Follows Announcement Of Pay Cuts

Calling it a "necessary step" in current hard times, this week AirTran Airways followed suit with most of its competitors in announcing a culling of its pilot and flight attendant ranks.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the Orlando-based low-cost carrier will cut 300 FAs and 180 pilots from its workforce, through a combination of furloughs and voluntary exit packages.

The workforce reductions come one month after AirTran announced it would defer deliveries on 18 Boeing 737s the carrier had planned to add to its fleet over the next three years. Last week, AirTran said it planned to cut employee pay across the board anywhere from five to 15 percent, though the airline must negotiate with its unionized workforce on acceptable terms.

"It's a necessary step that's part of adapting to a more difficult economic environment," said Kevin Healy, AirTran's senior vice president of marketing and planning. "It is largely driven by fuel."

AirTran hopes most of the reductions will come through voluntary retirements. The airline, which has its hub in Atlanta, has offered a voluntary exit program to all employees with at least five years at the airline, except for directors and officers. The package includes continued health benefits and travel vouchers for qualified workers who opt by the end of July to leave the airline.

If not enough workers agree to leave voluntarily, however, furloughs would start coming in September.

AirTran currently has about 8,900 employees, including roughly 2,000 flight attendants and 1,450 pilots. The company expects early retirements and employee attrition to "reduce or largely eliminate the need" for layoffs, Healy said.

FMI: www.airtran.com