Airline positioned to take delivery of 60 replacement narrowbody A320
family of airplanes beginning in 2010
Deal includes firm orders for 32 widebody aircraft including 22 A350 XWBs
Affirms US Airways' fleet of modern aircraft for the future while reducing
fleet types and complexity
TEMPE, Ariz., June 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- US Airways (NYSE: LCC)
has agreed to terms with Airbus S.A.S. for 60 single-aisle A320-family
aircraft and 32 widebody aircraft, including the next generation A350 XWB.
The A320-family planes would replace 60 older aircraft in the airline's
fleet.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050223/LAW097LOGO)
The airline is also reaffirming its commitment to the A350 widebody
program by increasing its previously announced order of 20 A350s by two to
22 A350 XWBs in both the -800 and larger -900 series configuration. This
allows for modest international expansion or replacement of existing older
technology aircraft should market conditions warrant.
The airline expects to take delivery of the first A350-800 in 2014,
becoming the North American launch customer for the fleet type, featuring
Rolls Royce engines. Purchase rights for additional planes are included,
allowing for the eventual retirement of all other widebody jets and leaving
the airline with a single intercontinental fleet type of A350 XWBs.
Today's announcement also includes 10 A330-200 aircraft with deliveries
starting in 2009 and flexibility to convert to A330-300 or longer range
A340s.
The new A330-200s share fleet commonality with US Airways' fleet of
nine existing A330-300s, but with a longer range and slightly smaller
seating capacity. Finally, these deliveries will facilitate the eventual
retirement of US Airways' B767 fleet.
The transaction also includes 60 A320-family aircraft with deliveries
beginning in 2010.
Increased commonality in the US Airways fleet will be substantial. By
2012, more than 80 percent of the narrowbody fleet will be Airbus
A320-family aircraft. All three core types of the A320-family fleet are
included in the firm order.
US Airways currently holds firm orders for 37 A320 family aircraft for
delivery in 2009 and 2010, increasing total commitments to the plane type
to 97. Classic Boeing 737-300/400s will be eliminated from the fleet as the
A320s are delivered. The narrowbody fleet count is expected to remain
stable.
Doug Parker, US Airways Group, Inc. chairman and chief executive
officer said, "We are very pleased to once again partner with Airbus. This
transaction sets the stage for the next generation of the US Airways fleet,
which will be among the youngest and most efficient in the U.S. airline
industry. We're very excited about the A350 program and have every
confidence that Airbus will manufacture a truly innovative and
revolutionary aircraft.
"We know that all of these aircraft will serve customers and employees
well for many years to come," Parker said.
US Airways President Scott Kirby added, "After much analysis we
concluded the A320 family is the perfect replacement for our retiring
narrowbodies, and the expanded widebody order is consistent with our needs
to both replace current aircraft and expand modestly internationally. These
new planes will improve economic efficiencies by not only reducing fuel
consumption but fleet complexities, which will lower maintenance costs,
streamline training and help realize flight crew synergies, specifically
with cockpit commonality."
"This new widebody order also allows US Airways to continue development
of our international gateway in Philadelphia as well as new service from
our other primary hubs with two to three new international destinations per
year being added across the globe. The A350 XWB will have significantly
longer range and payload capabilities but much lower costs than the A330s
and 767s they replace, opening up new profitable markets across the globe
to Asia, the Middle East and India," Kirby added.
"US Airways operates the largest A320-family fleet in the world, so the
benefits of Airbus aircraft are already well known to the airline and its
millions of passengers," said Airbus President and C.E.O. Louis Gallois.
"We are very pleased to partner with US Airways as they modernize their
fleet of single-aisle and long-range aircraft and create new travel and
shipping options for their customers."
The order is contingent upon execution of definitive purchase
agreements, expected in the coming weeks.
US Airways is the fifth largest domestic airline employing more than
36,000 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 network, which offers our customers 16,000 daily flights to 855
destinations in 155 countries worldwide. This press release and additional
information on US Airways can be found at http://www.usairways.com. (LCCG)
-Fly with US-
Forward Looking Statement
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 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31,
2006, which is available at http://www.usairways.com.
SOURCE US Airways
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Related links:
http://www.usairways.com
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NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050223/LAW097LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
US Airways, +1-480-693-5729
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