Flights Continue to Destinations Customers Fly Most; Operations Control
Center; Maintenance Base Remain in Pittsburgh
TEMPE, Ariz., Oct. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- US Airways (NYSE: LCC)
today announced it plans to reduce mainline flying in January from 31 to 22
daily flights, focusing on customers' preferred destinations, as the
airline continues to maximize the financial stability of its Pittsburgh
operation. As part of the new schedule, regional flying to smaller cities
is expected to be reduced from 77 to 46 daily flights. Most of the expected
reductions for smaller cities reflect decisions that we expect to be made
by independent regional carriers that develop their own plans and
schedules. These carriers have not finalized their schedules so the overall
level of Express flying may change.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050223/LAW097LOGO)
With the reduced schedule, the airline's flight crew base will close
and approximately 500 pilots and flight attendants will now bid for trips
that originate from other domiciles within the US Airways system. Also with
the new schedule, US Airways mainline airport agents and ramp employees
will take over customer service and ground-handling duties for 350 US
Airways Express employees at wholly owned carrier PSA Airlines, Inc. Those
Express employees, along with about 100 US Airways mainline airport
employees, will be offered jobs elsewhere throughout the US Airways system.
"We've worked very carefully over the past two years to make the right
decisions at Pittsburgh for our customers and the airline as a whole,
always mindful of the impact those decisions may have on our employees,"
said Doug Parker, US Airways chairman and CEO. "Unfortunately our ability
to operate profitably from Pittsburgh has been sharply eroded over the past
few years and the hub lost more than $40 million over the past 12 months
alone. We need to acknowledge the economic realities of today and move
forward so that our Pittsburgh service provides a positive contribution to
our system as a whole. Even after these flight reductions, US Airways will
still fly more flights to more cities from Pittsburgh than any other
airline.
"This was a very difficult decision, primarily because of the impact it
has on an outstanding group of US Airways and PSA employees. We are
committed to ensuring that all affected employees are treated fairly and
compassionately. We are offering jobs elsewhere on the US Airways system to
all affected ground employees, and those who choose not to accept such a
move will be offered severance pay," Parker said.
The airline reaffirmed its commitment to build a new 600-employee
Operations Control Center at Pittsburgh, and the airline will continue to
employ 730 mechanics at its heavy maintenance base at the Pittsburgh
airport. "US Airways has a proud history in Pittsburgh and will continue to
be a major employer in the area," Parker said.
The airline's reduced schedule, which takes effect Jan. 6, 2008, is
highlighted below.
Customers
Customers will continue to fly to the most popular destinations from
Pittsburgh, including larger East and West Coast business markets such as
Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington, D.C., and Raleigh-Durham,
and US Airways hubs in Philadelphia, Charlotte, N.C. and Phoenix. Non-stop
service to Florida will also continue. The expected reductions for smaller
cities reflect decisions that we expect to be made by independent regional
carriers to reduce flying. About half of the expected reductions will be
made by regional carriers that operate as independent franchises. See the
attached schedule for a complete list.
Employees
There will be no pilot or flight attendant furloughs as a result of
today's announcement, but the closing of a crew base means pilots and
flight attendants who live in Pittsburgh and fly trips that originate in
Pittsburgh will now bid for schedules that originate in other bases,
including Charlotte, Philadelphia, New York LaGuardia, Boston and
Washington, D.C. The airline expects that most, if not all,
Pittsburgh-based pilots and flight attendants will continue to live in
Pittsburgh and commute to these other bases to fly their schedules.
The US Airways mainline ground jobs will be eliminated and those
employees will be offered jobs elsewhere throughout US Airways' system.
Approximately 350 employees of US Airways' wholly owned subsidiary PSA,
which operates as US Airways Express, will also be offered jobs elsewhere
in the airline's system or be placed on furlough.
The airline will continue to be a major employer in Pittsburgh with
approximately 1,800 jobs remaining in the area as part of the airline's
heavy maintenance base, operations control center and remaining airport
personnel.
Facilities
Today the airline leases 29 gates and with the new schedule, its gate
usage requirements will be lower. US Airways will meet with PIT airport
officials in the near future to discuss its current and future space
requirements. The airline will maintain its frequent flyer club, heavy base
maintenance operation and operations control center in Pittsburgh.
About US Airways
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.
-LCC-
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 June 30, 2007,
which is available at http://www.usairways.com.
US Airways Pittsburgh January Schedule At-A-Glance
Total US PIT Departures by Destination
Markets 10/3/07 January Change
Hartford* 4 3 (1)
Bradford* 1 0 (1)
Nashville* 2 0 (2)
Boston 4 4 0
Clarksburg* 1 0 (1)
Charlotte 6 8 2
Charleston, WV* ^ 3 0 (3)
Washington, National 8 6 (2)
Denver 1 0 (1)
Du Bois* 3 0 (3)
Erie 1 0 (1)
Newark* 2 4 2
Franklin* 2 0 (2)
Ft. Lauderdale 1 1 0
Washington, Dulles* 2 0 (2)
Indianapolis 2 2 0
Jamestown* 2 0 (2)
Johnstown* 4 0 (4)
Las Vegas 2 2 0
Los Angeles 1 1 0
New York, LaGuardia 6 8 2
Lewisburg* 1 0 (1)
Orlando 2 2 0
Harrisburg 2 2 0
Morgantown* 2 0 (2)
Chicago, O'Hare 3 0 (3)
Norfolk 2 0 (2)
Philadelphia 10 10 0
Phoenix 2 2 0
Parkersburg* 3 0 (3)
Providence* 3 3 0
Raleigh Durham* 4 3 (1)
Richmond* 4 2 (2)
Louisville* 3 0 (3)
San Francisco 1 1 0
St. Louis* 4 3 (1)
Syracuse* 2 0 (2)
Tampa 1 1 0
Toronto 1 0 (1)
Total 108 68 (40)
* Represents an assumption of an independent decision
that we believe will be made by our regional partners
^ Discontinued by Colgan on 11/3/07
Affiliate
Markets Remaining Market Exits Decision - TBD
Hartford* Charleston, WV*^ Bradford
Boston Denver Nashville
Charlotte Erie Clarksburg
Washington, National Chicago, O'Hare Du Bois
Newark* Norfolk Franklin
Fort Lauderdale Toronto Washington, Dulles
Indianapolis Jamestown
Las Vegas Johnstown
Los Angeles Lewisburg
New York, LaGuardia Morgantown
Orlando Parkersburg
Harrisburg Louisville
Philadelphia Syracuse
Phoenix
Providence*
Raleigh Durham*
Richmond*
San Francisco
St. Louis*
Tampa
* Assuming independent regional partners continue to operate
^ Discontinued by Colgan on 11/3/07
Schedule Changes - October 3, 2007 to January 2008
Mainline Flying
10/3/2007 January Change
Boston 3.0 0.0 (3.0)
Charlotte 6.0 6.0 0.0
Washington, National 1.5 0.5 (1.0)
Denver 1.0 0.0 (1.0)
Fort Lauderdale 1.0 1.5 0.5
Las Vegas 2.0 2.0 0.0
Los Angeles 1.0 1.0 0.0
New York LaGuardia 3.5 1.5 (2.0)
Orlando 2.0 2.0 0.0
Chicago O'Hare 1.5 0.0 (1.5)
Philadelphia 4.5 3.5 (1.0)
Phoenix 2.0 2.0 0.0
San Francisco 1.0 1.0 0.0
Tampa 1.0 1.0 0.0
Total 31.0 22.0 (9.0)
US Controlled Express
10/3/2007 January Change
Boston 1.0 4.0 3.0
Charlotte 0.0 2.0 2.0
Washington, National 6.0 5.5 (0.5)
Newark 2.0 0.0 (2.0)
Erie 1.0 0.0 (1.0)
Indianapolis 2.0 1.0 (1.0)
New York LaGurdia 3.0 6.5 3.5
Harrisburg 2.0 2.0 0.0
Chicago O'Hare 2.0 0.0 (2.0)
Norfolk 1.0 0.0 (1.0)
Philadelphia 5.0 6.0 1.0
Toronto 1.0 0.0 (1.0)
Total 26.0 27.0 1.0
SOURCE US Airways
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Related links:
http://www.usairways.com
Photo Notes:
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AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
CONTACT:
Media Relations of US Airways,
+1-480-693-5729
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