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American freezes nonflight hiring - Yahoo! News
DALLAS - American Airlines has imposed a freeze on hiring management and support staffers as the nation's largest air carrier copes with high fuel costs and the slowing economy.
The airline will honor job offers issued before April but is postponing additional hiring indefinitely, American spokesman Andy Backover said.
"I think it's no secret that the entire industry, including us, has been struggling to contain costs, mainly the cost of fuel," Backover said Friday.
American's hiring freeze is the latest sign of trouble in the airline industry. Skybus, ATA and Aloha Airlines have stopped flying in the past week and are filing for bankruptcy protection. American, Southwest and Delta airlines have all had to cancel flights recently to address safety concerns about some of their aircraft.
Airlines are being hit hard by high fuel prices. American said last month that it expects to spend $9.3 billion on fuel this year, up 39 percent from last year. The Fort Worth-based airline expects to pay $2.98 per gallon, up from $2.13 per gallon last year.
Since narrowly avoiding bankruptcy in 2003, American has slashed labor and other costs. Fuel now accounts for about one-third of the airline's expenses, triple the percentage from 1999.
American is a unit of AMR Corp., which expects to report first-quarter financial results April 16.
Columbus, Ohio-based Skybus Airlines also blamed high fuel costs for ending its flights Saturday.
Aviation consultant Mike Boyd said he wasn't surprised at Skybus' short run.
"They had a dumb model," the Colorado-based analyst said. "The original plan never had a chance, at $50-a-barrel oil or $100-a-barrel oil."
The airline reserved 10 seats on each flight for $10 and offered a la carte, pay-per-service flying. Checking a bag cost $12 at the ticket counter, for instance, while boarding with the first group of passengers cost $15.
Skybus' collapse will leave Port Columbus International Airport with fewer flights and about 350 Ohio residents without jobs. It also will leave the state and Columbus with a heavy investment that yielded just 10 months of air service.
American freezes nonflight hiring - Yahoo! News
DALLAS - American Airlines has imposed a freeze on hiring management and support staffers as the nation's largest air carrier copes with high fuel costs and the slowing economy.
The airline will honor job offers issued before April but is postponing additional hiring indefinitely, American spokesman Andy Backover said.
"I think it's no secret that the entire industry, including us, has been struggling to contain costs, mainly the cost of fuel," Backover said Friday.
American's hiring freeze is the latest sign of trouble in the airline industry. Skybus, ATA and Aloha Airlines have stopped flying in the past week and are filing for bankruptcy protection. American, Southwest and Delta airlines have all had to cancel flights recently to address safety concerns about some of their aircraft.
Airlines are being hit hard by high fuel prices. American said last month that it expects to spend $9.3 billion on fuel this year, up 39 percent from last year. The Fort Worth-based airline expects to pay $2.98 per gallon, up from $2.13 per gallon last year.
Since narrowly avoiding bankruptcy in 2003, American has slashed labor and other costs. Fuel now accounts for about one-third of the airline's expenses, triple the percentage from 1999.
American is a unit of AMR Corp., which expects to report first-quarter financial results April 16.
Columbus, Ohio-based Skybus Airlines also blamed high fuel costs for ending its flights Saturday.
Aviation consultant Mike Boyd said he wasn't surprised at Skybus' short run.
"They had a dumb model," the Colorado-based analyst said. "The original plan never had a chance, at $50-a-barrel oil or $100-a-barrel oil."
The airline reserved 10 seats on each flight for $10 and offered a la carte, pay-per-service flying. Checking a bag cost $12 at the ticket counter, for instance, while boarding with the first group of passengers cost $15.
Skybus' collapse will leave Port Columbus International Airport with fewer flights and about 350 Ohio residents without jobs. It also will leave the state and Columbus with a heavy investment that yielded just 10 months of air service.
