US Airways
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| Founded | 1939 (as All American Aviation) | ||||||
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| Hubs | |||||||
| Focus cities | |||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Dividend Miles | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance | ||||||
| Subsidiaries | Piedmont Airlines PSA Airlines | ||||||
| Fleet size | 362 | ||||||
| Destinations | 231 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Tempe, Arizona | ||||||
| Key people | Doug Parker (CEO) Scott Kirby (President) Robert Isom (COO) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.usairways.com | ||||||
US Airways, Inc. is the sixth largest airline in the United States. A member of the Star Alliance, it has a fleet of 357 mainline jet aircraft and 329 regional jet and turbo-prop aircraft connecting 240 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Europe. As of May 2008, US Airways employs 36,632 people worldwide and operates 3,512 daily flights (1,392 US Airways Mainline, 2,120 US Airways Express as of May 2008). The US in US Airways represents "United States". The airline was known previously as USAir from 1979 to 1996. It was purchased by America West in 2005; although the combined group is now run from America West's base in Tempe, Arizona, and has adopted some of its business practices, the merged airline uses the US Airways brand, and the parent company is now known as US Airways Group.[1][2][3]
US Airways operates hubs in Charlotte, Philadelphia and Phoenix. US Airways also maintains focus city operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, DC, McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, LaGuardia Airport in New York, and Logan International Airport in Boston.[4]
The airline operates the US Airways Shuttle, a US Airways brand which provides hourly service between key Northeastern markets. Regional airline service is branded as US Airways Express, operated by contract and subsidiary airline companies.
History
Heritage
US Airways traces its history to All American Aviation Company, a company founded by du Pont family brothers Richard C. du Pont, Alexis Felix du Pont, Jr. and CEO Steven Gardner. Hubbed in Pittsburgh, the airline served the Ohio River valley in 1939. In 1949, the company was renamed All American Airways as it switched from airmail to passenger service. The company was again renamed, to Allegheny Airlines, in 1953.
Allegheny expanded progressively, introducing the Douglas DC-9 in 1966 and absorbing Lake Central Airlines in 1968 and Mohawk Airlines in 1972 to become one of the largest carriers in the northeastern United States and sixth largest airline in the world as measured by passenger boardings.[5]
But with expansion came growing pains: by the 1970s Allegheny Airlines had earned the nickname "Agony Air" due to customer dissatisfaction with the carrier's service.[6]
Allegheny's agreement with Henson Airlines, the forerunner to today's US Airways Express carrier Piedmont Airlines, to provide service under the Allegheny Commuter banner, is generally regarded as the industry's first code-share agreement,[citation needed] a type of service now routinely offered throughout the industry.
The birth of USAir
Allegheny changed its name to USAir in 1979 following the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act the previous year, which enabled the airline to expand its route network into the southeastern United States. In the early 1980s, its routes in the Northeast were fed by Ransome Airlines, among others. Later, USAir acquired San Diego-based PSA (Pacific Southwest Airlines) and Winston-Salem, NC-based Piedmont Airlines in 1987 and 1988. At that time, the airline consolidated its headquarters at Washington National Airport into a new building at Crystal City in Arlington County, Virginia, adjacent to National Airport. Maintenance and operations remained based at its Pittsburgh International Airport hub.
USAir was a launch customer for the Boeing 737-300, as the airline needed an aircraft with greater capacity to serve its rapidly growing Florida markets. USAir was the world's largest operator of DC-9 aircraft at the time and approached McDonnell Douglas to negotiate a new airplane design. However, in the late 1970s, the McDonnell Douglas' proposed successor to the DC-9-50 did not suit USAir's requirements. After the negotiations with McDonnell Douglas broke down, Boeing came forward with a proposed variant of the 737. USAir selected the new 737 aircraft, and the company worked closely with Boeing during its development, taking delivery of the first plane on November 28, 1984.
1980s: mergers and expansion
USAir expanded dramatically in 1987, when it purchased San Diego-based Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) and Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based Piedmont Airlines. The mergers gave the airline hubs in Baltimore, Charlotte, Syracuse, and Dayton, as well as prized routes to the West Coast and Piedmont's transatlantic routes to London Gatwick Airport. While Dayton was a hub for USAir for several years following the Piedmont merger, only Baltimore and Charlotte remained hubs later on. When the Piedmont acquisition was completed in 1989, it was the largest merger in airline history, and USAir became one of the world's largest airlines, operating more than 5,000 flights daily.
1990s: rebranding, fleet modernization, and failed sell-off
In the early 1990s, USAir expanded its service to Europe with new flights to London, Paris and Frankfurt from its four primary hubs. The company formed new partnerships, marketing the Trump Shuttle as the "USAir Shuttle" and accepted a large investment from British Airways that started one of the first transatlantic airline alliances. During this period several 767 aircraft were painted in the British Airways livery, but operated by USAir.[7][8] It also invested heavily in a new terminal at its hub at Pittsburgh.
In 1996, USAir closed its relationship with British Airways and announced its re-branding as US Airways. It expanded its flights to Europe through the end of the decade and bought-out the remains of Trump Shuttle in 1997. That same year, the airline introduced a single-class subsidiary service known as MetroJet, which attempted to compete with low-cost carriers expanding into the East, in particular Southwest Airlines.
On November 6, 1996, just following the re-branding to US Airways, the airline placed an order for up to 400 Airbus A320-series narrow body aircraft, with 120 firm orders at the time of the order signing. At the time, the order was regarded as the largest bulk aircraft request in history. In 1998, the airline followed with an order for up to 30 Airbus A330-series or A340-series wide-body aircraft, with an initial firm order for seven of the A330-300 airliners. These orders enabled US Airways to replace its older aircraft with newer, more efficient aircraft, and it helped with the re-branding and repositioning efforts of US Airways.
Although the airline returned to profitability in the mid-1990s, its route network's concentration in the U.S. Northeast and high operating costs prompted calls for the company to merge with another airline. On May 24, 2000 US Airways announced plans to be acquired for $4.3 billion by UAL Corp., the parent company of United Airlines, the world's largest commercial carrier at the time. The complex deal drew immediate objections from labor unions, consumer advocates and antitrust regulators. Negotiations stalled; with both airlines losing money, and the deal all but certain to be blocked by the federal government, UAL withdrew its purchase offer on July 27, 2001, paying US Airways a $50 million penalty for withdrawing from the deal.
2001-2004: September 11th and financial woes
Beginning in 2000, US Airways started retiring aircraft in an attempt to simplify its fleet to lower costs, replacing many of its older planes with the new A320-family aircraft.
As the largest carrier at Washington-Reagan, US Airways was disproportionately impacted by that airport's extended closure following the September 11 terrorist attacks. The resulting financial disaster precipitated the closure of the airline's MetroJet network, which led to the de-hubbing of the subsidiary's primary operating base at Baltimore-Washington International Airport and the furloughing of thousands of employees. The airline entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 11, 2002, but received a government-guaranteed loan through the Air Transportation Stabilization Board and was able to exit bankruptcy in 2003[9] after a relatively short period. The airline made major cost reductions during its bankruptcy, but it still encountered higher-than-average per-seat-mile costs. On October 19, 2005, the airline repaid the government-guaranteed loan by refinancing the debt with other lenders.
In early 2003, US Airways management liquidated the pensions of its 6,000 pilots by releasing their pensions into the federal pension program Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. The company was one of the first major airlines to eliminate pilots' pensions in order to cut costs.
Following a trial run of selling in-flight food in 2003, US Airways discontinued free meal service on domestic flights later that year.
2003-2004: Pittsburgh hub conflict
In late 2003-early 2004, US Airways lobbied for lower operating fees at Pittsburgh International Airport, citing its economies of scale as the primary carrier and largest tenant at the airport. US Airways attempted to leverage its adverse cash position and red ink in the years following 9/11 to negotiate better financial terms with the airport. The Allegheny County Airport Authority rejected US Airways' demands for reduced landing fees and lower lease payments, in part due to antitrust and FAA regulations that required the airport operator to extend the same financial terms to all carriers if it accepted US Airways' demands. US Airways threatened to move traffic to rival hubs in Philadelphia and Charlotte, and the airline made good on its threat in November 2004, reducing its flights at Pittsburgh International Airport from primary-hub to secondary-hub status. The airline, led by former America West CEO Doug Parker, continued to demote Pittsburgh International Airport in subsequent years until it became only a focus city airport for the company.[10] Pittsburgh today serves as merely the smallest focus city for Us Airways with 70 flights a day, compared to 2001 when it was a fortress hub with 500+ flights a day.
2004-2005
In August 2004, US Airways attempted to build a Latin American gateway at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood, announcing service to 10 cities in Latin America and the Caribbean. The attempt was largely unsuccessful and short-lived, in part due to Fort Lauderdale’s close proximity to American Airlines’ hub at Miami International Airport and its extensive Latin American network. US Airways also began a process of de-emphasizing its hub-and-spoke system to capitalize on direct flights between major eastern airports such as Washington-Reagan, New York-LaGuardia, and Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood. This emphasis on more direct flights has been undertaken by many airlines of late, as an attempt to capitalize on highest-profit routes, and is a system modeled after lower-cost Southwest Airlines' operations, a system (ironically) that most U.S. airlines had used until the mid-1980s.
The airline became the 15th member of the Star Alliance on May 4, 2004.
Fuel costs and deadlocked negotiations with organized labor (chiefly the Air Line Pilots Association, that was traditionally the first group to come to a concessionary agreement) forced US Airways into a second round of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection proceedings on September 12, 2004. Widespread employee discontent and a high volume of employee sick calls were blamed by the airline for a staff shortage around the 2004 Christmas holiday, a public relations disaster which led to speculation that the airline could be liquidated; the USDOT, however, found that the problems were caused primarily by poor airline management.
US Airways/America West Airlines merger
Even before the second bankruptcy filing of 2004, one of the alternatives US Airways Group explored to address its problems and return to profitability was a possible merger with America West Holdings. The parties held preliminary discussions about a possible transaction and conducted due diligence during the period from February through July 2004. Ultimately, these discussions ended due to the parties’ view that a number of issues, including those related to labor, pension and benefit costs, made a merger impracticable.
In December 2004, in anticipation of US Airways Group’s success in significantly restructuring its labor costs, US Airways Group’s investment advisor, The Seabury Group LLC, began considering potential transactions involving the company and other entities. During this period, executives of US Airways Group and America West Holdings discussed the possibility of resuming discussions concerning a business combination transaction. US Airways Group considered the potential benefits that could be achieved from joining two airlines with complementary networks and similar labor costs as US Airways Group hoped to lower its labor costs during its Chapter 11 proceedings.
Beginning in January 2005, US Airways Group and America West Holdings resumed discussions. Both parties conducted due diligence and each management group met separately and together up until May 2005.
US Airways Group’s board of directors convened a special meeting on May 18, 2005, to consider approval of the merger agreement and related agreements. After presentations by US Airways Group’s outside legal and financial advisors, the board of directors of US Airways Group approved the merger agreement and related agreements. On May 19, 2005, both airlines officially announced the merger deal on their respective websites.
"On September 27, 2005, the effective date of the merger, Barbell Acquisition Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of US Airways Group newly organized to effect the merger, merged with and into America West Holdings. Through this transaction, America West Holdings became our wholly owned subsidiary. For accounting purposes only, the merger was accounted for as a “reverse acquisition” using the purchase method of accounting in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Although the merger is structured so that America West Holdings became our wholly owned subsidiary at closing, America West Holdings will be treated as the acquiring company for accounting purposes in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards, or SFAS, No. 141, “Business Combinations.”[2]. Reverse acquisitions are typically used to bring an existing companies stock (America West Holdings) to the new entity without having to go through the lengthy and difficult IPO process. At the effective time of the merger, shares of America West Holdings common stock owned by US Airways Group, America West Holdings or any of their respective subsidiaries, except for shares that were beneficially owned by third parties, were cancelled and retired without payment of any consideration therefor and ceased to exist.
US Airways Group announced its merger with Arizona-based America West Holdings Corporation (parent company of America West Airlines), whose market strength in the West would complement US Airways' established routes in the Northeast, Europe and Caribbean. The new airline entity retained the US Airways name to emphasize its national scope, as well as to capitalize on US Airways brand's worldwide recognition, Dividend Miles frequent flyer program and participation in the Star Alliance program. Equity partners in the merger included Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation and ACE Aviation Holdings.
The merger resulted in a change of control by former US Airways executives as the new US Airways is headquartered at the former America West corporate offices in Tempe, Arizona, and America West executives and board members are largely in control of the merged company. The merger with America West Airlines included the consolidation of all the new comany's aircraft under the US Airways certificate, which was completed in September 2007, approximately two years following the merger announcement. (For the initial merger announcement, click here. Also, see: Merger with US Airways Group for additional information.)
- On September 13, 2005, America West shareholders voted to approve the merger agreement, with 95.5 percent of shareholders approving the transaction.
- On September 16, 2005, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia approved US Airways' Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization, clearing the way for the merger to close on September 27, 2005, in conjunction with US Airways Group's emergence from bankruptcy.
- On September 27, 2005, the merger of the two holding companies was completed, and the combined airline branded itself as the "World's Largest Low-Fare Airline."
Post 2005 merger
During 2006 the airline began consolidating its operations under the US Airways brand; operations are expected to be fully integrated by 2007 after government approval allowing the airlines to operate under a single operating certificate. Until this happens, the former America West aircraft and destinations are operated under a separate certificate and by separate crews, but the flights are marketed and sold as US Airways. Check-in counters are still maintained for both US Airways and America West, but most only display US Airways signage.
In January 2006, the airline began consolidating its operations under the US Airways brand, and all America West flights became branded as US Airways flights.
On February 9, 2006, US Airways announced that it would become the first US-American "legacy" carrier to add the Embraer 190 to its mainline fleet.
In May 2006, the US Airways and America West web sites were merged. The new US Airways web site unites the two brands using graphics and styles reflective of the airline's new livery and services.
In July 2006, US Airways and America West ordered 20 new Airbus A350 aircraft.
The end of 2006 saw US Airways making a bid for competitor Delta Air Lines, which opposed this bid and takeover by US Airways. The final bid was valued at $10 billion but was withdrawn on January 31, 2007, since US Airways failed to secure backing from Delta's creditors. The airline has stated that it will no longer pursue a possible takeover of Delta.[11]
Most pre-merger US Airways aircraft were equipped with Verizon Airfone at every row of seats. Since Verizon ended this service, the airline has deactivated the service and as of 2007, removed the phones or have covered them in all aircraft.
Michael Miller, a member of The Velocity Group, an airline consulting firm, said that he approves of Parker's handling of the merger. [12]
During the night of March 4, 2007, the US Airways and America West computer reservation systems merged. US Airways, which previously used the Sabre airline computer system, switched to the new QIK system, an overlay for the Shares system, which is based on the Amadeus computer reservations system, that had been used by America West. A few of the features from the Sabre system were incorporated into the new joint system, with the most prominent being the continued utilization of the Sabre ramp partition "DECS" for all computer functions related to weight and balance, aircraft loading and technical flight tracking within the company. Former America West employees were fully trained and migrated to the old East system on September 25, 2007.[citation needed]
America West Airlines completely merged into the US Airways certificate on September 25, 2007, which formally ended the America West brand. Former America West employees (including pilots, fleet service personnel, flight attendants and mechanics) remain on their original America West union contracts and have not completely combined work forces with their pre-merger US Airways counterparts. Former America West aircraft still largely fly with their respective crews and use the call sign "CACTUS", while the former pre-merger US Airways crews primarily fly with their respective aircraft and still use the call sign "US AIR". In addition, flights operated using former America West aircraft and crews are numbered 1-699, whereas flights operated by pre-merger US Airways aircraft and crews are numbered 700-1999. (Flights numbered 2000-2199 are shuttle services, and those 2200 and higher are operated by express subsidiaries.) [citation needed] Aircraft operated by pre-merger US Airways crews or former America West crews flew under two different United States Department of Transportation operating certificates until September 25, 2007. However, until pilot union groups from both sides sucessfully negotiate a single contract, each group of pilots will fly only on its pre-merger airlines' aircraft and the flights will be marked accordingly.
Now that the computer systems are merged, former America West-operated flights are marketed as though America West was a wholly owned carrier. This marketing is common practice for airlines that have code-share agreements with other airlines operating aircraft for feeder or regional routes, and although the practice is uncommon for major airlines, it greatly simplifies the process for passengers connecting between historically US Airways-operated flights and former America West-operated flights.
In summer 2007, US Airways began upgrading its in-flight services, from food and entertainment to the training of flight attendants. The airline was planning to test-market a new seat back entertainment system in early 2008, however the 2008 fuel crisis has ended those plans. As a further result of the skyrocketing fuel costs, the airline is now rolling back the planned summer 2007 service upgrades as well as ending its existing in-flight entertainment on all domestic routes.[13]
2007
A Consumer Reports survey of 23,000 readers released in June 2007 ranked US Airways as the worst airline for customer satisfaction. The survey was conducted before the airline's March 2007 service disruptions. A follow-up survey polling a smaller sample size, conducted in April 2007, found that US Airways remained in last place, with its score actually dropping an additional 10 points.[14] Also in 2007, the Today/Zagat Airline Survey rated US Airways as the worst airline overall in the United States, ranking it 10/30 for comfort, 5/30 for food, 10/30 for service, and 15/30 for its online reservations system.[15] On August 1, 2008, US Airways ceased providing their passengers with complimentary beverages, including water. Passengers must now purchase bottled water or soda for $2 US, or $1 US for coffee and tea.[16]
US Airways ranked last out of 20 domestic airline carriers for systemwide on-time performance in March, April and May of 2007, according to US Department of Transportation figures.[17][18][19] According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics June 2008 report (using data from May 2008), US Airways ranked 7th for percentage of on-time arrivals.
US Airways is the leader in service complaints with 4.4 complaints per 100,000 customers[20]. US Airways rate of customer complaints is 7.5-times the rate of JetBlue (0.59 complaints per 100,000 customers) and 11-times the rate of Southwest (0.4 complaints per 100,000 customers)[20]. US Airways has a very poor record of addressing customer complaints, answering only 50% of the telephone calls to its customer service department[21].
US Airways east pilots are taking steps to dump their ALPA membership and form their own in-house union.[22] Pre-merger US Airways "East" pilots are unhappy with the results of binding arbitration that they entered into willingly. When the arbitrator's ruling did not give them sufficient advantage over the former America West ("West") pilots, the East pilots sought to make the arbitration unbinding by opting out of APLA. East pilots (3,200) outnumber west pilots (1,800) and the proposed union's president has stated that the union has a sufficient number of requests to force a vote.[23] The new union would be called the US Airline Pilots Association (USAPA). On April 17th, 2008, USAPA was voted in as the sole bargaining agent for the pilots of US Airways, East and West.
As of September 2007, US Airways continued to downgrade Pittsburgh International Airport's status from 500 flights a day (with 12,000 employees) in 2001 to just 68 flights a day (with only 1,800 employees). CEO Doug Parker stated its frustration with PIT being an unprofitable airport and that more cuts may be on the way. This represents a further deterioration of a strained relationship with Allegheny County, with which the airline shares significant historical ties.[24] US Airways Group Inc. said October 3,2007 it would cut mainline flights at Pittsburgh International Airport to 22 a day from 31 and reduce regional flights to 46 a day from 77, beginning January 6, 2008, essentially reducing the airport to a destination spoke in its network.[25] Pittsburgh is no longer a focus city for the airline as of its most recent annual report and January 2008 flight schedule reductions.
On September 25, 2007 US Airways was awarded a route by the DOT to serve Beijing from Charlotte via Philadelphia[26] This marks the first direct route to China from Philadelphia, scheduled to begin in March 2009. US Airways has threatened to withdraw the proposed route, however, if Philadelphia International Airport allows Delta Air Lines to enter Terminal A East. [27]
On September 26, 2007 US Airways received Single FAA certification.[28]
On October 29, 2007, US Airways announced it will apply for daily nonstop service between Charlotte and Bogotá, Colombia when the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) begins selecting carriers for 21 new weekly flights to the South American nation.[29] The carrier has since lost this bid.
On November 11, 2007, US Airways announced nonstop service between Philadelphia and London's Heathrow Airport.
2008
On April 25, 2008, it was reported that US Airways was in talks to merge its operations with either American Airlines or United Airlines, partially as a response to the recent Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines merger. [30] Then, on April 28, 2008, reports stated that US Airways would announce its intent to merge with United within two weeks.[31] At the end of May 2008, the airline announced that merger talks were formally ended. [32]
On June 6, 2008, US Airways announced that it cannot aggressively furlough aging 737 Classic aircraft (as United and Continental have announced) due to minimum fleet size requirements imposed on it by labor unions.[33]
Slogans
USAir– "Fly the USA on USAir"
USAir (late 80s)– "USAir is Your Choice"
USAir (early 90s)– "USAir Begins With You"
US Airways (early 2000s)– "Fly the Flag"
US Airways (post-first bankruptcy)– "Clear Skies Ahead"
US Airways (Post Merger)– "Fly with US"
Destinations
US Airways operates 3,512 flights a day to 231 destinations in 30 countries from its hubs in Phoenix, Charlotte, and Philadelphia.
US Airways' routes are primarily concentrated along the East Coast of the United States, Southwestern United States and the Caribbean, with a number of routes serving Europe and primary destinations along the U.S. West Coast. The airline's western U.S. presence has increased dramatically following the merger with America West. Codesharing with United Airlines has helped US Airways by enabling the airline to offer its customers service throughout the Midwest, Great Plains and Rocky Mountain states. Services to South America, Asia and Australia also are offered via the United Airlines codeshare. Likewise, United passengers benefit from increased access via US Airways to the U.S. East Coast, Europe and the Caribbean. US Airways Express carriers operate a large number of domestic routes, primarily into US Airways' hubs and focus cities, but with some exceptions, particularly small markets where the regional express carriers operate service under the EAS program, as well as some point-to-point commuter routes in the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions and south through the Carolinas. In February 2007, the airline announced that its official operations center would be located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
On July 16, 2007 US Airways announced it had applied to the Department of Transportation for nonstop service between Philadelphia and Beijing. If approved, the flights would begin in March 2009 and would utilize Airbus A340 aircraft that would originate in Charlotte using a Boeing 767.[34] On September 25, 2007 The Department of Transportation stated that it tentatively had awarded US Airways the Charlotte-Philadelphia-Beijing route to begin on March 25, 2009,[35] however the airline recently asked the USDOT for permission to delay the flight by one year, partly due to the 2008 fuel crisis[36].
On November 11, 2007, US Airways announced nonstop service between Philadelphia and London's Heathrow Airport, its first-ever service to that airport. The airline will retain its existing nonstop service between Philadelphia and London Gatwick, as well as between Charlotte and London Gatwick.
Also in 2007, the airline applied for flights to Bogotá, Colombia (proposed to start in 2008 from Charlotte), however its application was denied by the US Department of Transportation after the agency awarded Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, and Spirit Airlines the routes from Delta's New York-JFK hub, JetBlue from Orlando, and Spirit from Fort Lauderdale.
As of 2008, US Airways and other airlines have struggled with the price of fuel. Despite that, US Airways CEO Doug Parker said "It is our international gateway. We'd like to expand that, the airline hopes to add three international flights next summer (2009), including to Tel Aviv" from Philadelphia.[37]
New routes
US Airways will begin service from the following cities to their listed destinations beginning on the date indicated. Some routes listed below may already be operated by US Airways or its regional affiliates.
Philadelphia (PHL)
- Beijing, China (PEK), begins Spring 2010
Discontinued routes
The following mainline routes are scheduled to be discontinued in 2008. Some routes, however, may continue to be served by code-share mainline and/or US Airways Express carriers. While the three hubs are having a handful of flights cut, the most notable is the major downgrade of Las Vegas to a focus city.
Charlotte (CLT)
Philadelphia (PHL)
- Santo Domingo (SDQ), ends September 6
Phoenix (PHX)
- Eugene (EUG), ends October 1st
- Medford (MFR), ends September 2
- Oklahoma City (OKC), ends September 2
Las Vegas (LAS) [3]
- Atlanta (ATL), ends August 19
- Austin (AUS), ends August 29
- Eugene (EUG), ends September 30
- Medford (MFR), ends September 2
- Puerto Vallarta (PVR), ends August 30
- San Antonio (SAT), ends August 29
Fleet
US Airways operates a fleet of 357 twinjets, divided between mostly newer Airbus aircraft and generally older Boeing aircraft.[38] As of March 2007, the post-merger airline operated the largest fleet of Airbus aircraft in the world.[39] US Airways has a fleet average age of 12.3 years as of April 2008.[40]
US Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft as of April 13, 2008:
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers (First-Envoy*/Economy) |
Routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 93 | 4 orders | 124 (12/112) | North American / Caribbean | Largest operator of Airbus A320 family |
| Airbus A320-200 | 75 | 49 orders | 150 (12/138) | North American / Caribbean | Deliveries: 2010-2012 Replacing: Boeing 737 Family Largest operator of Airbus A320 family |
| Airbus A321-200 | 29 | 36 orders | 183 (16/167) | North American / Caribbean | Deliveries: 2008-2010 Largest operator of Airbus A320 family |
| Airbus A330-200 | None | 25 orders (2 options) |
264 (20*/244) | Transatlantic | Entry into service: 2009 Some orders transferable to Airbus A340-300[41] |
| Airbus A330-300 | 9 | None | 288 (29/259) | Caribbean / Transatlantic | First row: Envoy Sleeper Seats |
| Airbus A350-800XWB | None | 18 orders | Entry into service: 2014 | ||
| Airbus A350-900XWB | None | 4 orders | Entry into service: 2013 | ||
| Boeing 737-300 | 41 | None | 126 (12/114) 134 (8/126) |
North American | Exit from service: 2008-2012 Replacement aircraft: Airbus A320 Family |
| Boeing 737-400 | 40 | None | 144 (12/132) | North American | Exit from service: 2008-2012 Replacement aircraft: Airbus A320 Family |
| Boeing 757-200 | 42 | None | 193 (8/185) 176 (12/164) 190 (14/176) |
North American / Caribbean Transatlantic / Hawaii |
Winglets installed on ETOPS aircraft |
| Boeing 767-200ER | 10 | None | 204 (18/186) | North American / Transatlantic | Long-term replacement plan Replacement aircraft: Airbus A350-800 |
| Embraer 190 | 20 | 5 orders (32 options) |
99 (11/88) | North American | Replacing: Boeing 737 Family |
Retired
Retired aircraft flown by USAir or US Airways included:
| Aircraft | Year Retired | Replacement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fokker F28-4000 | 1997 | US Airways Express Fleet | |
| Fokker F28-1000 | 1997 | US Airways Express Fleet | |
| BAC 1-11 | 1989 | Boeing 737 and US Airways Express Fleet | |
| Boeing 727-100 | Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 Family Aircraft | ||
| Boeing 727-200 | 2000 | Airbus A320 Family Aircraft | |
| Boeing 747-200 | 1994 | Used by America West for its routes to Japan and Hawaii | |
| Boeing 737-200 | 2001/2005 | Airbus A320 Family Aircraft | US Airways 737-200 aircraft retired 2001, America West aircraft retired January 2005. |
| Douglas DC-9-30 | 2001 | Airbus A320 Family Aircraft | |
| Fokker F100 | 2002 | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-80 | 2002 | Airbus A320 Family Aircraft |
What's behind the Fleet? Where did all the different aircraft come from?
At times, US Air and US AIRWAYS have operated a very disorganized fleet of aircraft. For example, just prior to September 11, 2001, US Airways operated twelve different aircraft types: Fokker 100s, DC9s, MD80s, B737-200s, B737-300s, B737-400s, B757-200s, B767-200s, A319-100s, A320-200s, A321-200s and A330-300s all at once. Aircraft from the same family types may differ from each other. The reason behind this is that troughout the different mergers, each of the airlines that merged with the company brought their own aircraft configured to their specifications. Additionally, some of the airlines that merged with US Air and US Airways purchased and leased aircraft that previously operated at other airlines. The A320 family for example; US AIRWAYS east obtained all of theirs directly from Airbus. America West, on the other hand, has an array of A320s that were obtained from different airlines around the world. All east A320s (except the ones delivered after 2008) came with powerports on their seat rows. A320s from AWA do not.
The differences of the aircraft are only visible from the inside. 757s within the America West fleet vastly differ from each other. Everything from locations of the Lavatories and galley configurations is different. Add the US AIRWAYS 757's (partly from Eastern) to that, and there you have another array of differently configured 757.
The current 737-300 fleet at America West is from all over the world. Some have air vents, some don't. US Air's 737-300 come from either US Air or Piedmont Airlines.
File:US AIRWAYS Fleet History.jpg
Livery
US Airways has operated various liveries under both the US Airways and USAir names. In general, the Express and Shuttle divisions have had liveries that closely paralleled the company-wide livery at the time.
Cabin
Envoy Sleeper Seats
Envoy Sleeper Seats are marketed as Envoy Class, US Airways' International Business Class, although they were considered International First Class-only before US Airways discontinued three-cabin service in 2001. When fully reclined, the sleeper seats are fully horizontal, forming a bed that is completely flat. There are six of the seats per aircraft, on the Airbus A330 only. Each has a personal on-demand video screen attached to the arm rest that offers movies, games and syndicated television shows in multiple languages. There is also an EmPower power outlet at each of the seats. Other Sleeper Seat amenities, including food and beverage services, are identical to those in the rest of Envoy Class.
Envoy Class
US Airways' International Business Class. These seats do not offer the significant recline of the Sleeper Seats, however on Airbus A330 aircraft, every seat has a personal on-demand video screen attached to the arm rest that offers movies, games and syndicated television shows in multiple languages, and there is an EmPower power outlet at each seat. On Boeing 767 and Boeing 757 Transatlantic flights, the airline is introducing personal video and audio entertainment devices with on-demand entertainment options. During this transition, some B757 and B767 aircraft have personal video screens with seven channels at each Envoy Class seat. Previously, there were no electric power outlets on the B767, however the airline is working to add 110 volt adapter-free AC power outlets. Some B767 aircraft also have been reconfigured with new lie-flat seats in Envoy Class featuring additional leg room. The airline offers complimentary food and beverage service for all Envoy Class seats.
Domestic First Class
Domestic first-class service is available on all US Airways-operated aircraft and available via free upgrades to Preferred members, with a seat pitch ranging from 35 to 38 inches and a seat width ranging from 20 to 21 inches. Complimentary wine, beer and spirits are offered, along with snacks including cookies, chips and cashews. Meals are provided on flights of 3.5 hours or longer. An EmPower power outlet is available at every first class seat on Airbus aircraft, but is not yet available on aircraft formerly operated by America West.
Economy Class
Economy class is available on all aircraft, with a seat pitch ranging from 30 to 33 inches and a seat width ranging from 17 to 18 inches. On A330 (and coming soon to Boeing 767 and wingletted 757 aircraft), every seat has a personal video screen located in the forward seat back that includes movies, games and syndicated television shows in multiple languages. On all other Airbus and some Boeing aircraft, there are overhead monitors mounted every three rows or so. All overhead monitors will be removed by November 1, 2008. They will eventually be replaced with PTV. An EmPower power outlet is available on some Airbus aircraft, but is not yet available on planes formerly operated by America West.
Dividend Miles
In addition to US Airways partner airlines in the Star Alliance, the Dividend Miles program other partner airlines or programs include:
- Air One
- Bahamas Air
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Jordanian Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic Airways
America West Airlines had a frequent flyer program called FlightFund. Following the US Airways-America West merger, FlightFund was merged into the US Airways Dividend Miles program.
Airport Lounges
US Airways Club
The airline's airport lounge is called the US Airways Club and features 20 lounges in 15 airports across the US, as well as one location at London Gatwick in the UK. Club membership has several levels, including:
- Base– Includes access only to the US Airways Clubs.
- Red Carpet– Includes US Airways Clubs and adds access to United Airlines Red Carpet Clubs when traveling on a United Airlines ticket.
- Star Alliance– Includes US Airways Clubs, United Airlines Red Carpet Clubs, and all Star Alliance partner airline clubs.
Locations
Envoy Lounge
In addition to the US Airways Clubs, there is one Envoy Lounge located in Philadelphia International Airport for Envoy Class passengers. The Envoy Lounge includes upgraded amenities including free alcohol. All passengers with an Envoy Class or Star Alliance Business Class ticket are admitted at no charge. Those with a Star Alliance First Class ticket are admitted and also allowed one guest (traveling on a Star Alliance carrier).
US Airways has codeshare agreements with the following airlines as of July 2008:[42]
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Note: This list includes Star Alliance (SA) partners.
Former agreements
- American Airlines (Codeshared with US Airways in the 90s)
- Big Sky Airlines (Ceased operations March 8, 2008)
- British Airways (Codeshared with both US Airways [1993-1997] and America West Airlines[43] at different times)
- Caribbean Sun (Ceased to exist when the airline shut down on January 31, 2007)
- Continental Airlines (Codeshared with America West Airlines[44]) and ended the agreement on May 1, 2002, citing low code-shared flight sales.)
- Lufthansa (Codeshared in the 1990s with US Airways prior to the formation of the Star Alliance with a three-year break until US Airways joined the Star Alliance.)
- Qantas (Codeshared with both US Airways in the 90s and America West Airlines before the merger; and after the merger with the combined US Airways/America West Airlines and ended the agreement February 28, 2007 due to Qantas being in the competing Oneworld airline alliance)
- Northwest Airlines (Codeshared with America West Airlines on flights from Asia)
- Windward Islands Airways (Codeshared with US Airways program has been suspended indefinitely)[citation needed]
Air Canada
Incidents and accidents
The incidents and crashes listed below include only those of US Airways and US Air (and not predecessor or merger airlines such as Allegheny, PSA or America West; or partnering regional commuter airlines operating US Airways flights under the brand US Airways Express).
| Flight | Date | Aircraft | Location | Description | Injuries | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | Uninjured | |||||
| 499 [4] | February 21, 1986 | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 | Erie, Pennsylvania | Overran snow covered runway | 1 | 22 | ||
| 5050 [5] | September 20, 1989 | Boeing 737-401 | Flushing, New York, New York | Deflection of rudder during takeoff | 2 | 3 | 18 | 40 |
| 1493 [6] | February 1, 1991 | Boeing 737-3B7 | Los Angeles, California | ATC controller separation error | 34 | 13 | 17 | 37 |
| 405 [7] | March 22, 1992 | Fokker 28-4000 | Flushing, New York, New York | Improper deicing procedures | 27 | 9 | 12 | 3 |
| 1016 [8] | July 2, 1994 | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 | Charlotte, North Carolina | Windshear during missed approach | 37 | 16 | 4 | |
| 427 [9] | September 8, 1994 | Boeing 737-3B7 | Hopewell Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania | Uncommanded rudder deflection | 132 | |||
| [10] | October 16, 2003 | Airbus A319-112 | Tampa, FL | Failure of brake steering control unit (BSCU) during taxi | 1 | 2 | 103 | |
Community support
US Airways gives back to the communities in which it has major operations.
Do Crew
The US Airways Do Crew program is the airline's employee community-service program. Employee volunteers in the program participate in community-based projects on a monthly basis through local chapters in Boston, Charlotte, Las Vegas, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Washington, DC and Winston-Salem.
See also
References
- ^ January 2008 Passenger Airline Employment Up 3.4 Percent from January 2007, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, March 16, 2008
- ^ Lean Production in the Air: Low-cost Competition Taking Off in the Global Airline Industry and Implications for Employment Relations, Nancy Johnson, Labor and Employment Relations Association Series, Proceedings of the 58th Annual Meeting
- ^ Woellert, Lorraine (2005-01-05). "The Ups and Downs at US Airways". BusinessWeek.'
- ^ US Airways System Fact Sheet.
- ^ "US Airways, Chronology". 2008-28-07. Retrieved 2008-28-07.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Hoover's profile of US Airways, Company History". Hoover's. 2007-09-07. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ US Air 767 in British Airways Livery at airliners.net
- ^ Search of US Air Planes in British Airways Livery at airliners.net.
- ^ "Congratulations, US Airways. Now What?, Scorecard 7," Unisys
- ^ Dismantling Pittsburgh: Death of an airline hub
- ^ Gilbertson, Dawn (2007-02-01). "US Airways' hopes dashed". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Stouffer, Rick. "After America West merger, US Airways flying right," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
- ^ Gilbertson, Dawn (2007-04-15). "Glitches cloud US Airways' outlook". The Arizona Republic.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Best airlines for today's busy skies". Consumer Reports. July 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
- ^ Zagat Survey 2007 Guide to U.S. Airlines
- ^ "Starting Today, No More Free Water on US Air". Wall Street Journal. August 1, 2008.
- ^ BTS | Airlines On-Time Performance in April Better Than March But Slips From Previous Year
- ^ BTS | Airlines On-Time Performance in May Better Than April But Slips From Previous Year
- ^ BTS | Airlines On-Time Performance in March Better Than February But Slips From Previous Year
- ^ a b Mutzabaugh, Ben (2007-10-04). "US Airways tops for complaints". [USA Today]. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
US Airways scored the lowest with 4.4 complaints per 100,000 customers. That was double its rate from a year ago
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Alexander, Keith (2006-08-01). "US Airways To Tackle Complaints". [Washington Post]. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
The correspondence, mostly complaints, is piling up at the airline's Tempe, Ariz., headquarters... Only about 50 percent of customer service phone calls are now getting answered
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Gibbons, Christia (2007-28-27). "US Airways pilots at odds over contract". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^
Reed, Ted. "US Airways Pilots to Seek New Union". TheStreet.com. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ US Airways' Pittsburgh market share under 40 percent– Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
- ^ "US Airways cutting Pittsburgh service". Pittsburgh Business Times. 2007-10-03. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "US Airways Awarded New China Route Airline plans to begin its first-ever non-stop service to Beijing from its Philadelphia hub in 2009". US Airways.}
- ^ Belden, Tom (2007-11-07). "US Airways Plays its China Card". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "US Airways Receives Single FAA Certification" (Press release). US Airways. 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "US Airways Announces Intention to Seek Bogota, Colombia– Charlotte, N.C. Service" (Press release). US Airways. 2007-10-29. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "[1], " Reuters
- ^ 'http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24352806/'
- ^ "US Airways-United Merger is 'off at this time' http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-05-30-usair-united_N.htm
- ^ http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200806061535DOWJONESDJONLINE000813_FORTUNE5.htm
- ^ US Airways Launches Bid for Philadelphia-Beijing Flights One-Stop Service from Charlotte Proposed
- ^ DOT awards US Airways Philadelphia-Beijing Flights
- ^ US Airways seeks delay of Phila.-Beijing service
- ^ US Airways CEO: We'll get through the turmoil | Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/20/2008
- ^ US Airways System Fact Sheet (May 2008)
- ^ US Airways Become Largest User of AIRMAN – Airbus’ Real-Time Maintenance Tool (Airbus: January 11, 2007)
- ^ Fleet age US Airways– Airfleets
- ^ US Airways expands Airbus A330 aircraft order Airbus.com
- ^ US Airways Codeshare partners
- ^ British Airways ends code-share with America West ended on December 31, 2005 Cheapflights.co.uk.
- ^ Continental Ends Ticket Alliance With America West The New York Times Online Archives
External links
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