SEATTLE — United Airlines is closing its flight-attendant base in Seattle at the end of January, the airline informed the flight-attendant union Tuesday. United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said 264 flight attendants based here are affected.
“We recognize that closing any domicile places a hardship on those who live in that location,” the airline said in a statement sent to the Association of Flight Attendants union.
The statement added that “it simply does not make economic sense” to maintain the Seattle base. The flight attendants will be offered the option to relocate to San Francisco, the airline said.
United has been the main loser as rival airline giant Delta has ramped up capacity at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport over the past year, going head to head with dominant local carrier Alaska Airlines.
For this year through August, Sea-Tac data show United’s passenger traffic at the airport was down 7 percent compared with the previous year.
In January, United canceled its transpacific nonstop from Seattle to Tokyo, ceding the route to Delta and to its Star Alliance partner airline, All Nippon Airways of Japan.
Last month, United also announced steeper than usual cuts to its domestic services during the winter months ahead.