Discount airliner, AirTran Airways (NYSE:AAI), announced that it plans to eliminate 480 jobs in order to combat rising fuel prices. The cuts will consist of 180 pilots and 300 flight attendants. The company will offer "early out" packages to employees who have been with the carrier for more than 5 years, which will include some medical and flight benefits for a limited period of time to those who accept them. AirTran expects the reductions to save the company an estimated $16 million. Share of Airtran were up 34 cents to $2.22 in afternoon trading.

Contact Chip Brian

SmarTrend analyzes over 5,000 securities simultaneously throughout the trading day and provides its subscribers with trend change alerts in real time. To get a free trial of our trading calls and maximize your trading results, please visit http://www.TradeTheTrend.com.

Get exclusive, actionable insight into how the market is expected to trend prior to market open with our free morning newsletter. Sign up at www.TradeTheTrend.com/signup.html