14% of pilots lose their jobs at United Airlines

US carrier United Airlines has announced plans to shed around 950 of its 6,600 pilots, which represents about 14%.

The airline blamed record fuel costs and falling demand as weak consumer spending hit earnings.

In a statement, the airline said it needed to compete in an environment of record fuel prices and must therefore take the difficult but necessary action to cut its workforce.

Earlier this month, the Chicago-based carrier said it would ground 100 of its planes and cut 1,100 jobs. Furthermore, back in April it announced it would eliminate 500 jobs.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently warned the airline industry faced a grim outlook and passenger numbers would be affected by surging fuel costs and the deteriorating economic situation.

The entire airline industry has been in turmoil since oil prices passed $135 a barrel.

Other airlines have been suffering and are making drastic moves in order to survive. These include charging passengers to check in their first piece of luggage and increasing the price of air fare tickets.

Michael O’Leary, chief executive of budget airline Ryanair, warned that most of Europe’s airlines will go bust if oil prices remain high.

US carriers including ATA Airlines, Aloha Airgroup and Skybus Airlines all ceased trading in March.

EOS and Maxjet revealed they would cease flying in May while Delta Air Lines, which is merging with Northwest Airlines, recently announced it would cut 2,000 jobs and reduce its capacity by 10% from 2008 levels year-on-year.

American Airlines is to lay off workers and slash its domestic flight capacity to 12% after the busy summer period in a bid to keep finances in check.

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