American Airlines to cut 200 pilot jobs
02:50 PM CDT on Tuesday, July 15, 2008
By TERRY MAXON / The Dallas Morning News
American Airlines Inc. said Tuesday it will cut 200 pilot jobs as part of its efforts to reduce expenses in the face of sharply rising fuel costs.
The carrier also proposed to its pilot union, the Allied Pilots Association, some steps to mitigate the number of involuntary furloughs, but did not immediately make public its proposal.
“The company's proposal would provide financial incentives for senior captains ready to voluntarily leave and create advancement opportunities for junior pilots,” an American spokesman said.
“If accepted by the APA, this agreement could significantly minimize the number of pilot furloughs,” the spokesman said. “It would also provide the company with the flexibility to recover from heavy retirement periods and greater ability to manage the short-term operational demands we are facing.
The Fort Worth-based carrier previously announced plans to eliminate 900 flight attendant jobs and hundreds of jobs across the United States at various airports.
It has said it intends to reduce its workforce of 85,500 in line with its planned 8 percent reduction in capacity after Labor Day, or about 6,800 positions.
The company has reached agreement with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and Transport Workers Union for a variety of steps to let employees leave voluntarily, including incentives for people 50 years or older with enough years of seniority to depart.
American also has programs for people to take leaves of absence or, in the case of flight attendants, to have two part-time attendants share a full-time job.