Jul. 9 -- American Airlines is eliminating 79 jobs at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and cutting a third of its flights, as it attempts to deal with sky-high fuel costs.
The airline, which notified the state of Florida on Tuesday, plans to furlough 46 baggage handlers and crew chiefs; 31 gate and ticket agents; one manager and one support staffer, by Sept. 5.
The cuts come as American eliminates all three of its Fort Lauderdale departures to San Juan, P.R., both of its daily flights to Nassau and its only service to Los Angeles, said American spokesman Tim Wagner.
The airline, which ranks as the seventh-largest carrier at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, has 16 daily departures from the Broward airport. It will have 11 in November, when it adds another frequency to Chicago, Wagner said.
"We're really focusing on our hub and spoke system," he said. "We're reducing capacity because of the high cost of fuel, and by being able to flow traffic through our hubs, you consolidate passengers on flights."
In all, American is cutting 221 jobs in Florida, Wagner said.
The airline is the latest carrier at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood to disclose cutbacks. Last Friday, Spirit Airlines said it will eliminate 250 jobs at its five bases, and cut 6 percent of its capacity this fall, though it said flight cancellations at Fort Lauderdale would be negligible.
Two weeks ago, United Airlines said it is pulling out of both Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach at the end of the summer and cutting 66 jobs -- including 50 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood -- as it tries to eliminate its least profitable routes amid spiraling fuel costs.
United, which operated four daily Ted flights out of Fort Lauderdale and one out of Palm Beach, is exiting the markets on Sept. 2 as part of its plan to cut 14 percent of its mainline domestic capacity in the fourth quarter.
Similarly, American said in May that it would cut fourth-quarter domestic capacity by 11 to 12 percent and American Eagle capacity by 10 to 11 percent.
In a memo to employees in late June, American said it "is reducing flights at all its principle operations, except Miami."
Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas-Fort Worth and New York's LaGuardia airports will be hardest hit, with dozens of American and American Eagle flights slashed at each.
From Miami, where American bases its Latin American and Caribbean hub, the airline is cutting only one flight -- to Barranquilla, where it is eliminating service. At the same time, it is adding new flights to Grenada and Antigua. American and American Eagle, combined, will have 256 departures from MIA this November, Wagner said.
"Miami will become even a bigger focus for us in serving that region," he said.
