DALLAS — Major airlines outlined plans Tuesday to slow growth and cut costs to deal with higher fuel prices and the prospect of an economic slowdown that could hurt air travel.
Executives for some carriers said they are actively planning for airline mergers, although they were careful not to discuss specific combinations.
“We are not standing around waiting for consolidation to happen. We’re interested in that,” said Jake Brace, United Airlines’ chief financial officer.
Brace said United, a unit of UAL Corp., has no plans to expand its flying in the highly competitive U.S. market but intends to expand about 15 percent internationally over the next three years.
Delta Air Lines Inc. is looking to boost international flying from 25 percent of capacity in 2005 to 40 percent next year.
After heavy losses from 2001 through 2005, U.S. airlines have returned to profitability. They had a great summer-vacation season.
Third-quarter earnings were the best in several years, as planes were nearly full and passengers paid higher average fares than they did in the summer of 2005.
But the big traditional carriers are facing ever-tougher competition from low-cost carriers who are expanding rapidly and holding down fares. Executives of the big carriers warned that their comeback is threatened by high fuel costs and uncertainty over the economy.
“We are concerned about growing evidence of slowing economic growth that would inevitably affect passenger demand, coupled with a surge in energy prices,” said Southwest Airlines Co. chief executive Gary Kelly.
