The holiday travel season is just weeks away, and its been notoriously difficult to navigate major airports like LAX around this time in recent years.
This year, things might be even harder as a couple of the most-traveled airlines in the U.S. are reportedly having financial struggles.
The first of which, Southwest Airlines, has announced that it is offering an employee buyout program across more than a dozen U.S. airports, including four in Southern California.
The airline says the voluntary buyouts will help it “avert overstaffing in certain locations.” In Southern California, the affected airports will be LAX, John Wayne International Airport, Long Beach Airport and Hollywood-Burbank Airport.
Those who choose to accept the buyout will finish their jobs by the end of this year. Offers are expected to go out this week.
It’s not immediately clear how the downsizing will affect Southwest’s operations. It wasn’t clear if layoffs would be next, after the buyouts.
The news was initially reported by airline blogger JonNYC.
Another airline in financial turmoil is Spirit Airlines. The budget airline has recently gone through two failed mergers, one with JetBlue that was blocked by a federal judge, and another with fellow budget-friendly Frontier Airlines which fell through after JetBlue presented a larger bid..
Now, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, Spirit is in “advanced” talks for a possible chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
That news comes after the airline announced it would cut jobs and sell jets in an attempt to cut costs.
The company’s stock plummeted after the potential bankruptcy news grabbed the attention of traders.
It’s not yet clear how the decision could affect Spirit’s future.
The airline struggles, however, could bring trouble to holiday travelers ahead of the busiest season of the year for flying. Potential consequences could include delays, due to lower workforces, and less flight options for consumers, leading to higher prices.
The holiday travel season is just weeks away, and its been notoriously difficult to navigate major airports like LAX around this time in recent years. This year, things might be even harder as a couple of the most-traveled airlines in the U.S. are reportedly having financial struggles. The first of which, Southwest Airlines, has announced […]
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