confirmed UA grounding 100 planes

[mwa]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi...0,4018539.story

sorry!

 

[whatkindoffreshhell]

CNN reporting this morning.

See -- they can 'consolidate' without any of the messy lawyers and MBA merger specialists!

Good move (finally) UAUA.

By Julie Johnsson | Tribune reporter
7:24 AM CDT, June 4, 2008
United Airlines said it will shed up to 1,000 more jobs and ground 100 of its least fuel-efficient aircraft, including Boeing 747 jumbo jets, as part of sweeping cuts intended to help the carrier conserve cash and surviving a daunting environment as a stand-alone company.

United said Wednesday it will cut an additional 900 to 1,100 salaried, management and contract employees by the end of the year, in addition to the 500 employees it has already planned to lay off.

Meanwhile, United says it will cut mainline domestic capacity by 17 percent.

United plans to retire the workhorses of its domestic fleet: 94 decades-old Boeing 737 jets, single-aisle planes that seat up to 123 passengers and shuttle over medium-range distances, say people close to the company.

United is also preparing to park some of its largest jets, Boeing 747s that haul about 350 passengers and are primarily used for flights to Asia and Australia, sources said.

The cuts are expected to come in phases through the end of 2009 with the bulk of the cuts coming

 

[Cajun Flyer]

CNN reporting this morning.

See -- they can 'consolidate' without any of the messy lawyers and MBA merger specialists!

Good move (finally) UAUA.

By Julie Johnsson | Tribune reporter
7:24 AM CDT, June 4, 2008
United Airlines said it will shed up to 1,000 more jobs and ground 100 of its least fuel-efficient aircraft, including Boeing 747 jumbo jets, as part of sweeping cuts intended to help the carrier conserve cash and surviving a daunting environment as a stand-alone company.

United said Wednesday it will cut an additional 900 to 1,100 salaried, management and contract employees by the end of the year, in addition to the 500 employees it has already planned to lay off.

Meanwhile, United says it will cut mainline domestic capacity by 17 percent.

United plans to retire the workhorses of its domestic fleet: 94 decades-old Boeing 737 jets, single-aisle planes that seat up to 123 passengers and shuttle over medium-range distances, say people close to the company.

United is also preparing to park some of its largest jets, Boeing 747s that haul about 350 passengers and are primarily used for flights to Asia and Australia, sources said.

The cuts are expected to come in phases through the end of 2009 with the bulk of the cuts coming

Salaried and Mgt. positions will be cut by 1400 - 1600 jobs. Doesn't include frontline employees according to this article:

Article on Reductions

Hate to hear of more airline people losing jobs. Just doesn't seem to end.

 

[Coffee_Tea_Or_Me]

Yikes. Welcome to the slide into BK2, UAL!

 

[phasersonstun2]

It's 1979 all over again...

 

[s80dude]

I've read that seven 747's are being pulled.... how many total are in the fleet? Will UA be cutting some international routes as they fill their 747 gap with other planes?

I hope they can mitigate any furloughs with leaves and such.... good luck to you all. We have the same feeling over here at AA.

 

[Hi-C-Camp]

Yikes. Welcome to the slide into BK2, UAL!

I don't think this means BK2 .... They are cutting the unprofitable crap, slashing mgmt. which should have been done in BK previously. All I can say is YEAHHHH, no more 737 and no more TED, back to the mainline config.... I am glad, I think they are doing the right thing for once... Taking care of their own crap instead of trying to right the ship by letting Chug a lug Doug take the reins.... Also, this makes them a MUCH more efficient company... The airlines that aren't able to reduce capacity are going to be in deep doo in my opinion...

 

[USA320Pilot]

It's too bad that United and US Airways could not find a way to merge during their 5th trip to the later in the past 13 years. I believe both companies have great employees and the combined carrier would have been a powerful business entity.

Now United's post 2008 merger attempt business plan is going to be painful for employees. Teh loss of about 100 aircraft could mean about 1,200 pilot furloughs, 2,000 F/A furloughs, along with the loss of CSA, Ramp, and Mechanic positions.

Thsi is not good and one has to wonder if US Airways and United had merged if the $1.5 billion in annual savings would have saved some of this flying/jobs.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[Borescope]

320,

The 1.5 bil is managements take on the savings. Dl says the same thing, but they fail to mention the cost involved in putting it together. Which will all but wipe out the savings up front. With all the labor issues at USairways, I doubt anyone wants to touch them. Ual is trying to get their house in order and they realized that you can't tie two boat anchors together and get them to float.

 

[ZMAN777]

Thsi is not good and one has to wonder if US Airways and United had merged if the $1.5 billion in annual savings would have saved some of this flying/jobs.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

320Pilot,

With oil at $50-80/bbl perhaps it would've made SOME sense. With oil where it is today it's highly doubtful this same scenario wouldn't have played out. Which begs the question....will the DL/NW merger plans survive with their fleets intact. Something tells me no. Like I've said before, high priced oil doesn't care what name is painted on the side of the aircraft....especially fuel inefficient ones. The 737-300/500's UAL is going to park are way more efficient than the DC-9's NW is operating. I think we'll be seeing similar groundings announced by the rest of the industry, save for SWA.

Cheers,
Z B)

 

[ZMAN777]

S80dude wrote

"I've read that seven 747's are being pulled.... how many total are in the fleet? Will UA be cutting some international routes as they fill their 747 gap with other planes?"

Currently UAL is operating 30 747-400's. I know we've announced they'll be pulling the -400 from Dulles-Beijing later this year and are looking at perhaps closing the Dulles 747-400 pilot domicile. Needless to say, a number of city pairs will be losing 747 service and only a handful can/will be filled with 777's as there just aren't enough of them to go around (52 777's total).

I certainly don't have access to what the plan is yet for the 747's they're talking about grounding long-term. In the short term I'd guess it's those aircraft coming up on heavy maintenance checks and UAL may be deciding to park them rather than invest the $$ to complete the required maintenance. That may mean they'd still be avail later should the economy turn back around.

Yeah, good luck to us all. I have a feeling this fever is about to spread throughout the industry.

Cheers,
Z B)

 

[EMBFA]

How many F/A furloughs will this cause?

 

[Borescope]

If you take 100 aircraft out of the system that fly say 10 hrs a day (probably higher) it would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 1200 F/A's.

 

[767jetz]

It's too bad that United and US Airways could not find a way to merge during their 5th trip to the later in the past 13 years. I believe both companies have great employees and the combined carrier would have been a powerful business entity.

Now United's post 2008 merger attempt business plan is going to be painful for employees. Teh loss of about 100 aircraft could mean about 1,200 pilot furloughs, 2,000 F/A furloughs, along with the loss of CSA, Ramp, and Mechanic positions.

Thsi is not good and one has to wonder if US Airways and United had merged if the $1.5 billion in annual savings would have saved some of this flying/jobs.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

Your concern, and disappointment of the failure of UA&US to merger, is obviously well founded. At current fuel prices, a merger with US would have provided several important advantages to USAirways pilots.

#1 it would have bought some time for the most senior US Pilots to finish their careers with a paycheck.

#2 it would have provided a way out of the mess created by the East and the USAPA and their civil war.

#3 it would have provided a cash payout to US East pilots of $250 Million plus at least a 4.5% raise. ("The US Airways pilots based in the East have a contract provision awarding them $250 million in the event of a consolidation with another carrier. The same US Airways pilots also have the option of a new 1- to 3-year contract and across-the-board pay increases of 4.5 percent if a merger were to happen.")

HOWEVER, once the "claimed" savings did not materialize (or as Tilton said, issues "could significantly dilute benefits from a transaction"), and the remainder of the savings were exhausted by merger costs and labor unrest, the remaining employees would be left holding the bag and we'd be right back where we are now.

No thank you. US is in a precarious situation due to their limited ability to access capital, and will be forced to deal with the surging fuel costs with similar percentages of cuts, just like all other airlines. It is FAR better for UA and it's employees in the long run, to take the painful steps now, than to postpone the inevitable and endure even more later. This will be a case of "survival of the fittest," and those who are able to adapt quickly and aggressively will be the ones to survive.

As for your furlough numbers, they are incorrect and IMO an attempt at creating fear. No one knows for sure what the result will be on front line employees, least of all a USAirways pilot, since the analysis is still underway. Considering that the 737 fleet has 969 pilots, and the fact that UA has been woefully understaffed for some time, and that a small amount of flying will be absorbed by increased utilization of the remaining fleet, and the mitigation of furloughs through surplus reduction lines, leaves of absence, and other measures, plus the costs associated with retraining, indicates that pilot furloughs will most likely be held closer to the 700 mark at the most.

Additionally, industry conditions may very well change long before that worse case scenario comes to bear. A burst of the oil speculation bubble or the failure of another domestic airline that would reduce industry capacity overnight, could change the entire landscape. It is far too soon to predict doom and gloom and massive front line employee furloughs of the magnitude you suggested.

Perhaps now that USAirways is saddled with fixing it's own house, dealing with continued labor unrest, as well as dealing with rocketing fuel costs, and industry wide reductions in domestic flying, US would be best off focusing inward as United has decided to do.

 

[Bear96]

Thsi is not good and one has to wonder if US Airways and United had merged if the $1.5 billion in annual savings would have saved some of this flying/jobs.

I doubt it. Had the merge happen, things would probably have looked even worse in the long run for UA employees.