Delta Air Lines cutting 1,500 more flight attendant jobs, about 9.4 percent

<br>ATLANTA (AP) _ Delta Air Lines will cut 1,500 more flight attendant jobs _ about 9.4 percent _ this fall because of the continuing slump in the airline industry. <br><br>Delta officials said the Atlanta-based

Friday, September 27th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ATLANTA (AP) _ Delta Air Lines will cut 1,500 more flight attendant jobs _ about 9.4 percent _ this fall because of the continuing slump in the airline industry.

Delta officials said the Atlanta-based airline will try to make this round of jobs cuts through voluntary offers. Last fall, about 3,200 flight attendants accepted leaves, early retirement and other offers as part of 10,000 job cuts.

``The industry is suffering,'' Delta spokeswoman Peggy Estes said Friday. ``So it's necessary to reduce our operating costs. We need to match the work force size to the needs of the operation.''

Delta had previously announced that it would reduce capacity by about 8 percent this fall, about twice the usual seasonal reduction.

Sharon Wibben, Delta's senior vice president of in-flight service, told flight attendants about the cuts Thursday in a teleconference. Delta has more than 16,000 flight attendants.

Delta chairman and chief executive Leo Mullin has said more cuts could be necessary. Besides last year's job cuts and nearly 1,000 pilot furloughs, Delta has cut capital spending, ended flights to six countries and 10 cities, and reduced service on 80 other routes.

Other major airlines also have made cuts this fall, including American, which recently said it would slash 7,000 jobs.

This week, Mullin and executives from American, Northwest and AirTran Airways asked lawmakers in Washington for relief from heavy security-related costs and lost revenue.

He said costs and lost revenue due to security measures will total about $660 million this year. Analysts estimate Delta will report pretax losses of $1.2 billion this year.