Has US airline employment finally reached its low point?
Could be — since employment increased in February over last February, which was the first monthly increase in more than years, said USA Today.
“The vast majority of the fat’s been cut out of this business,” said industry consultant Jon Ash of Washington, D.C. “There’s not a lot left.”
Airlines employed the equivalent of 405,400 full-time workers, up a tiny 0.2% from February of 2006, according to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The tiny increase followed 25 months of declines.
Mr Ash expects airlines to increase employment slightly this year as the US’s big traditional carriers complete their restructurings. The last two in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Delta and Northwest, plan to exit in the next two months.
A priority for the airlines should be to focus on an improved product, he said.
“They all recognize that the quality of service out there is pretty lousy,” he said.
Report by David Wilkening
