United Airlines announced on Saturday a downgrade of its operations, particularly at the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The announcement was made by the United Airlines chief executive officer Jeff Smisek, through a letter to Cleveland airport workers, who will be greatly affected by the job cuts. This is part of the airline’s $2 billion cost-reduction project since its merging with Continental Airlines back in 2010.
“Our hub in Cleveland hasn’t been profitable for over a decade, and has generated tens of millions of dollars of annual losses in recent years. We simply cannot continue to bear these losses.” Smisek wrote in his letter, noting that the changes will start this coming April.
“Ultimately, we can’t create demand, but we do have a responsibility to react to it. We must make the right business decisions, even when those decisions are painful, so we can continue to compete effectively and invest appropriately in our business.” Jeff Smisek added.
As a result, Smisek noted that the number of average daily departures in Cleveland will be reduced by around 60% and that the airline is expecting to cut one of their 26 peak day departures. Regional departures from Cleveland are expected to be reduced by more than 70%. The combined changes are estimated to reduce seat capacity for Cleveland customers by about 36%. If the target of one-third increment per month will be achieved, the full implementation of these changes will be done by June 2014.
Afterwards, United Airlines is planning to offer 72 peak-day flights from Cleveland, instead of the usual average of 199 daily flights. Nonetheless, non-stop United flights via Cleveland airport will still serve 20 destinations. Smisek said that around 470 personnel will be affected by the reduction, including 430 airport staff and 40 catering employees.
A press conference will be held by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson on Monday morning to formally announce the changes.
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