DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

U.S. passenger airlines employed 6.9% fewer workers in January than they did a year earlier, the seventh-consecutive decline and biggest fall since December 2003, according to the Department of Transportation.

That string of cutbacks put January's total at 390,000 workers, the lowest since 1993, the department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics said. The calculations count two part-time employees as one full-time employee.

Airlines are slashing capacity as consumers cutting back their spending take fewer trips. Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) said earlier this month it would cut international capacity another 10%, likely the opening salvo of future similar announcements from other carriers.

The bureau said all the legacy airlines' employment numbers fell, as did low-cost carriers including AirTran Holdings Inc.'s (AAI) AirTran Airways and regional carriers including AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American Eagle Airlines.

The employment cuts come as airlines are slashing capacity as consumers cutting back their spending take fewer trips. Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) said earlier this month it would cut international capacity another 10% amid the worsening economy, likely the opening salvo of future similar announcements from other carriers.

The seven network carriers' employment decreased 6.3%, its fifth straight decrease after 16 consecutive months of year-over-year growth. The category includes Delta and its recent merger partner Northwest Airlines, UAL Corp.'s (UAUA) United Airlines, AMR's American Airlines, US Airways Group Inc. (LCC), Continental Airlines Inc. (CAL) and Alaska Air Group Inc.'s (ALK) Alaska Airlines.

Low-cost carriers' employment fell 3.1%, although a few, such as Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) reported increases. Regional carriers reduced employment by 7.1%.

The BTS reported earlier this month that U.S. airlines' on-time and baggage-handling performance improved in January as cancellations fell.

-By Kerry E. Grace, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5089; kerry.grace@dowjones.com