants in a total workforce of 72,700, with another 4,200 flight attendants on voluntary leave.

United has about 400 flight attendants in Hawai'i.

United is on a strict timetable to show progress toward profitability in bankruptcy or else risk losing its interim financing. Management is seeking to reduce its annual labor tab by $2.56 billion and wants to create a separate low-cost carrier.

In case its bankruptcy reorganization falters, some United union officials have been talking with potential new sources of financing, including investment banks, state pension funds and private equity firms.

As with most other carriers, the airline's passenger traffic is nowhere near enough to make it profitable. United said yesterday its planes were 70.2 percent full in February — up slightly from a year earlier but still far below the break-even point.