United cost-cutting effort hits affiliates DENVER (AP) =97 Regional affiliates of the bankrupt United Airlines have=20 slashed wages and furloughed workers to meet United's demands for deep cost= =20 cuts. United, Denver International Airport's dominant carrier, filed for=20 bankruptcy in December. With the ability to cancel contracts under=20 bankruptcy court protection, United has told its three United Express=20 carriers that if they don't lower costs enough, they will be replaced with= =20 a competitor. Atlantic Coast Airlines, which operates United Express=20 flights from Chicago and Washington, has furloughed nearly 200 pilots, cut= =20 wages of salaried workers by up to 40 percent and reworked its labor deal=20 with its pilots union. Air Wisconsin Airlines, which flies from Denver to cities such as Montrose= =20 and Grand Junction, had to win wage cuts and work-rule changes from its=20 pilots to submit a proposal with lower rates to United to continue their=20 partnership. SkyWest Airlines, which offers United Express flights out of=20 Denver, is close to landing a new contract and said it might have to cut=20 pay if the deal goes through. nited officials declined to comment about the= =20 negotiations. ``There's a general trend toward cost reduction throughout=20 the industry, and we're certainly participating in that," said Rick Delise,= =20 spokesman for Atlantic Coast. United wants to cut costs by more than $100 million through renegotiated=20 contracts with its regional carriers. The airline has been renegotiating=20 for about two months. ``You can imagine the dilemma we face. We are bidding= =20 on business we already have," Air Wisconsin chief executive Geoff Crowley=20 wrote in an e-mail to employees in April. ``We are being asked to work=20 within an entirely unreasonable time frame, and are forced to ask our labor= =20 groups to do the same." Air Wisconsin officials didn't return calls seeking comment. Crowley stated= =20 in the e-mail that he believed there were seven carriers vying for United's= =20 business: the three existing partners, Mesa Air Group, which will begin=20 flying United Express flights in July, and three others. Robert Mann,=20 president of airline consulting firm R.W. Mann & Co., said United's demands= =20 are a part of the restructuring. ``The bankruptcy process has to look at=20 all suppliers and try to give equal haircuts all the way around," Mann=20 said. A silver lining for the affiliates is that United is allowed to use=20 more regional jets as part of a new labor pact with its pilots union. The=20 pact was reached after United filed for bankruptcy protection. *************************************************** 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/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************