Next time you see a flight attendant with something less than a stellar attitude, you might consider their employment situation: United Airlines is laying off 1,500 flight attendants - to cut costs. That’s about 10% of their flight attendant work force.

And earlier this summer, American Airlines warned its flight attendants that layoff’s were coming, and that as many as 1,000 of them could be “furloughed”.

Remember, it wasn’t a flight attendant’s idea to charge you for that blanket and pillow, or to ask that you fork over $2 for that can of Diet Coke.

Most are hard working men and women who do a good job — everyday — despite having to wonder if perhaps this will be the day they’ll get the axe.

Hundreds of supporters, many of them little girls, broke into a roar as the Russian born gymnast shouted, “I’m proud to be from Texas!”

“I thought it was just going to be a couple of girls from the gym” coming by to greet her, said the beaming 18 year old. Though clearly delighted with her performance in Beijing, her medals were nowhere in evidence - perhaps because she plans on collecting a few more.

When asked about the 2012 Olympics in London, Nastia said, “I’m taking it one step at a time, and enjoying the moment, but - it’s not out of the question.” More cheers.

Keep reading for what Nastia said about the controversy surrounding the Chinese gymnasts - and her meeting with servicemen and women, heading out to Afghanistan.

Yesterday, I told you that United is dropping its complimentary meals for coach passengers flying to Europe from Dulles (this begins Oct. 1).

But there’s more.

• No more free SNACKS or pretzels in coach (though they will have snacks for purchase).
• No more free MEALS for business class passengers on most domestic flights — those with 3 cabins; food available for purchase
• Food for purchase prices are going UP; what now costs between $5 and $7 will now rise to between $6 and $9

I contacted United, and a spokesperson got back to me to say, “We will review customer feedback” to determine whether to continue and/or expand these new snack/meal policies. And yes, as noted in the United internal memo that we obtained, the reason for these changes is simply to save more money…in these tough economic times.

What do you think — is this the way to go about it?

It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but according to a memo we obtained, United Airlines will start dropping complimentary meals for coach passengers on flights to Europe, at least initially for those flying out of the airline’s Washington, D.C. hub.

This change, as of this point, is expected to take effect in October. Instead of complimentary meals, coach passenger will be able to purchase food.

Blame it on the way the price of fuel soared this year; according to the memo, United “must continue to examine every aspect of our business and find new ways to improve our day-today operations through efficiencies.”

So…what do you think about paying for food in coach on a transatlantic flight? Let me know.

Pilots at United Airlines are not happy — not with working conditions, not with their pay, with company morale — and not with company leadership. But a bit of background is in order here:

Earlier this summer, United told its pilots that about 1,000 of them would have to find new jobs.

Then, United sued the pilots union, saying some pilots were “abusing” their sick days (i.e., taking too many while possibly not being sick).

Now it’s the pilots’ turn, and they’re telling United CEO Glenn Tilton, “it’s time to go”.

But according to his PR folks, Tilton isn’t going anywhere.

Nothing worse than a family feud. We’ll keep you posted.

Here’s one you don’t hear very often:

A row of seats on a United flight from Seattle to San Francisco gave way during takeoff, sliding/crashing into the row of seats behind it.

One woman (in the row behind) suffered a knee injury and was taken to a hospital after the plane returned to Seattle.

The problem was: a loose bolt. That’s all it takes, apparently, with the G-forces at work during takeoff. The plane was delayed about 3-and-a-half hours while they fixed the problem.

According to United, they are or were “in the process of compensating the passengers.” Well, that’s something.

Actually, it’s an “alleged” slowdown, but real enough to United that they’ve asked a federal district judge for an injunction against it.

So far, the pilots union (Air Line Pilots Association) isn’t talking, but United claims the union is “encouraging sick-leave abuse” — according to the carrier, sick-leave among first officers is up 103% this summer.

United thinks the pilots’ alleged actions are “absolutely irresponsible” and due to unhappiness with some of the “unprecedented actions” the carrier is taking to “offset record fuel costs”.

Of course, one “action” is United’s plan to furlough nearly 1,000 pilots.

United Airlines reported their Q2 results today, and not surprisingly, the carrier is reporting a loss. Even less surprisingly, the carrier is siting rising fuel costs as the major cause of that loss. Excluding accounting charges, UAL experienced a Q2 net loss of $151 Million. The airline foresees continuing fuel issues into Q3 and Q4, expecting a $3.5 Billion increase on fuel expenditures in 2008 as compared to 2007.

So, how does United plan to offset these fuel costs? They’re reducing capacity and significantly reducing their fleet (retiring their 737s from action). United Airlines also believes their partnership with Continental will shape the way major airlines operate in the future, and help them to turn a profit. The plan is for this partnership to go well beyond a codeshare agreement. United Airlines and Continental Airlines hope to align their frequent flier programs, combine their buying power, and increase opportunities for shared revenue. United Airlines also plans to seek out similar partnerships in Latin America.

Unfortunately, United Airlines has also increased their foreseen job cuts from 1,500 to 7,000 by the end of 2009.

Despite Q2 losses and continuing fuel cost issues, UAL sees itself as being in a “solid cash position” with the ability to achieve profitability in the current environment.

We’ll let you know if that pans out as Q3 gets underway.

This afternoon at 12:30pm EDT United Airlines filed a new rule change for thousands of domestic airfare which tacks on $80 roundtrip to domesticairline tickets for departure on/after January 10th of next year.

I guess they don’t want anyone “hedging” by buying their airline tickets for next year early (assuming prices are going to continue to sky-rocket and locking in). Normally airlines manage their cheapeast domestic prices about 4 months before departure and charge mid-tier (much more expensive prices if you buy “too” early”).

In this case United looks like it is trying to catchthose who assume all airline tickets are going to be $800rt by the end of the year (see all the comments from US Airways CEO in this article)…

“Airlines will start collecting $650 to $700 per passenger for a ticket. Planes will fly primarily to big cities, and not a lot of small communities. There will be many fewer flights. Air travel will be a throwback to the era before deregulation. Flying will be a luxury.” - US Airways CEO Doug Parker, on what travelers can expect if oil prices don’t go lower.

Hard to say if other airlines will match this unusual fuel surcharge strategy at this point … I watch this stuff every day and don’t recall seeing this type of departure date fuel surcharge in past history.

Like many airlines, United announced it will cut capacity — cutting back on the number of flights and grounding planes — which means, they don’t need all their pilots, so they’re furloughing 950 of them (that’s 15%).

That’s furloughed, not fired. Or is it? In theory, when times get better, they could return — just like those pilots furloughed after 9/11 — most of whom returned by last summer. Let’s see, that was 6 years later.

Ever been out of work for 6 years? Or had to find a brand new profession? Clearly, most of the affected United pilots (whose furloughs will begin in July and continue through next year) won’t be able to find jobs at other airlines — they’re in the same boat as United.

And how many will have hit retirement age — 65 — by the time United calls them back to work?

A very sad business.

Here we go again — and I have to ask, “What are they thinking?”

Beginning in October, United Airlines is going to start requiring “minimum stays” for its cheapest fares – one to three nights, or, a weekend night — for nearly all its domestic flights.

Talk about “back to the future” – for the most part, these minimum stay rules were scrapped years ago — but United has revived them, to help combat the high price of jet fuel.

Keep reading and I’ll explain exactly what this can mean…for all of us.

Starting today, if you purchase tickets on American, you will pay a $15 one-way fee to check a first bag. A second will cost you $25.

And tickets purchased since this weekend for United flights (for travel August 18 or later) will also add a $15 first bag fee.

You’ve been warned!

See ALL THE FEES for U.S. airlines, in our contantly updated Fee Chart.

It was bad enough United announced a new $15 fee for a first checked-bag.

Then there was today’s protest at the annual shareholder’s meeting: according the the Los Angeles Times, protesters included pilots, flight attendants and machinists who are tired of low morale and loss of jobs.

One protesting pilot said execs get “incentives” while their pay has been “slashed”.

“The management’s mantra has been ’shared sacrifice, shared rewards.’ We’ve sacrificed, but it seems executives are the only ones getting the rewards.” — Todd Daniels, United pilot

This is especially infuriating, since Continental’s top executives will go without pay for the rest of the year, due to belt-tightening there. United, meanwhile says incentives are needed to attract top execs.

Finally, Joe Brancatelli weighs in with a great read on United — the title? “Worst. Airline. Ever.”

Well, we could see this one coming a mile away.

United Airlines will start charging its passengers $15 for the privilege of checking a first bag. Oh, and that $15 charge is one-way. If you check a second bag with United, that one’ll set you back $25, one-way.

United’s first checked-bag fee goes into effect with tickets purchased beginning…tomorrow (American, the first airline to announce implementation of such a fee, will impose its fee on tickets purchased beginning on Sunday).

My only comment: who will be next?

The announcement today by United Airlines of cuts in capacity should have passengers wondering what aircraft (if any) they will be flying in the coming year.

We decided to pull in-depth information on which airports and routes are affected by these cuts.

It is important to note that retiring these aircraft doesn’t imply that the cities and routes listed will lose service - rather the question is what will replace these outgoing aircraft. Options include less flights, moving current aircraft from other routes or bringing in smaller aircraft (possibly via regional airline partners).

United’s airline division “Ted” is shutting down according to reports.

The coach-only airline, which United started in 2004 as a low-fare competitor to carriers such as Southwest, joins Aloha, ATA, Silverjet and several other airlines that have collapsed this year.

First reports do not indicate exactly when Ted will shut down (its website makes no mention of this), other than the airline will shutter “sometime this year.”

FYI: the name “Ted” comes from the last 3 letters of “United”.

United Airlines is taking about 70 of its biggest aircraft out of service, including a half-dozen of its 747’s, according to reports.

These jets are some of the least fuel-efficient planes in the carrier’s fleet; besides the 747’s, United will phase out more than 64 of its 737-300s.

Watch for a major reduction in routes and more job losses.

A story on Bloomberg quotes one analyst who’s not sure United is going about this reduction as well as it could:

Some of these capacity cuts are being done with the precision of a chainsaw.– Michael Boyd, airline analyst

Last night, United Airlines initiated the 16^th attempt at hiking airfares in 2008 and this hike was all across the bulk of its route system.

The increase ranges from $10 to $60 roundtrip. Also last night, AirTran raised airfares by $50 roundtrip for most flights.

And the hikes continue: this morning, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines both matched the United airfare hike across the bulk of their respective route systems.

Will more legacy airlines match this latest price hike? To that I respond — do they really have a choice? I would be surprised if we don’t see wide-spread matching over the long holiday weekend.

What this means to YOU, and my ANALYSIS coming right up, so keep reading…

United Airlines’ frequent fliers have always received a minimum of 500-miles, no matter how short a trip they took. Not anymore.

Starting July 1, if you fly, say, LaGuardia to Dulles, you WON’T get 500 frequent flier miles; you will ONLY get the actual number of miles the trip took — about 230 miles.

Just one more way the airlines are cutting back in the face of those off-the-chart jet fuel prices.

A FARECOMPARE EXCLUSIVE:

A short time ago, United REMOVED its fuel surcharges in approximately 18,000 of its markets. Most of those fuel surcharges added $130 to the price of their airline tickets. The fuel surcharge is now ZERO.

According to United Spokesperson Robin Urbanski, the surcharge removal was the result of “clerical error”.

UPDATE 6PM EASTERN: United Spokesperson Robin Urbanski now says they are working with their distribution systems for United.com (which includes Travelport and ITA) to reinstate the fuel surcharges “as quickly as possible” which could be within the next hour or two.

Earlier, United said the “fixes” would not be made and filed until 8pm Eastern, and I noted that such changes normally aren’t loaded until Midnight Eastern time. I also understand now that United expects the “fixes” will be made sooner than that on United.com.

And I also understand the airline is reaching out to online sites such as Travelocity. However, let me add that, in my experience, it is unlikely that sites like Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, etc. would be able to make the changes until the standard time after Midnight EDT.

Bottom line: you should be comparing prices on United.com with those of online travel agencies, and if you see the much cheaper fare, grab it. It won’t be there for long.

At noon today, United Airlines initiated the 13th attempted domestic airfare hike of 2008 - and note that, 8 of the previous 12 were widely successful.

I immediately broke this story, and it quickly appeared in media reports.

Details on the price hike: United raised airfares across the bulk of its domestic route system in a laddered fashion from $4 to $60 roundtrip for leisure travelers in over 5,500 city-pairs, and from $4 to $70 for business travelers in over 9,000 city-pairs.

The AP reports that United blames this 3% to 5% hike on, what else: soaring fuel costs.

You won’t have to travel too far to get hit with a substantial increase; keep reading for more on that.

Once again, blame it on the high price of jet fuel.

According to the AP, United Airlines says it’s going to cut 1,100 jobs this year (500 management, 600 union jobs), and it will cut capacity by 9% in the 4^th quarter.

And, the airline will take another 10 to 15 narrow-body aircraft out of its fleet.

Sad thing is, United would have had a good quarter this year, if not for fuel costs, which have risen nearly 50% in a year.

United Airlines is upping the ante when it comes to the “ticket change” fee; it’s upped it from $100 to $150. Some hike, huh?

And United is also reinstituting the old “Saturday Night Stay-over” requirement; this will affect about 65% of the cities it serves. Essentially, it means business folks who like to get home for the weekend will be penalized with higher fares.

But you can’t really blame the airlines. As United’s Robin Urbanski put it, “We are facing a cost increase of more than $2 billion this year, and that is more than twice the operating earnings we generated last year.”

I think this is what’s called a “lose-lose” situation.

Wednesday April 9, 2008 10:45pm CDT

After a brief 10-day respite from airfare hikes — in what can arguably be described as one of the worst 10-day periods in commercial aviation history — United Airlines tonight is attempting to hike airfares for the 11th time this year.

With the backdrop of failing airlines, congressional safety hearings, soaring fuel prices, unflattering consumer satisfaction studies and massive inspection related flight cancellations — United has seen fit to hike U.S. domestic airfares by as much as $30 roundtrip this evening across its entire route system.

Unlike the previous 2 failed attempts in the last weeks of March by Delta Air Lines of $10 roundtrip across the board — United has taken a different approach this week by increasing airfares from $4 to $30 roundtrip loosely based on mileage with deference to those routes that have significant lower cost airline competition. This technique of laddering several layers of increases has been previously successful in mid March when United was able to get the other 5 legacy airlines to significantly match a $4 to $50 roundtrip increase…

United voluntarily grounded 7 of its Boeing 747’s, but an airline spokesperson said yesterday that it wouldn’t disrupt its schedule much AND it was unrelated to “airworthiness.”

This was done after the F.A.A told its inspectors to “reconfirm that airlines were in compliance with all requirements.”

The 747’s were grounded after the FAA told United that the planes had been checked with faulty instruments. If you’ll pardon an ancient cliche, better safe than sorry.