US carrier United Airlines will ground 100 aircraft and axe 17% of its network by the end of the year, as the high oil price brings carriers mounting losses.
Most of the cuts will be in the US, but United will also reduce its international network by up to 5% by next year – although services from Heathrow are unlikely to be affected.
The cuts will be accompanied by up to 1,100 job losses on top of 500 redundancies announced in April.
United president and chief executive Glenn Tilton said: “We are taking aggressive steps that reflect the current market reality. This environment demands the industry act decisively.”
The move follows a 12% reduction in flying announced by American Airlines last week.
United pulled out of a proposed merger with rival US Airways at the end of last week saying the costs would outweigh savings during a deepening downturn in the industry.