In airline news, carriers cutting routes and JetBlue says no to union
High fuel costs and potentially sagging demand is leading to US airline route cutbacks, say wire services.
“The service reductions go hand in hand with another stated goal — adding service only where travel demand justifies it,” Reuters says, adding:
“These measures reflect a defensive posture by airlines in uncertain economic times, and show remarkable restraint for the once-bloated industry.”
Major carriers such as Delta Air Lines Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. have scaled back some of their planned routes this year. Analysts say more capacity cuts may be on the way.
"We expect the airlines to follow through on the capacity cuts they've already announced," said Helane Becker, an airline analyst with Dahlman Rose & Co. "And we expect that if either oil prices go higher or demand goes lower, they will cut capacity more."
“The industry is clinging to stability after a decade-long downturn that finally began to reverse after massive downsizing beginning in 2008,” says Reuters.
In other recent painful news for the airlines: Their stocks hit new year-lows in recent weeks.
In the United States, Delta says it plans to pull flights in some smaller markets to stem millions in annual losses. Southwest is also adjusting its schedule, saying last month it would cut routes.
Amid the economic jitters, airlines are looking to raise fares, dump less fuel-efficient planes and seek out new revenue streams, Reuters says.
In other recent airline news, it looks like JetBlue Airways Corp., one of the only US airlines entirely non-union, will continue to remain that way after a vote failed by the Air Line Pilots Association.
ALPA represents more than 53,000 pilots at 39 US and Canadian airlines, says the AP. But 58 percent of just over 2,000 pilot votes were against bringing in the union.
It is the second time in three years that pilots at the New York based airline have tried and failed to unionize.
The first attempt to unionize was in 2008.
“Pilots at that time wanted to form their own union and avoid teaming up with a larger national labor union such as ALPA, which has difficult relations with management at some other airlines. At that time only a third of the pilots voted in favor of the union,” reported the AP.
In a statement, JetBlue CEO Dave Barger thanked the pilots for choosing to retain their "direct relationship with the company."
By David Wilkening
David
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