United Airlines
Filed for bankruptcy: Dec. 9, 2002
Length of time in bankruptcy: 38 months
Capacity changes: 20 percent fewer airplanes; trimmed capacity by 8 percent
Job cuts: 30 percent fewer employees, about 58,000
Wage/benefit cuts: Terminated defined-benefit pensions; average pay for pilots, mechanics and ground workers dropped about 35 percent; flight attendants’ average pay declined 20 percent
End result: The carrier cut $7 billion in annual expenses. United became the largest airline in the world when it completed its merger with Continental Airlines in 2010.
Delta Air Lines
Filed for bankruptcy: Sept. 14, 2005
Length of time in bankruptcy: 19.5 months
Capacity changes: Shrank fleet by 11 percent to 578 aircraft, reduced domestic capacity by 16 percent
Job cuts: 17 percent fewer employees, about 47,000
Wage/benefit cuts: Terminated pilot pension plan; average pilot pay declined 38 percent; average pay for flight attendants, mechanics and ground workers dropped by 18 to 21 percent
End result: Fended off a hostile takeover bid by US Airways while restructuring in court. But within a year of emerging from bankruptcy, Delta announced it was merging with Northwest Airlines, making it now the second-largest carrier in the world.
Northwest Airlines
Filed for bankruptcy: Sept. 14, 2005
Length of time in bankruptcy: 20.5 months
Capacity changes: Cut total capacity by 6 percent; disposed of 15 percent of its aircraft, leaving 371
Job cuts: 17 percent fewer workers, about 30,000
Wage/benefit cuts: Average pay for pilots, ground crew and flight attendants declined by 8 to 15 percent while mechanics took the biggest hit, 41 percent
End result: The carrier merged with Delta Air Lines about a year after exiting bankruptcy.
US Airways
Filed for bankruptcy: Aug. 11, 2002, and again Sept. 12, 2004
Length of time in bankruptcy: seven months the first time, about 12.5 months the second time
Capacity changes: From its first bankruptcy until it emerged from its second, the carrier cut only 5 percent of capacity but shed 25 percent of its fleet to 358 aircraft
Job cuts: 32 percent fewer workers, about 21,000
Wage/benefit cuts: Mechanics and ground crew were hit the hardest, with average pay down 30 percent. Pilots took a 21 percent cut, while flight attendants’ average pay remained flat. Pensions were terminated.
End result: The carrier exited bankruptcy the second time when it merged with America West. It is the fifth-largest carrier of domestic passengers.
Source: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/12/02/3567526/how-four-other-airlines-have-fared.html#ixzz1fgnm4DBp