More airline flight, job cuts expected this week CHICAGO (Reuters) =97 More major airlines are expected to cut flight=20 schedules and jobs this week as the slump in travel bookings because of the= =20 war in Iraq takes a toll on the battered industry, analysts said Sunday.=20 Dozens of airlines around the world already have slashed schedules,=20 especially international flights to and from the Middle East. Some have=20 begun to layoff workers or put them on temporary leave to cope with the=20 worst crisis in aviation history. Four of the top five U.S. airlines =97=20 AMR's American Airlines, UAL's United Airlines, Continental and Northwest = =97=20 announced substantial cuts last week. Northwest cut its flight schedule by 12%, United by 8% and American cut=20 international flights by 6%. "I would certainly expect the other major=20 carriers to make similar announcements in the days ahead," said William=20 Warlick, airlines analyst for debt rating agency Fitch Ratings. Warlick=20 said he expected No. 3 U.S. carrier Delta to announce cuts in capacity=20 early in the week, and he said American may not have cut deep enough to=20 offset the drop in travel demand. Delta spokesman Todd Clay had no comment= =20 on whether the carrier would make flight and job cuts."We're continuing to= =20 assess the situation." American Chief Executive Donald Carty admitted as=20 much after the world's largest carrier announced a reduction in its flight= =20 schedule last week. "It remains a possibility that we will have to further= =20 reduce capacity in the days ahead," he said. The war in Iraq could add $10= =20 billion to world airline losses, the International Air Transport=20 Association said Saturday. International passenger travel could drop 15 to= =20 20% during the war, depending on the region, it said. Those losses would be= =20 on top of some $30 billion in red ink since the September 11, 2001 attacks= =20 in the United States reduced air travel. AS BAD AS SEPT 11? Warlick said that the fall in bookings since the start of the war in Iraq=20 has not been quite as bad as the collapse after Sept. 11. He predicts a=20 decline of about 10 to 20% in April traffic compared with a year ago as=20 businesses ban all but essential travel and the some tourists cancel trips.= =20 But the Iraq war could not have come at a worse time for the airlines=20 because they had not fully recovered from the falloff in travel after Sept.= =20 11. Hardest hit so far have been U.S. airlines. Three U.S. airlines are=20 already in bankruptcy protection =97 United Airlines, US Airways and= Hawaiian=20 Airlines. American is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Even some of the strongest international carriers are reeling from the=20 aftermath of Sept. 11 and now the Iraq war. In an interview published=20 Sunday, British Airways Chief Executive Rod Eddington said he warned staff= =20 in an e-mail Friday that the war could force some tough decisions. Crucial= =20 decisions on cutting scheduled flights will be made in the next few days.=20 "If you are smart you make early decisions, but let's give it four or five= =20 days and respond accordingly without jumping the gun," Eddington told=20 London's Sunday Telegraph newspaper. SOUTHWEST UNSCATHED? One airline that may escape the cuts is U.S. discount carrier Southwest=20 Airlines, which was the only one of the top U.S. carriers to avoid flight=20 and job cuts after Sept. 11 and continue to turn a profit. Warlick said the= =20 fact that Southwest is almost exclusively a U.S. domestic carrier may help= =20 it weather the war because domestic bookings are down less than=20 international. U.S. airlines are lobbying hard for a new package of aid=20 from the U.S. government to help them survive. United flight attendants=20 said Sunday they would begin a campaign at airports around the country this= =20 week asking passengers to sign postcards calling on Congress to protect the= =20 airlines and workers from the impact of the war. The U.S. government=20 offered airlines a loan guarantee program after Sept. 11 but set stringent= =20 terms for the money. Airlines want the government to help pay for the=20 increased costs of security at airports and help bring down the costs of=20 fuel, which is a substantial cost to fly planes. Oil prices surged before=20 the start of the Iraq war, pushing up the cost of aviation fuel. They have= =20 since come down but remain volatile. Despite all the bad news, USAirways=20 looks set to emerge from bankruptcy at the end of this month after it=20 cleared away final hurdles to its recovery plan over the weekend. "They are= =20 coming out at an absolutely horrible time for the industry," said Warlick. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.thehummingbirdonline.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************