Continental plans to furlough another 100 pilots

HOUSTON - Continental Airlines is furloughing 100 more pilots in March, bringing the total number of pilots laid off since the Sept. 11 attacks to 539, or about 8 percent of its flying force. <br> <br> Houston-based Continental said Thursday the airline actually kept more pilots on its payroll than needed based on its reduced 2001 schedule and is making the new cuts after reviewing its 2002 needs. <br> <br> However, the Air Line Pilots Association characterizes the layoffs as additional cuts to those already in place. Capt. Pat Burke, the top Continental pilot in the union, noted that March also is the month the company has said its operations might break even for the first time since the terrorist attacks. <br> <br> &#34;While telling Wall Street and our fellow employees that Continental will soon be breaking even and/or profitable, management fails to say it will do this by eliminating pilot jobs,&#34; Burke said. <br> <br> The union considers the furlough total to be 926 as of March, but Continental spokesman Jeff Awalt said the discrepancy comes from the fact that furloughed Continental pilots are offered positions with commuter subsidiary Continental Express, thus bumping an Express pilot. <br> <br> Where the airline counts the number of actual pilots laid off, the union counts the number of pilots given furlough notices even though many of those pilots continue working for the commuter line. <br> <br> &#34;The vast majority (of the out-of-work pilots) are from Continental Express,&#34; Awalt said. <br> <br> Union officials said competitors Delta, Northwest and United have mitigated the number of pilots furloughed using other cost-cutting measures and that Continental has rejected union-suggested savings proposals. <br> <br> Awalt countered that Continental&#39;s actual number of furloughs is far below its initial estimate of 936. <br> <br> &#34;It&#39;s a wrong perception of what&#39;s really going on,&#34; he said. &#34;We&#39;re furloughing fewer pilots than we originally planned.&#34; <br> <br> Also Thursday, Continental disclosed it will take an after-tax charge of $39 million related to the airline&#39;s aircraft fleet. <br> <br> However, the company further disclosed it received $174 million from the federal government in the October-December period as part of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act. <br> <br> Continental received a total of $417 million in federal help last year. <br> <br>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/1/200296