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United Airlines may ground up to 100 planes if necessary to save money on fuel expenses and other big carriers are talking about similar steps.
Carriers are scrambling to meet demand and maintain their profit momentum from a successful summer travel season amid continued pressure from high energy prices.
Jake Brace, United's chief financial officer, said the company has the option of grounding planes if flying them becomes too costly or if demand wanes.
He said the company has a lot of flexibility in the fleet in that the company has a little over 100 unencumbered aircraft that it could ground or sell if the demand environment were such that it didn't make sense to fly those planes.
An industry insider familiar with planning at the biggest carriers said other airlines are also talking about idling aircraft, if fuel prices continue to skyrocket.
Another industry expert said bigger airlines like United, American Airlines, and Northwest Airlines historically have had flexibility with their aircraft.
Cargonews Asia
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