Officials with Fort Worth-based American Airlines say 20,000 crew members are facing furloughs in two weeks and they're not the only airline with staff cuts on the horizon.
The $25 billion aid package Congress approved back in March only stops job cuts through the end of September. That means, come Oct. 1, tens of thousands of people could be furloughed.
Airline CEOs and executives met with White House officials today to discuss additional federal aid. They're pushing for $25 billion to last through March.
"The bailout money could cushion the blow, but long-term, what happens is going to be determined by the demand for air travel," says Mike Davis with SMU's Cox School of Business. "What's going to happen to the employees is really going to depend on whether air travel comes back or not. We can't pay people not to work, we can't pay airlines to fly half empty."
Davis says if people don't start flying again, airlines will have to regroup ... and that's whether or not they get more money from the government.
