Australian carrier Virgin Blue will cut 28 of its 330 domestic flights from its daily schedule as part of its efforts to reduce operating costs.
The changes will take effect from May 7 and will see the withdrawal of five aircraft. Four hundred affected staff have been offered leave without pay, shorter hours or transfers to international airline V Australia.
The airline emphasised that it had cut overcapacity on certain services rather than axing any routes.
Flight changes have been posted on its website
Meanwhile, SriLankan Airlines has slashed its flights to India by half as a result of sharply declining passenger demand.
A SriLankan official said that the airline would operate only 51 flights a week to Indian destinations compared to the current 100 flights. The official said that the airline would restore the flights once demand returned.
Kenny Coyle
