United Airlines now cutting domestic capacity
United Airlines is the first major US carrier to trim its domestic schedules due to the global coronavirus outbreak.
From April it will reduce capacity by as much as 10% on domestic routes, as well as 20% on international flights.
It will temporarily ground planes as a result, although United hasn’t disclosed how many.
United announced the cuts following an industry meeting at the White House
While the cuts will see some routes temporarily shelved, United has no plans yet to end service any US cities.
The cuts could continue into May and possibly beyond depending on how the fight against the virus plays out and booking volumes over the next few weeks.
"We sincerely hope that these latest measures are enough, but the dynamic nature of this outbreak requires us to be nimble and flexible moving forward in how we respond," said CEO Oscar Munoz.
United has put a freeze on hiring through June 30, and is inviting employees to take unpaid leave.
However it has no plans for compulsory layoffs.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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