…
While many war-related cutbacks in international and domestic flights went into effect on Tuesday, April 1, there were some signs that the industry may have finally bottomed out. US Airways emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 1st as promised with costs nearly 19 percent lower than before filing. United Airlines’ pilots agreed late last week to savings of $1.1 billion annually and negotiations with other unions for cuts were progressing. AMR, American Airlines’ parent reached preliminary agreements with negotiators for its three unions on contracts with cost savings of $1.6 billion a year. And House and Senate Appropriations committees have approved more than $3 billion in aid for the airline industry. These funds will be included in an emergency war-spending bill. The package includes an extra 26 weeks of extended unemployment benefits for jobless aviation workers. The $3.2 billion House plan and the $3.5 billion Senate package both involve waiving security fees owed to the Government for the latter half of the fiscal year, ending September 30th, with the House bill also including reimbursement to carriers for what they have paid since February last year. However, in order to qualify for assistance, airline executives must freeze their salaries.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
