Airlines Cut Deeper as Fuel Costs Reshape the Industry

CHICAGO - United Airlines' plan to furlough 1,550 flight attendants is the latest in a cascade of cuts sweeping U.S. carriers, which are shrinking their schedules, grounding planes and charging for everything from checked bags to pillows.

The nation's airlines are cutting domestic capacity by roughly 10 percent this fall — the sharpest retrenchment since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks — as jet fuel, though off its peak, remains ruinously expensive.

The industry's strategies would have been unthinkable a few years ago: American and United now charge $15 or more for a first checked bag; US Airways charges for soft drinks; most carriers have cut free meals entirely.

This summer also saw the collapse of several smaller airlines — ATA, Aloha, Skybus and Frontier (into bankruptcy protection) — and the announced megamerger of Delta and Northwest, which would create the world's largest carrier.

Labor Day travel was expected to dip slightly from last year, the first decline in years, as high fares and capacity cuts push some travelers off the planes.

"This is not a bad patch. This is a structural change," an industry analyst said. "The era of cheap fares and full planes is over."

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Associated Press writers contributed to this report.

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