http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/industries/airlines/stories= /DN-airlinecuts_01bus.State.Edition1.41c1811.html Major airlines, including American, begin flight cutbacks 11:16 PM CDT on Sunday, August 31, 2008 By TERRY MAXON / The Dallas Morning News tmaxon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx The Associated Press contributed to this report. Fewer flights will be available to U.S. travelers this month as airlines be= gin trimming their schedules to cope with high fuel costs and growing losse= s. But the real hit won't occur until November and December, as major carriers= make the deep cuts in capacity that they've been promising. Aviation consultant Boyd Group estimates that flights by U.S. airlines will= decline 9.3 percent in November compared to a year earlier, which translat= es to 9.6 percent fewer seats. Boyd Group president Michael Boyd said the capacity reductions should be co= mpleted by the end of 2009, but with an airline industry much different and= smaller. "It'll find its level by the end of 2009," Mr. Boyd said. "That level will = probably be 15 to 18 percent less capacity and about 15 to 20 percent highe= r average fares" compared to 2008. American Airlines Inc. and regional partner American Eagle will make their = deepest cuts in their November schedules, although the reductions this week= will sharply shrink their San Juan, Puerto Rico, hub. For most airlines, the reductions largely mean that they are flying fewer t= imes on a route, Mr. Boyd said. By the end of November, American will end its service to Oakland, Calif., L= ondon Stansted and Barranquilla, Colombia. American Eagle will end service = to Albany, N.Y., Harrisburg, Pa., Providence, R.I., San Luis Obispo, Calif.= , and the Dominican Republic. But for most of its cities, American will simply fly less often: one less f= light from Dallas/Fort Worth to Boston, Charlotte, N.C., Washington Nationa= l, Newark and Denver, for example. As it parks airplanes and cuts flights, American plans to eliminate about 8= percent of its jobs or 6,500 to 7,000 positions. More than 900 flight atte= ndants began retirement or temporary leaves at the end of August, and some = layoffs have already occurred. But the carrier is still working through its voluntary severance process wi= th the Transport Workers Union, and it told the Allied Pilots Association i= n August that 200 potential furloughs won't occur Oct. 1, as previously sug= gested. Mr. Boyd said the crisis in the airline industry hasn't gone away even thou= gh oil prices have dropped well below their summer highs approaching $150 a= barrel. "Man, when oil hit 115 bucks on the way up, we were doing obituaries on car= riers. Now it's dropped to $115, and you'd think it was cheap oil again," M= r. Boyd said. Airlines "still got to adjust to that," which means they have to cut capaci= ty to push prices up and eliminate marginal flights, he said. "Ultimately, it all comes back to extraordinarily high fuel prices and the = ensuing significant losses we've lost as a result of that," said American A= irlines spokesman Tim Smith. "Even with the recent softening of oil prices = somewhat, we are still way behind price-wise where we were in 2007, plus fu= el prices remain very volatile." The hope of airlines is that the cuts in capacity will allow them to raise = fares with fewer discounts. On average, domestic fares between metro cities are already up roughly 16 p= ercent since Jan. 2, while fares between small cities are up roughly 37 per= cent year-to-date, according to Rick Seaney, head of airfare research site = FareCompare.com. The changes starting this month come on top of a list of new charges =E2=80= =93 for luggage, drinks, pillows and other amenities. "Airline travel is airline travel =E2=80=93 it's been bad for a long time,"= Chris Bardasian, an American Airlines frequent flyer, told The Associated = Press recently at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. "I suspect price= s will go up, fewer people will travel, and if you're willing to pay the pr= ice, it will be fine." The Associated Press contributed to this report. =0A=0A=0A <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".