United Airlines cuts nearly one thousand pilots

United Airlines has announced that it will reduce the number of pilots working for the carrier by 950 and it will ground 100 planes in the company’s latest effort to tackle the soaring cost of jet fuel. By laying-off almost 1,000 pilots, United will effectively cut the number of captains by 15 percent in a single swipe. Yet United seems to have little choice but to engage in dramatic cost cutting, if it is to survive the rapidly rising price of oil. In fact, industry analysts believe that at least one major US carrier will not be able to survive the current highly challenging market conditions and will declare bankruptcy before the end of the year. Even American Airlines chief Bob Crandall has predicted that this is likely to occur in the near future, if conditions do not improve and if carriers cannot find a way to adapt.

Yet if even one carrier goes bankrupt, the US economy could find itself in a tailspin, as up to 75,000
Americans would lose their jobs, causing soaring unemployment. This would also very heavily damage the US tourism industry and the impact of such a bankruptcy would be felt across the country.

United, however, is trying to avoid this scenario by adapting to this new, highly difficult business environment. The carrier is essentially following in the footsteps of other airlines, which have already announced potential staff cuts, as well as the grounding of older airplanes. All of this means less choice for passengers, as well as higher airfares.

http://www.united.com/