Reuters reports that the “Airline Industry Sees Job Growth, But the Pain Remains”.
Employment prospects for airline workers are better now than at any time since the September 11 attacks, but the slight uptick in demand may not create jobs for all out-of-work airline professionals or lift the industry’s decimated wage structure.
Large carriers such as UAL Corp.’s United Airlines, US Airways and Continental Airlines have been adding staff since last year as competition on some routes has subsided and cost cuts have narrowed losses.
Still, struggling carriers continue to slash labor costs. Bankrupt Delta Air Lines, for example, is laying off thousands as part of its restructuring. Experts say joblessness abounds and compensation is down significantly as airlines struggle to keep costs in check.
“We’re in a hiring situation, not in a furlough situation, but I don’t think that tells the whole story,” said Sara Nelson Dela Cruz, spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), which represents flight attendants at United and some smaller carriers.
“It doesn’t tell the story of the thousands of people who were laid off after September 11,” she said. “And it doesn’t tell the story of the thousands of people who had to leave because they could no longer afford to stay in this industry.”
According to US government reports from the Transportation Department, the number of workers at major airlines dropped 21.6 percent from 2000 to 2004 and added 2,800 jobs in 2005, the first increase since 2000. While the domestic airline industry has been hit hard, the international airline industry is booming. While many domestic airlines are blaming high fuel rates and September 11 fallout, then why is the international airline industry not feeling the same heat? Makes one wonder.
