7/1/20 626,516 pax 2,547,889 1yr Ago


American Airlines on Thursday told staff it has more than 20,000 employees it doesn’t need for its reduced fall schedule as the carrier and its competitors face weak demand for air travel during the coronavirus pandemic.

Southwest Airlines says it has no plans for forced layoffs but “it is fair to assume that we are overstaffed in many areas” as it plans to reduce capacity at the end of its 2020 seasonal routes. Options for its 60,000 employees include “extended emergency time off”, which provides health benefits, travel privileges and reduced compensation if workers take at least six months off. Another voluntary separation programme gives workers an exit package to resign their jobs

Alaska Air Group, the parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, employs around 22,000 workers, 6,000 of whom have accepted voluntary short-term and incentive leave. Alaska Air Group president Ben Minicucci has said the company may reduce its workforce by 3,000 people in 2021.

Back in May, Delta Air Lines told its pilots that it would likely have 7,000 more pilots than it needed this fall, according to Reuters. However, management clarified that it intended to align staffing to longer-term needs and that it expected the number of excess pilots to moderate to between 2,500 and 3,500 by the third quarter of 2021.
In keeping with that lower estimate, Delta told its pilots last week that it would soon send out WARN notices to 2,558 pilots, notifying them of potential furloughs. (Under federal law, such notices must go out at least 60 days in advance of mass layoffs or furloughs.) This represents nearly 20% of Delta's pilots. As of the end of 2019, the company employed 13,082 mainline pilots, plus another 1,872 at regional subsidiary Endeavor Air.
Delta Air Lines is still likely to slash flying by far more than 20% this fall.

Back in 2009, DL Cut at 7.5 yrs. I might miss the round this time.