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| A United
Airlines plane taxis at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport July
10, 2005. |
United Airlines has rehired 600 flight attendants and expects to bring
back about 850 more later this year as increased passenger demand means
more planes are flying near capacity, a company spokeswoman said Sunday.
The bankrupt airline, a unit of UAL Corp., said the 600 will return to
work by August 9, and the second group will be brought back by the end of
November.
The flight attendants were laid off
following a downturn in airline
travel in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
"By the end of the year, we expect to have all of
our flight attendants on furlough
back," said United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski.
United, the No. 2 U.S. carrier, is embroiled in a dispute with its
flight attendants, who have threatened to strike over the termination of
company pension plans.
United won court approval in May to shift its four pensions to U.S.
government insurers, a move that would save the carrier $645 million a
year, while eroding employee benefits.
The Association of Flight Attendants, representing United's flight
attendants, is the only union that has not yet negotiated a replacement
retirement plan for its members.
United, based in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village, Illinois, is
aiming to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the fall. The
airline has been in bankruptcy since December 2002.
(Agencies) | 
Updated: 2005-07-11 09:10
