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New York: Continental Airlines has said it will cut 3,000 jobs and retire 67 older planes as part of cutbacks fuelled by recent oil price rises.
The move comes days after fellow US carrier United Airlines announced cuts and a month after American Airlines decided to slash jobs and flight.
The airline said it would retire the old Boeing 737s, replacing some of them with more fuel efficient newer models.
However, Continentals fleet size will still drop from 375 to 344 by the end of 2009.
It also plans to reduce the number of flights it operates by around eight per cent later this year, with more details expected to be announced next week.
A joint letter written by Larry Kellner, Continental's chief executive, and
Jeff Smisek, its president, said: "The airline industry is in a crisis. Its business model
doesn't work with the current price of fuel and the existing level of capacity in the marketplace. We need to make changes in response."
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