Will Slash Capacity 17 Percent... With Jobs To Follow

This week, bankrupt Frontier Airlines announced cuts even deeper than those announced by American, United and Continental on a percentage basis. Frontier, based in Denver, said 17 percent of its capacity will be trimmed, along with a "proportional reduction" in its workforce.

The airline says it also now plans to sell 11 of its Airbus planes, up from the four announced earlier this year.

The Associated Press reports the airline has about 6,000 employees, but has not yet offered specifics on how many will be furloughed.

Frontier CEO Sean Menke said the moves were difficult, but needed to deal with record fuel prices and a slowing economy.

As ANN reported, Frontier's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in April came suddenly, after credit card processor First Data Corp. said it would begin keeping up to 100 percent of proceeds from ticket sales in reserve until passengers completed their flights. The move left Frontier in an immediate cash-flow crunch.

Frontier and First Data have since agreed to new terms... but neither side has released details, and one could argue the damage has already been done.

FMI: www.frontierairlines.com