United Airlines to Cut 68 Planes and Add to Foreign Flights

[marcogiov]

United Airlines to Cut 68 Planes and Add to Foreign Flights

By MICHELINE MAYNARD
New York Times
October 6, 2004

United Airlines, which is struggling to emerge from bankruptcy protection, said today that it would cut 68 airplanes from its fleet, shift more responsibility for domestic routes to its regional carrier, and expand international flying.
The action is likely to result in job cuts at the airline, which sought bankruptcy protection in December 2002.
However, United did not specify any job losses in an announcement of the plan this morning. "We're expecting some, but we haven't determined that number," said a spokeswoman, Jean Medina.
The move by United, the nation's second-biggest airline after American, is the clearest signal yet of the shape it expects its operations to take going forward.
United, which failed on June 28 to win approval for the federally backed loans it thought would pave its way out of bankruptcy, has been on a drive since then to restructure itself.
It has told a bankruptcy court it is likely to terminate its employee pension plans, and it has said it needs to cut costs by another $1 billion a year, on top of $5 billion in cost cuts already identified.
The reduction of emphasis of flying within the United States, and increased emphasis on international routes falls right in line with the predictions of some analysts.
They have said United needed such a strategy to battle stiff domestic competition from low-fare airlines, and to get more out of its international routes, which are its most prized operations.
In a message to employees this morning, United's chief executive, Glenn F. Tilton, said the airline had "taken a long hard look about whether there was something inherently uncompetitive with our business model" in comparison to low-fare airlines.
He said the changes would allow the airline to make the most of its assets. Nonetheless, the move was a sea change for United, based outside Chicago, which once prided itself on flying to all 50 states.
United said it would cut 68 aircraft from its fleet by March, leaving it with 455 planes. By contrast, the airline had 567 planes in 2002, before it sought bankruptcy protection.
At the same time, it said it would shift other planes to fly international routes, so that by that time, 40 percent of its flights, and half its revenue would come from flights outside the United States.
Throughout its bankruptcy, United has left its route system virtually untouched. It has valuable rights to serve Tokyo and other Asian cities, and it also flies to Europe and Latin America.
In its statement, the airline said the available seats on international flights would rise by 14 percent as a result of the moves, while available seats on domestic flights would drop by 12 percent.
It said it would shift some routes to United Express, its regional carrier, although it did not specify which cities would be affected. The airline said United Express would expand its use of 70-seat regional jets, some of which offer first-class service.
That strategy is similar to steps that Delta Air Lines has taken, in shifting flights to its regional carriers, said Robert W. Mann Jr., an industry consultant based in Port Washington, N.Y.
One question, Mr. Mann said, was whether customers would take to "mini-jets" operated by United's partners, in place of the bigger aircraft deployed by the airline on such routes.

[I-DAVE]

In Origine postato da marcogiov
It has valuable rights to serve Tokyo and other Asian cities, and it also flies to Europe and Latin America.
In its statement, the airline said the available seats on international flights would rise by 14 percent as a result of the moves

Magari tornano a MXP, e magari ci stupiscono con un doppio, MXP-ORD e MXP-IAD, se riesce a riempirli Alitalia...

DaV