American Airlines, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, the United States, and the Transport Workers Union of America, the union representing thousands of ground workers, have jointly requested the services of a mediator through the National Mediation Board to resolve issues regarding wage and benefit that have remained undecided after 11 days of negotiations.

Major airlines based in the United States are planning to cut more flights and jobs in 2009 in view of the falling travel demand.

Cathay Pacific Airways, the largest airline and flag carrier of Hong Kong, has announced a series of measures aimed at cutting costs, including the deferring aircraft deliveries and offering staff unpaid leave as the airline faces a sharp slowdown in both passenger and cargo traffic.

Rolls-Royce, the United Kingdom-based manufacturer of aircraft engines, has announced that it is planning to reduce its global workforce by up to 2,000 “to cope with the global downturn and delays to the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A380.”

Air New Zealand, the national flag carrier of New Zealand and the country’s biggest airline, plans to dismiss 200 full-time employees, change schedules and reduce capacity in order to cut costs as demand for international flights has slowed down.

Just a day after the announcement of the Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways alliance, there was a shock for the employees of the two airlines.

  The bankrupt Alitalia SpA, the flag-carrier airline of Italy, will be re-launched as a new company on November 1, 2008.

  As a part of its continuing efforts at downsizing flights, American Airlines, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, the United States, has sent notices of possible layoffs to 469 employees at airports in 5 cities in the United States.

In an effort to trim its workforce and cuts costs, AirTran Airways, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, the United States, has decided to lay off 169 pilots with effect from September 3, 2008.

By the end of the current year, high fuel costs would spell doom for as many as 7000 employees at American Airlines.

United Airlines, the second-biggest airline in the United States, is planning to lay off 950 pilots, which is 15% of its total number of pilots.

Silverjet, the British all-business class airline based at London’s Luton Airport, which had suspended its operations on May 30, 2008, has decided to sack its employees after all its efforts to find a buyer failed.

Delta Air Lines, based in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States, is to cut 4,000 jobs.

Air-traffic controllers appointed recently are leaving jobs at “dramatically higher rates” in 2008, United States Congress has been told.