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Posted on Tue, Mar. 02, 2004
AIRLINES
More pilots grounded
By INA PAIVA CORDLE
icordle@herald.com
Still cutting costs, American Airlines is laying off another 236 pilots systemwide today, bringing the number on furlough to 2,471 of 10,500.
In Miami, another 32 pilots will be laid off, adding to the 133 already on furlough here, said Gregg Overman, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association. American has 1,537 pilots based in Miami.
American spokesman Carlo Bertolini said the furloughs, which are related to the labor agreements reached in April, were announced in December.
The job losses are part of American's plan to reduce operating costs by at least $4 billion annually to avoid bankruptcy reorganization and compete with low-cost carriers.
Less than a year ago, American obtained concessions from its labor groups, giving the financially troubled company $1.62 billion in annual cost savings from pilots, transport workers and flight attendants.
Of the total, $660 million came from the pilots alone, including pay cuts of about 23 percent the first year. Nonunion employees' pay cuts chopped another $180 million off the airline's labor costs.
American also slashed about 7,000 of about 74,000 union jobs as a result of the concessionary agreements.
The pilot furloughs were spread out over nearly the past year. There is currently no recall schedule for any of the pilots, Overman said.
In January, American executives said the airline would continue its cost-cutting efforts to better compete with low-cost carriers.
''While we are pleased with our progress, we are certainly not breathing easy,'' AMR Corp. Chief Financial Officer James Beer told analysts. ``There is a lot of work ahead of us for AMR to achieve sustained profitability at acceptable levels.''
AIRLINES
More pilots grounded
By INA PAIVA CORDLE
icordle@herald.com
Still cutting costs, American Airlines is laying off another 236 pilots systemwide today, bringing the number on furlough to 2,471 of 10,500.
In Miami, another 32 pilots will be laid off, adding to the 133 already on furlough here, said Gregg Overman, spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association. American has 1,537 pilots based in Miami.
American spokesman Carlo Bertolini said the furloughs, which are related to the labor agreements reached in April, were announced in December.
The job losses are part of American's plan to reduce operating costs by at least $4 billion annually to avoid bankruptcy reorganization and compete with low-cost carriers.
Less than a year ago, American obtained concessions from its labor groups, giving the financially troubled company $1.62 billion in annual cost savings from pilots, transport workers and flight attendants.
Of the total, $660 million came from the pilots alone, including pay cuts of about 23 percent the first year. Nonunion employees' pay cuts chopped another $180 million off the airline's labor costs.
American also slashed about 7,000 of about 74,000 union jobs as a result of the concessionary agreements.
The pilot furloughs were spread out over nearly the past year. There is currently no recall schedule for any of the pilots, Overman said.
In January, American executives said the airline would continue its cost-cutting efforts to better compete with low-cost carriers.
''While we are pleased with our progress, we are certainly not breathing easy,'' AMR Corp. Chief Financial Officer James Beer told analysts. ``There is a lot of work ahead of us for AMR to achieve sustained profitability at acceptable levels.''
