US Airways to layoff 890 attendants NEW YORK (Reuters) =97 US Airways Group Inc. will lay off 890 flight=20 attendants by the end of June as it trims its flight schedule and staffing= =20 levels to match slow demand, the attendants' union said Thursday. US=20 Airways, which emerged from bankruptcy protection at the end of March, will= =20 lay off about 260 flight attendants in May and the rest in June, according= =20 to Association of Flight Attendants spokeswoman Dawn Deeks. The layoffs=20 follow more than $1 billion in wage cuts and other concessions extracted=20 from US Airways' labor groups both before and during its bankruptcy filing.= =20 U.S. airlines are feverishly slashing costs to stay aloft during an=20 unprecedented downturn in air travel demand, which began even before the=20 Sept. 11, 2001 airliner attacks. Labor costs are the single largest expense= =20 for the industry, and U.S. airlines have cut their collective labor=20 expenses by the billions to respond to the slower economy. Deeks said she=20 was not sure whether further flight attendant layoffs or furloughs would=20 occur. "We hope that this is the end, and that it starts turning up," she=20 said. "But after being in this industry the past couple of years, everyone= =20 is really wary about what's next." A spokesman for US Airways did not=20 return a call for comment. Only 440 of the layoffs, which affect 3% of the airline's flight=20 attendants, will involve workers who are currently active, Deeks said. The= =20 rest affect flight attendants who were already on voluntary leave. *************************************************** 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.carstt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************