United Airlines will cut a flight attendant position from some of its international aircraft in a drive to improve efficiency and keep costs in check. The carrier will reduce the number of cabin crew by 1 on long-haul flights operated with Boeing 757-200, Boeing 767-400ER, Boeing 777-200, and Boeing 787-8 and -9 aircraft from Feb 1, 2019, says United's VP of inflight services John Slater in a letter to staff. At the same time, it will add 1 crew member to 777-300ER flights when "loads permit". The changes, he says, will allow United to "operate more efficiently and align with our peers". The new staffing numbers on long-haul 757, 767, 777 and 787 flights will match those on American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, says Slater. United has committed to reducing or keeping unit costs excluding fuel flat through 2020. <br/>
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South African Airways can’t be shut down or sold now, because the govt would get nothing for the loss-making carrier and all its state-guaranteed debt would have to be settled immediately, president Cyril Ramaphosa said. “You would possibly have to pay somebody to take it out of your hands,” Ramaphosa said in response to a lawmaker’s question in parliament in Tuesday. “In the end we have got to stabilise SAA.” Options under consideration include attracting a strategic equity partner for SAA, according to the president. Finance minister Tito Mboweni last week said he favours shutting SAA down and establishing a new airline to take its place. <br/>