US Airways has announced it plans to lay off a thousand employees, about 3% of its workforce, and will cut flights and focus mostly on four hubs: Charlotte, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Washington, DC.

The airline isn’t cutting all flights to other cities. For example, the hourly NYC-Boston-DC shuttle service will remain unaffected. From the Wall Street Journal:

US Airways, the result of a 2005 merger of American West Airlines and the former US Airways, said it would reduce the number of flights to Las Vegas to 36 from 64 daily departures as a result of increasing fuel prices and weak demand. It also said it would end flights at Colorado Springs, Colo., and Wichita, Kan.

Other changes announced Wednesday include the suspension of five European routes: to London Gatwick; Birmingham, England; Milan, Italy; Shannon, Ireland; and Stockholm, Sweden, from US Airways’ international gateway in Philadelphia. It will also give up its right to fly between Philadelphia and Beijing.

The layoffs should happen “during the first half of 2010.”

“US Airways to Cut 1,000 Jobs, Focus On Hub Cities” [Wall Street Journal]
(Photo: claudiogennari)

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