Continental Airlines said on Thursday it would cut 3,000 jobs, or about 6.5 percent of its work force, and retire 67 older planes as it scales down in the face of high fuel prices.
Continental is the latest of the major US airlines to announce large cutbacks as they grapple with unprecedented fuel prices. On Tuesday, United Airlines announced plans to cut jobs and flights, following a similar move by American Airlines last month.
Continental said it would cut 3,000 of its 45,000 staff, and retire 67 single-aisle Boeing 737 planes by the end of 2009, on top of the six planes it has already pulled out of service this year.
The airline said it would replace some of those older jets with deliveries of new, more fuel-efficient 737s. Its mainline fleet of about 375 planes would shrink to about 344 by the end of next year, an overall cut of about 8 percent.
It said it would cut flights after the summer season, reducing domestic capacity by about 11 percent in the fourth quarter.
