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The carrier said it plans to cut an additional 900 to 1,100 salaried, contract and management employees by the end of the year, in addition to 500 previously announced job reductions.
Officials said the "aggressive" moves are designed to the help the subsidiary of UAL Corp. weather an "unprecedented fuel environment." Crude oil futures prices peaked at a record above $135 a barrel nearly two weeks ago and airline fuel prices have been rocketing higher as well.
"This environment demands that we and the industry act decisively and responsibly," Glenn Tilton, United's chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement. "At United, we continue to do the right work to reduce costs and increase revenue to respond to record fuel costs and the challenging economic environment."
United said it plans to ground its entire fleet of 94 Boeing B737s as well as six of the company's 747s. It is also scrapping it's coach-only "Ted" service and reconfiguring those planes to include first-class seats.
And United will cut mainline domestic capacity by 17 to 18 percent in 2009, while also scaling back international capacity by 4 to 5 percent.
"The decision to dramatically reduce our capacity profile, particularly in the domestic marketplace, while over time eliminating a fleet type, is a significant step leading to a more effective and efficient operating fleet for United in the years ahead, while improving our customer experience and reliability," Chief Operating Officer John Tague said in a statement.
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