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NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) - Atlas Air (NYSE:CGO - news) is maintaining the delivery programme for four 120 tonne capacity Boeing Co (NYSE:BA - news) 747-400 freighters due in 2002, a company spokeswoman said on Thursday.
She was responding to questions by Reuters after the carrier said on Tuesday it was taking six of its 37 Boeing 747 freighters out of service until airfreight market conditions returned to normal.
Atlas is cutting 200 groundstaff after laying off 105 flightcrew on May 11 and is taking a $40 to $50 million second quarter charge.
"The four jets are still on order,'' said Atlas spokeswoman Vicki Foster. The jets were ordered before the downturn in the global airfreight market, which has become more acute in the last two months.
Foster added the carrier was still considering purchases of medium-range freighters -- Boeing 767s or Airbus A300 -- which would be used on lower capacity routes.
Atlas also continues to be interested in the 150 tonne capacity Airbus Industrie A380, which could be available from 2008 onwards, she said.
In April, Richard Shuyler, the air cargo carrier's chief executive officer, said Atlas would make its decision on whether to buy A380s in six months.
Atlas Air is a unit of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. It leases its freighters to other major airlines on ACMI (aircraft, crew maintenance, insurance) basis to provide extra cargo lift, but has been hit by sharply lower demand.
"Not only are our customers no longer flying at levels that exceed guaranteed minimums, but many are having difficulty in even achieving those minimums,'' CEO Richard Shuyler said on June 19.
Of significance is the fact that Atlas did not cut any AACS jobs and is stll going through with the formation of GSS, and the multi-million dollar hangar construction in MIA (even though they don't have a base down here any more due to the cuts). NONE of the VP's were given their walking papers and NO ONE in management took any cut in salary. Go back to your golf game.