Sale Planned as Part of Overall Diversification Strategy
TEMPE, Ariz., Feb. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- US Airways (NYSE: LCC)
announced today that PAR Investment Partners, L.P. (PAR), US Airways'
largest shareholder, has sold a total of 6.5 million shares of its 13.5
million shares of US Airways stock as part of its portfolio diversification
strategy. PAR was an original investor in US Airways' merger with America
West in September of 2005 and subsequently acquired additional shares in
early 2006 in two private transactions.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050223/LAW097LOGO )
After this sale, PAR Investment Partners will remain one of US Airways'
largest investors and US Airways will remain the largest position within
PAR's investment portfolio. In addition, PAR Capital Management Vice
President Edward Shapiro will retain his seat on the US Airways' Board of
Directors.
"US Airways has created significant value for its shareholders and we
remain optimistic about the Company's future. However, at this juncture, it
is prudent for us to liquidate a portion of our investment in order to
diversify our portfolio," said Paul Reeder, President of PAR Capital
Management.
Shapiro added, "We have tremendous respect for the management team at
US Airways and are pleased with the merger integration efforts thus far. US
Airways has a solid business plan and a strong balance sheet, and I look
forward to continuing to serve on the Board."
Chairman and CEO Doug Parker said, "PAR was the first investment firm
to recognize the potential of the US Airways / America West merger and
played a key role in allowing us to attract the investment necessary to
complete the transaction. We couldn't be more pleased to see them realize a
significant return on that investment. In addition, we have benefited
greatly, and will continue to benefit, from Ed Shapiro's presence on our
Board. Ed has been a part of the aviation community for nearly 20 years and
has tremendous analytical insight into industry fundamentals. We value his
presence and look forward to his continued strategic counsel."
US Airways is the fifth largest domestic airline employing more than
37,000 aviation professionals worldwide. US Airways, US Airways Shuttle and
US Airways Express operate approximately 3,800 flights per day and serve
more than 230 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and
Latin America. The new US Airways -- the product of a merger between
America West and US Airways in September 2005 -- is a member of the Star
Alliance, which provides connections for our customers to 841 destinations
in 157 countries worldwide. This press release and additional information
on US Airways can be found at http://www.usairways.com. (LCCG)
Forward Looking Statements
Certain of the statements contained herein should be considered
"forward- looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may be
identified by words such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "indicate,"
"anticipate," "believe," "forecast," "estimate," "plan," "guidance,"
"outlook," "could," "should," "continue" and similar terms used in
connection with statements regarding the outlook of US Airways Group, Inc.
(the "Company"). Such statements include, but are not limited to,
statements about expected fuel costs, the revenue and pricing environment,
the Company's expected financial performance and operations, future
financing plans and needs, overall economic conditions and the benefits of
the business combination transaction involving America West Holdings
Corporation and US Airways Group, including future financial and operating
results and the combined companies' plans, objectives, expectations and
intentions. Other forward-looking statements that do not relate solely to
historical facts include, without limitation, statements that discuss the
possible future effects of current known trends or uncertainties or which
indicate that the future effects of known trends or uncertainties cannot be
predicted, guaranteed or assured. Such statements are based upon the
current beliefs and expectations of the Company's management and are
subject to significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the
Company's actual results and financial position to differ materially from
the Company's expectations. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are
not limited to, the following: the impact of high fuel costs, significant
disruptions in the supply of aircraft fuel and further significant
increases to fuel prices; our high level of fixed obligations and our
ability to obtain and maintain financing for operations and other purposes;
our ability to achieve the synergies anticipated as a result of the merger
and to achieve those synergies in a timely manner; our ability to integrate
the management, operations and labor groups of US Airways Group and America
West Holdings; labor costs and relations with unionized employees generally
and the impact and outcome of labor negotiations; the impact of global
instability, including the current instability in the Middle East, the
continuing impact of the military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan and the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the potential impact of future
hostilities, terrorist attacks, infectious disease outbreaks or other
global events that affect travel behavior; reliance on automated systems
and the impact of any failure or disruption of these systems; the impact of
future significant operating losses; changes in prevailing interest rates;
our ability to obtain and maintain commercially reasonable terms with
vendors and service providers and our reliance on those vendors and service
providers; security-related and insurance costs; changes in government
legislation and regulation; our ability to use pre-merger NOLs and certain
other tax attributes; competitive practices in the industry, including
significant fare restructuring activities, capacity reductions and in court
or out of court restructuring by major airlines; continued existence of
prepetition liabilities; interruptions or disruptions in service at one or
more of our hub airports; weather conditions; our ability to obtain and
maintain any necessary financing for operations and other purposes; our
ability to maintain adequate liquidity; our ability to maintain contracts
that are critical to our operations; our ability to operate pursuant to the
terms of our financing facilities (particularly the financial covenants);
our ability to attract and retain customers; the cyclical nature of the
airline industry; our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel;
economic conditions; and other risks and uncertainties listed from time to
time in our reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission. There may be
other factors not identified above of which the Company is not currently
aware that may affect matters discussed in the forward-looking statements,
and may also cause actual results to differ materially from those
discussed. All forward-looking statements are based on information
currently available to the Company. The Company assumes no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect actual
results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting such
estimates. Additional factors that may affect the future results of the
Company are set forth in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the
Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended Sept. 30,
2006, which is available at http://www.usairways.com.
-LCC-
SOURCE US Airways
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http://www.usairways.com
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CONTACT:
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