Cuts are in addition to the 1,550 flight attendant positions that United eliminated last year.
United Airlines said Monday that it plans to cut 600 additional flight attendant jobs, effective Aug. 31, as the carrier struggles with lower-than-anticipated attrition and a steep drop in air travel.
The move means that Chicago-based United will pare 2,150 jobs from its workforce of 13,500 flight attendants this fall, a 16 percent reduction.
Most major U.S. carriers have unveiled new plans to lay off employees in recent weeks as economic turbulence depresses revenue and higher oil prices raise expenses, threatening the airline industry's financial viability.
American Airlines said it would eliminate as many as 1,200 flight attendant positions by Oct. 1, while US Airways Group Inc. looks to cut 400 flight attendant jobs through voluntary furloughs.
Delta Air Lines Inc. warned this month that it would likely seek additional job cuts as it reduces systemwide capacity by 10 percent to stem losses prompted by the global economic slump and swine flu virus.
Even Southwest Airlines offered buyouts to employees for only the fourth time in its history. Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said it was too early to say how many workers took the early departures under the program, which ended Friday.
Fewer people are traveling this summer, usually a peak period for airlines. More worrisome for large international carriers such as United, Delta and American is the continued decline in business travel, particularly overseas.
Passenger revenue at U.S. airlines plunged 26 percent in May from year-earlier levels, according to the Air Transport Association, an airline trade group. The number of passengers traveling on U.S. carriers fell 9.5 percent for the month, while the average price to fly one mile fell 17.6 percent.
"If you have a lot of international network exposure, you're going to see a slow recovery," said aviation consultant Robert Mann. "It's what Delta saw and caused their reductions, similarly for American and now United."
United's latest job cuts are in addition to the 1,550 flight attendant positions it eliminated last year as it unveiled plans to ground 100 aircraft, or more than 20 percent of its fleet.
United found volunteers for that round and hopes to likewise handle the latest job cuts without laying off flight attendants, said Megan McCarthy, a United spokeswoman.
Under its collective-bargaining agreement, United will recall all flight attendants previously on unpaid leave and ask them to re-bid for voluntary furloughs. If the total number of workers who opt to leave falls short of the 2,150 total, United will likely lay off workers.
In a letter to flight attendants Monday, union President Greg Davidowitch pleaded that those with the means to take an unpaid leave do so to spare the jobs of their co-workers. "As we every challenge we face, we confront this together and take care of each other," he wrote.
United Airlines said Monday that it plans to cut 600 additional flight attendant jobs, effective Aug. 31, as the carrier struggles with lower-than-anticipated attrition and a steep drop in air travel.
The move means that Chicago-based United will pare 2,150 jobs from its workforce of 13,500 flight attendants this fall, a 16 percent reduction.
Most major U.S. carriers have unveiled new plans to lay off employees in recent weeks as economic turbulence depresses revenue and higher oil prices raise expenses, threatening the airline industry's financial viability.
American Airlines said it would eliminate as many as 1,200 flight attendant positions by Oct. 1, while US Airways Group Inc. looks to cut 400 flight attendant jobs through voluntary furloughs.
Delta Air Lines Inc. warned this month that it would likely seek additional job cuts as it reduces systemwide capacity by 10 percent to stem losses prompted by the global economic slump and swine flu virus.
Even Southwest Airlines offered buyouts to employees for only the fourth time in its history. Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King said it was too early to say how many workers took the early departures under the program, which ended Friday.
Fewer people are traveling this summer, usually a peak period for airlines. More worrisome for large international carriers such as United, Delta and American is the continued decline in business travel, particularly overseas.
Passenger revenue at U.S. airlines plunged 26 percent in May from year-earlier levels, according to the Air Transport Association, an airline trade group. The number of passengers traveling on U.S. carriers fell 9.5 percent for the month, while the average price to fly one mile fell 17.6 percent.
"If you have a lot of international network exposure, you're going to see a slow recovery," said aviation consultant Robert Mann. "It's what Delta saw and caused their reductions, similarly for American and now United."
United's latest job cuts are in addition to the 1,550 flight attendant positions it eliminated last year as it unveiled plans to ground 100 aircraft, or more than 20 percent of its fleet.
United found volunteers for that round and hopes to likewise handle the latest job cuts without laying off flight attendants, said Megan McCarthy, a United spokeswoman.
Under its collective-bargaining agreement, United will recall all flight attendants previously on unpaid leave and ask them to re-bid for voluntary furloughs. If the total number of workers who opt to leave falls short of the 2,150 total, United will likely lay off workers.
In a letter to flight attendants Monday, union President Greg Davidowitch pleaded that those with the means to take an unpaid leave do so to spare the jobs of their co-workers. "As we every challenge we face, we confront this together and take care of each other," he wrote.
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