American Airlines is cutting 921 flight attendant jobs as it deals with an ongoing downturn in traffic and lower revenue. The airline said yesterday that the cuts will take effect on October 1.

American, the second-largest United States airline, said 228 employees will be furloughed - laid off but with rehiring rights - and the company will put 244 more on leave for two months. Another 449 will take voluntary options such as leave.

Nearly half of the flight attendants to be furloughed are based at New York's LaGuardia Airport. The airline said it planned to cut 1,200 flight attendant jobs but was able to reduce the number by adjusting staffing requirements for the winter.

The airline said in June that it would cut jobs as it reduced flights to meet lower travel demand.

American said yesterday that of the 228 furloughs, 105 would be at LaGuardia, 67 at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, 25 in Boston, 17 in St Louis and 14 at Reagan National near Washington.

Voluntary leave

The workers' union, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said it had worked with the company to avoid even more layoffs by offering employees voluntary leave and the two-month forced absences.

"What was going to be 1,200 jobs lost has been limited to 228," said union President Laura Glading.

The 244 employees who will be placed on "involuntary overage leave" won't work in October and November, when air traffic is expected to be very weak. They will return to work in December, the union said.

American's traffic plunged 10 per cent in the first half of this year compared to the same period of 2008, as the recession grounded many travellers. The airline's woes were compounded by a steep drop in high-paying business travellers. Second-quarter revenue at parent AMR Corporation tumbled 21 per cent from a year ago.