Emirates grounds crew in effort to cut costs

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Updated: 20:53 EST, 2 April 2009

The savage downturn in the airline sector continues to take its toll on Dubai-based operator Emirates, which revealed it is offering cabin crew up to six months' unpaid leave from May. 

Efforts to cut staffing costs come just weeks after the carrier announced it is pulling the giant A380 'super-jumbo' from the Dubai to New York route because of waning demand.

Emirates hopes that about 700 of its 12,000-strong cabin crew will take up the offer of leave.

Struggling Emirates has asked staff to take leave to remove the financial burden

Staff can take a minimum of four weeks, up to a maximum of six months, and they may be recalled for duty by the company at a week's notice.

An Emirates spokesman said: 'Combined with a sharp drop in cabin crew attrition, we now find ourselves in a position to be more flexible as an employer.' 

However, not all staff are being offered time off, with limited slots available depending on seniority and the type of aircraft the crew member is trained to operate on.

The whole airline industry has been hammered by a toxic cocktail of rising costs and falling sales, leaving many companies fighting for survival.