United slashing US, international flights, offering voluntary leave amid coronavirus crisis

[eleny]

"United Airlines, faced with a steep drop in travel demand due to the coronavirus crisis, is aggressively cutting April and May flights, freezing hiring and offering employees voluntary unpaid leave.

The airline announced the unprecedented steps, the first by a U.S. airline since the outbreak began, in a memo to employees Wednesday.

"Due to decline in demand flowing from the impact of COVID-19, we’re taking additional steps to reduce our international and domestic schedules,'' United CEO Oscar Munoz and President Scott Kirby said in the memo.

The airline did not provide specific routes being targeted but said it is reducing its international schedule by 20%, including previously announced cuts to China and Hong Kong, and 10% in the United States. An undisclosed number of wide-body planes, used on long-haul flights, will be parked."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2020/03/04/coronavirus-flight-fallout-united-cutting-international-us-service/4954094002/

[essme]

1. Voluntary UNPAID leave. What a deal! nt

[getagrip_already]

2. next step - involuntary unpaid leave...............

You know its coming. Companies are going to use this as an excuse to lay off workers and move the work offshore.

[dem4decades]

3. Flying to Aruba next week, thinking about this stuff.

[musette_sf]

4. I'm on a (domestic) United flight right now

and there are a lot more empty seats than the seat selection map showed in the afternoon. It looks like about a quarter of the ticket holders bagged the flight.

[eleny]

5. Husband may need to fly across country in several weeks

He was concerned about crowded flights because of how people are usually jammed in like sardines. Maybe it'll be wide open spaces by the time he'll have to travel. Might as well wait until the last minute. Family stuff, not business.

I'd drive across country with him. But staying in motels isn't appetizing right now, either.

Thanks for your reply! I'm going to let him know about your observation tonight.