According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the FAs might be safe.


AirTran's pilot buyout falls short, making cuts likely

By KELLY YAMANOUCHI
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/01/08

AirTran Airways, which is shrinking its work force as it tries to cope with high fuel costs, said Tuesday it may not have to furlough any flight attendants but that some pilots may have to be let go.

AirTran, which is based in Orlando and has its hub in Atlanta, announced in July that it planned to cut 300 flight attendants and 180 pilots to reduce its annual costs by about $16 million. Employees had until Thursday to apply for a leave of absence or an early-exit package.

AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson said the company generated enough requests for leaves — offered to flight attendants — to likely avoid furloughing any of them. But it attracted fewer applications for voluntary exit packages offered to employees with five years of seniority across the company, including pilots.

It offered the exit packages to try to offset furloughs or layoffs. Most of the job cuts will be in Atlanta because all of AirTran's pilots and most of its flight attendants are based here.
The company's exit packages offered extended health and travel benefits but not a cash payout to those with enough seniority at the company, excluding directors and officers. It attracted only a small group of takers.
"We're a fairly young company, so we don't have a lot of high-seniority people," Hutcheson said. "The majority of our employees were hired within the last five years and didn't qualify for the early exit. It generated some interest, and you'll perhaps see two dozen people leave via the early exit program."
AirTran, which has about 8,900 employees, said it would furlough or lay off workers Sept. 6 to meet its targeted job cuts.