Unfriendly Skies: Passengers Are Being Charged More; American Airlines to Cut Jobs

For one extra bag, you may end up paying $100. Now passengers have to deal with paying more money. American Airlines is ready to cut pilots' jobs. It is laying off many steawardesses. What's next? In a bad economy, many people are hanging on to their purse. If they have to travel for business and family issues, passengers have to pay a lot.

"American Airlines, the largest carrier in the world and the busiest at Los Angeles International Airport, said Wednesday that it expected to slash nearly 7,000 workers, or about 8% of its workforce, as it grounds planes and flights to cope with rising fuel costs.

The cuts, expected by the end of the year, are the largest among the major airlines and come as fuel costs, now reaching nearly half of total expenses, are threatening the financial viability of even the largest airlines.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, American's parent company, AMR Corp. of Fort Worth, Texas, also said that it would write off nearly $1.2 billion on its books to reflect the reduced value of its older, fuel-guzzling aircraft that the airline plans to stop flying.

Grounding the planes would significantly reduce the value of the mostly MD-80 and RJ-135 aircraft, according to Wednesday's filing.

The cutting of 6,840 workers would be in line with American's plans to shed about 8% of its flights by year's end and would entail the airline's taking a $70-million charge against second-quarter earnings for expenses related to the workforce reductions, the carrier said in a memo to employees. The airline has a worldwide workforce of about 85,500."

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