New York - UAL Corp, the parent of United Airlinies, Tuesday reported a 537-million-dollar loss in the first quarter, more than three times the losses in the same period last year. The company cited rising fuel costs, which forced it to cut the number of flights and eliminate 1,100 jobs.
United is the fourth major carrier to announce this month that it was planning more cuts in its service and capacity. Each 1-dollar increase in the price of a barrel of oil raises annual costs by 60 million dollars at United, the world's second-biggest airline.
The 1,100 job cuts include 500 management positions and are to come from attrition, retirements and furloughs, UAL said. That represents about 2 per cent of United's 55,700-person workforce.
United said it would pull 30 aircraft from its fleet, 10 to 15 more than originally planned in March.
American Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc have posted first- quarter losses. Southwest Airlines Co, the largest low-fare carrier, had a profit.
