Up To 600 FAs Will Be Offered Chance To... Abandon Ship?

United Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants announced last week the two sides agreed on a one-time opportunity for eligible flight attendants to voluntarily separate from the company, in hopes of culling the troubled carrier's employment ranks.

The program -- the first offered to flight attendants since the early 1980s, according to Bloomberg -- will be available for up to 600 United attendants.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the AFA that benefits our employees and our company, and will mitigate the impact of our announced capacity reductions," said Alex Marren, senior vice president -- Onboard Service for United.

Flight attendants who are at least 45 years old and have at least 15 years of flight attendant service with the company as of August 1, 2008 will be eligible to participate, with severance payments based on years of service and retiree travel benefits.

The offer provides $500 for each year of service as an attendant, up to 25 years. That works out to as much as $12,500, payable in 12 installments starting in January.

For a program aimed at convincing flight attendants to leave the carrier, one could argue the plan doesn't really give FAs much incentive for them to do so... unless, that is, those attendants are convinced their jobs are on the bubble, anyway.

As ANN has reported, United announced drastic cutbacks last week to both its fleet size, and employment ranks. The airline plans to shed 1,100 salaried jobs in the coming months, and the cuts probably won't end there, if oil prices keep climbing.

"The program is a completely voluntary option for members who may be considering a career change," said Greg Davidowitch, AFA president at United, to union members. Davidowitch also noted the plan provides members "with a benefit that is not otherwise available" -- namely, a way to leave the airline, and still get paid.

That just might be enough for a lot of them...

FMI: www.united.com, www.unitedafa.org