Comair, American Airlines to cut more jobs at Orlando International Airport
09:40 a.m. 07/10/2008 Provided by
Jul 10, 2008 (The Orlando Sentinel - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The turmoil racking the U.S. airline industry will soon claim more jobs in Orlando.
American Airlines and Delta Air Lines subsidiary Comair Inc. alerted state officials this week that they intend to cut a combined 169 jobs at Orlando International Airport beginning in August.
American said it could lay off as many as 63 people at OIA, including airport agents, fleet-service workers and local managers. It is part of 221 job cuts American says it will make across Florida, with the other job losses at airports in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Tampa.
Comair, which flies regional jets under the Delta Connection banner, said it will close its entire station at OIA. The airline said 106 employees will lose their jobs.
The companies blamed the job losses on the combination of rising fuel prices and a deteriorating U.S. economy.
"It is quite clear that we can no longer operate our airline at its current levels," Kevin Cox, American's vice president for state and community affairs, wrote in a letter sent Monday to state regulators.
Most U.S. passenger airlines have announced sweeping job cuts across the country in recent weeks. Northwest Airlines, for instance, said Wednesday it will shed 2,500 jobs nationwide. American said last week it would eliminate 8 percent of its national work force, about 6,800 jobs.
This week, AirTran Airways, which has headquarters in Orlando, said it would remove 180 pilots and 300 flight attendants through a combination of layoffs and voluntary exits.
The job cuts follow decisions at most airlines to reduce flight schedules and to park jets, as soaring oil prices have made many routes unprofitable. The flight reductions are hitting especially hard in Orlando and other tourism-heavy markets, where the fares airlines can charge are typically lower and passengers are more sensitive to a sinking economy.
American, which is the fourth-busiest carrier at OIA, plans to reduce the number of seats it flies out of Orlando by nearly 20 percent this fall, according to airline scheduling data. The carrier plans to cancel all of its nonstop flights between Orlando International and both New York's LaGuardia Airport and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
A spokesman for American said it is too early to say how many of its 63 job cuts in Orlando will be layoffs. Some employees could be transferred elsewhere, she said, while others may volunteer for early retirement.
Delta, once the dominant carrier in Orlando, is making even deeper cuts locally. The airline plans to slash its Orlando schedule by at least 30 percent and end nonstop flights between OIA and two dozen cities.
Most of the cities Delta is cutting are concentrated in the Southeast, markets that Delta had served through regional affiliates such as Comair. Those cuts are forcing Comair to shutter its Orlando station, Comair spokeswoman Kate Marx said.
"These are the employees that would have been handling the regional flights for Delta Connection," Marx said of the 106 workers who will lose their jobs.
Marx said Comair's Orlando employees could apply for transfers to other Comair stations across the country or put in for new jobs at Delta, which she said will assume responsibility for all remaining passenger-boarding and baggage-handling duties at OIA.
Jason Garcia can be reached at [email protected] or 407-420-5414.
09:40 a.m. 07/10/2008 Provided by
Jul 10, 2008 (The Orlando Sentinel - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The turmoil racking the U.S. airline industry will soon claim more jobs in Orlando.
American Airlines and Delta Air Lines subsidiary Comair Inc. alerted state officials this week that they intend to cut a combined 169 jobs at Orlando International Airport beginning in August.
American said it could lay off as many as 63 people at OIA, including airport agents, fleet-service workers and local managers. It is part of 221 job cuts American says it will make across Florida, with the other job losses at airports in Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Tampa.
Comair, which flies regional jets under the Delta Connection banner, said it will close its entire station at OIA. The airline said 106 employees will lose their jobs.
The companies blamed the job losses on the combination of rising fuel prices and a deteriorating U.S. economy.
"It is quite clear that we can no longer operate our airline at its current levels," Kevin Cox, American's vice president for state and community affairs, wrote in a letter sent Monday to state regulators.
Most U.S. passenger airlines have announced sweeping job cuts across the country in recent weeks. Northwest Airlines, for instance, said Wednesday it will shed 2,500 jobs nationwide. American said last week it would eliminate 8 percent of its national work force, about 6,800 jobs.
This week, AirTran Airways, which has headquarters in Orlando, said it would remove 180 pilots and 300 flight attendants through a combination of layoffs and voluntary exits.
The job cuts follow decisions at most airlines to reduce flight schedules and to park jets, as soaring oil prices have made many routes unprofitable. The flight reductions are hitting especially hard in Orlando and other tourism-heavy markets, where the fares airlines can charge are typically lower and passengers are more sensitive to a sinking economy.
American, which is the fourth-busiest carrier at OIA, plans to reduce the number of seats it flies out of Orlando by nearly 20 percent this fall, according to airline scheduling data. The carrier plans to cancel all of its nonstop flights between Orlando International and both New York's LaGuardia Airport and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
A spokesman for American said it is too early to say how many of its 63 job cuts in Orlando will be layoffs. Some employees could be transferred elsewhere, she said, while others may volunteer for early retirement.
Delta, once the dominant carrier in Orlando, is making even deeper cuts locally. The airline plans to slash its Orlando schedule by at least 30 percent and end nonstop flights between OIA and two dozen cities.
Most of the cities Delta is cutting are concentrated in the Southeast, markets that Delta had served through regional affiliates such as Comair. Those cuts are forcing Comair to shutter its Orlando station, Comair spokeswoman Kate Marx said.
"These are the employees that would have been handling the regional flights for Delta Connection," Marx said of the 106 workers who will lose their jobs.
Marx said Comair's Orlando employees could apply for transfers to other Comair stations across the country or put in for new jobs at Delta, which she said will assume responsibility for all remaining passenger-boarding and baggage-handling duties at OIA.
Jason Garcia can be reached at [email protected] or 407-420-5414.
