US Airways says it will take out in-flight entertainment systems on domestic flights to save about $10 million annually in fuel and other costs.
Spokesman Phil Gee says the movie systems weigh about 500 pounds each, forcing planes to use more fuel to get around the country.
Jet fuel costs have skyrocketed in recent years, slashing profits and leading to thousands of layoffs and flight cuts throughout the industry.
Gee says US Airways will cut the movie systems from about 200 aircraft. But it will keep movies in its widebody aircraft for international flights and trips to Hawaii.
Northwest Air to Cut 2,500 Jobs to Blunt Fuel Costs
Quote:
Northwest Airlines Corp., the carrier being bought by Delta Air Lines Inc., will eliminate 2,500 jobs to counter record fuel costs.
The reductions represent about 8.1 percent of the 31,000- person workforce at Eagan, Minnesota-based Northwest, which said today it will rely first on voluntary steps such as leaves to pare the number of dismissals.
Northwest's move will boost industrywide job cuts to about 20,000 as U.S. carriers park 400 jets after an 86 percent surge in jet fuel in the past year. Airline losses may top $13 billion in 2008, the Air Transport Association trade group estimates.
"They're all paring down, and it seems to be a race to see who can cut the most,'' said John Walsh, president of consulting firm Walsh Aviation Co. in Annapolis, Maryland. "What we may be seeing here is just the first wave, if fuel stays so high.'
It surprises me (once again) how quickly they seem to be going down in flames and much more so how little the average person seems to be aware of the trouble the airlines were in even earlier this year.
A couple I know just moved from Vancouver to NYC so that she could work for an Airline as flight attendand (United?), that dream probably won't survive the end of the year, but back in 2006 I was the guy who just saw things "too dark".
It'll be interesting to see who will be left standing in two years time.
MONTREAL — The former Air Canada Technical Services has laid off 650 engine and aircraft maintenance workers in Montreal and Winnipeg because of capacity cuts at Air Canada and turmoil in the airline industry.
[...]
“We have several customers, including Air Canada, who are deferring their maintenance costs so this is going to impact our workload and we took measures,”
Better make sure you have some Ducttape with you when boarding AC planes.
Joined: Sep 16, 2004 Posts: 4412 Location: Southwest WI
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 7:01 am Post subject: Re: Airline Bankruptcy/Merger/Layoffs Thread
The price of aluminum is suppose to double in the next couple years... Wouldn't it be smart to just scrap those plane? I think right now they only keep them for parts.
I live in a city of 50K and a county of around 100K. We have one smaller, but very nice, airport which is served by NWA and AA a few times a day. I'd bet money that both pull their service here in the next year or two. We're only 2 hrs from MSP and about 3 from MKE. _________________ "Oil is going up because we use too much oil, and the capacity to replace reserves is dwindling"
-President Bush 11/07/07
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 7:21 am Post subject: Re: Airline Bankruptcy/Merger/Layoffs Thread
frankthetank wrote:
The price of aluminum is suppose to double in the next couple years... Wouldn't it be smart to just scrap those plane? I think right now they only keep them for parts.
I live in a city of 50K and a county of around 100K. We have one smaller, but very nice, airport which is served by NWA and AA a few times a day. I'd bet money that both pull their service here in the next year or two. We're only 2 hrs from MSP and about 3 from MKE.
I think a lot of things will be scrapped in the future- including planes.
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 7:41 am Post subject: Re: Airline Bankruptcy/Merger/Layoffs Thread
Ah, and another one:
Quote:
Air Canada cuts more than 600 flight attendant jobs
[...]
Roughly 200 jobs will be cut in Halifax, 145 in Winnipeg and 300 in Vancouver as the airline aims to eliminate 2,000 positions in the face of higher fuel costs.
It surprises me (once again) how quickly they seem to be going down in flames and much more so how little the average person seems to be aware of the trouble the airlines were in even earlier this year.
A couple I know just moved from Vancouver to NYC so that she could work for an Airline as flight attendand (United?), that dream probably won't survive the end of the year, but back in 2006 I was the guy who just saw things "too dark".
It'll be interesting to see who will be left standing in two years time.
funny
a year ago my girlfriend wanted to become a stewardess
she even wanted to follow the course during her last year of university (which would be very bad for her chances of getting through this last year)
luckily she changed her mind
now she tells me how right I was with all the airlines in trouble _________________ www.peakoil.be
Airline CEOs ask customers for help over high fuel prices
Normal market forces are being amplified by “poorly regulated market speculation,” the airline bosses wrote.
“We need your help,” the CEOs said. “Get more information and contact Congress.”
The airline bosses said that over 70 years ago, Congress established regulations to control speculation.
“However, over the past two decades, these regulatory limits have been weakened or removed. We believe that restoring and enforcing these limits, along with several other modest measures, will provide more disclosure, transparency and sound market oversight,” the CEOs wrote.
“Together, these reforms will help cool the over-heated oil market and permit the economy to prosper,” they added.
Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 10:04 am Post subject: Re: Airline Bankruptcy/Merger/Layoffs Thread
Quote:
UAL sees charges near $2.7-billion
CHICAGO — UAL Corp, parent of United Airlines, said Friday it plans to take $2.6-billion (U.S.) to $2.7-billion in charges against second-quarter earnings, due to record-high fuel prices and the company's reduced market capitalization.
The parent of the No. 2 U.S. airline said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the bulk of the charges – $2.2-billion to $2.3-billion – is due to the writedown of non-cash assets.
“The company has concluded that the entire value of goodwill on its books has to be written off,” UAL said in the filing.
Airline CEOs ask customers for help over high fuel prices
Normal market forces are being amplified by “poorly regulated market speculation,” the airline bosses wrote.
“We need your help,” the CEOs said. “Get more information and contact Congress.”
The airline bosses said that over 70 years ago, Congress established regulations to control speculation.
“However, over the past two decades, these regulatory limits have been weakened or removed. We believe that restoring and enforcing these limits, along with several other modest measures, will provide more disclosure, transparency and sound market oversight,” the CEOs wrote.
“Together, these reforms will help cool the over-heated oil market and permit the economy to prosper,” they added.
Isn't that a hell of a thing - the airlines asking for regulation. Or do they only mean "Regulate that other guy over there, not us - we're the good guys". _________________ After fueling up their cars, Twyman says they bowed their heads and asked God for cheaper gas.There was no immediate answer, but he says other motorists joined in and the service station owner didn't run them off.
There will be "spectacular casualties" in the airline industry over the next 12 months, billionaire Richard Branson, the owner of Britain's No. 2 long-haul airline Virgin Atlantic, was quoted as saying on Saturday.
The U.S. airline industry - including Virgin America - has been battered by soaring fuel costs that are pinching even the healthiest airlines.
"The financial state of the world is just about the worst I've ever known it," Branson told The Times newspaper in an interview. "It's getting perilously close to being worse than the 1990s.
"You have the perfect storm - you've not only got the banking crisis and the housing crisis, you've got the soaring fuel prices as well. One of the big American carriers will almost definitely go."
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 8:51 pm Post subject: Re: Airline Bankruptcy/Merger/Layoffs Thread
US Airways intimidating its senior captains who use too much fuel
Quote:
A pilots' union is accusing US Airways of intimidating its senior captains in an effort to reduce fuel costs. The U.S. Airline Pilots Association says it plans to file a complaint with the FAA saying the airline is using unapproved training to punish pilots for using too much fuel.
The airline industry is doing everything it can right now come up with ways to save fuel. The latest cutback came this week when US Airways announced it will no longer provide movies on domestic flights. Now, a pilots union says the airline has gone too far by taking away a pilot’s discretion on how much fuel is really necessary.
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