United warning 36,000 employees it may furlough them this Fall

[ffr]

Source: CNN

The world's third-largest airline says 36,000 workers — including 15,000 flight attendants, 11,000 customer service and gate agents, 5,550 maintenance employees and 2,250 pilots — will receive layoff notices.

The Wednesday announcement paints a grim picture for an air travel recovery only days after United announced it would ramp up its schedule in August. But as the pandemic worsens in some areas of the United States, bookings have once again started to tumble.

United (UAL)has warned for months that it would cut thousands of jobs if travel does not pick up before October. So far, airline workers have been largely insulated from the job losses that have wracked other industries. The federal CARES ACT, enacted in April, offered billions of dollars in bailout funds to the industry and barred companies that accepted the money from cutting jobs, pay rates or involuntarily furloughing workings.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/08/business/united-airlines-furlough-job-workers-covid/index.html

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What does tRump have to do to force people to fly again and for corporate CEOs to keep hiring, not furloughing employees? Geesh!

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Airlines may be a bubble that's burst

Videoconferencing is far cheaper and less time consuming. As for vacations - everywhere looks the same now, cities and towns ringed by highways, shopping malls, and iconic brands.

I also heard no one really wants to catch the virus because they have to travel, but it could be just a rumor.

[Sherman A1]

2. The world is not going back to "normal"

What we will see is as you said companies figuring out that video conferencing, working from home and a smaller work force is much cheaper. This only highlights the need for universal basic income.

[unc70]

6. Everywhere does not look the same

I agree about people not wanting to travel now because of the virus. When the pandemic is finally over, the desire to travel will slowly cause people to return to exploring the world.

While the iconic brands are widespread, the differences between the US and even Western Europe are enormous.

[bucolic_frolic]

7. I disagree

When I google up the satellite maps of the European towns and cities my ancestors came from, they look just like any minor city in the US. Ringed by superhighways, shopping and strip malls along all the routes, pizza shops and clothing boutiques, movie theaters. The Old World has been invaded by modern global culture.

[unc70]

8. Have you been to Europe?

Yes there are ring roads around some cities, often with pedestrian zones in the central districts. And many things are similar around the world. But the differences are still greater; even the looks can be deceiving.

[JmAln]

12. I think air travel will decline in the future,

at least until a lower carbon emitting form of travel is created. The only reason air travel exists now is because of energy dense oil, and burning that oil puts tons of C02 into the atmosphere on every flight.

[Initech]

10. You can't build relationships or start new businesses on Zoom.

It just isn't going to work that way. Nothing is going to replace human contact no matter how much corporations want it, or how profitable it is right now. When the virus goes away for good, things will start coming back.

And it's the people and the events, not the brands, that make the world worth exploring and will continue to do so long after the virus is gone. A virtual Oktoberfest is definitely not the same as the in person one. A virtual South By Southwest is not the same as the in person one. A virtual wedding is not the same as the in person one. A live concert is not the same as one you see in your car. Live sports are not the same as sports with no audiences. You see where I am going with this.

[bronxiteforever]

3. Kick and recommend for visibility. International travel

and tourism have been crashing since the virus.

[PSPS]

4. The airlines do a lot of PR advertising (lies) now about how "fliers are surging back!!!11!"

Like movie theaters and cruise ships, recreational/elective flying isn't going to be a sustainable business model anymore. Business trips will be a fraction of what it was now that companies have seen how unnecessary it is. Why spend thousands of dollars to fly someone to a meeting in Berlin when you can use something like Zoom and save money and time? It will still be necessary, but only in a very few instances. Who wants to sit next to a coughing maskless person on a sealed plane recirculating its virus-laden air? (MERV-8 filters are too cumbersome and costly to maintain on an airplane and, thus, are useless.)

[ResistantAmerican17]

5. So they burned right through those PPP billions?

stock buybacks or dark money to fascist PACs?

[turbinetree]

9. I get Aviation Weekly magazine every two weeks

and let me say the industry is not doing well. There are a lot of planes that are parked all around the country, and the OEMs and aftermarket suppliers are in deep trouble. Then to add to this when this country got "red listed" because of an administration and libertarian governors that were more concerned with greed than safety and the stock market...............then you will get bit later and we are now paying the costs for that greed and the ego of a narcissistic megalomaniac that has no clue and doesn't give shit...........his niece said as much.
And since there are still less planes in the air, they are now using the middle seat to get those revenues. Most of the planes in a company are either leased or owned by someone else, engines for example are leased from the manufacture to the airline, to drive down the costs, but they have to be maintained to the specs of the makers, but if the engines are sitting on the ground on a plane they still have to be maintained by the contract, there are a a lot of items that are driving this possible furlough announcement, and it is only going to get worse..................and as a former employee of this industry it is going to take a very long time to come out of this crises and it will start after January 21, 2021..................

[Baclava]

11. So, less planes flying equals more packed flights to where you want to go?

"15,000 flight attendants, 11,000 customer service and gate agents, 5,500 maintenance workers and 2,250 pilots"

Less pilots means less planes, right?

Perfect