US Airways

US Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country. US Airways operates major hubs in Charlotte, Phoenix and Philadelphia and maintains focus city operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

A member of the Star Alliance, the airline has a fleet of 347 mainline jet aircraft and 319 regional jet and turbo-prop aircraft connecting 200 destinations in North America, South America, Europe and the Middle East.

The airline was acquired by America West Airlines in 2005, with the new airline retaining the US Airways name. The name choice was based on studies indicating that the US Airways name had better brand recognition worldwide than the America West name.

The carrier operates the US Airways Shuttle, a US Airways brand which provides hourly service between Boston, New York and Washington, D.C. Regional airline service is branded as US Airways Express, operated by contract and subsidiary airline companies. As of December 2008, US Airways employed 33,765 people worldwide and operated 3,130 daily flights (1,312 US Airways Mainline, 1,818 US Airways Express as of December 2008).

Present

US Airways operates a fleet of 347 twinjets, divided between mostly newer Airbus aircraft and generally older Boeing aircraft. As of March 2007, the post-merger airline operated the largest fleet of Airbus aircraft in the world. Like the old America West fleet, most new Airbus A320 family will use IAE Engines. US Airways has a fleet average age of 11.74 years as of January 2010. US Airways discontinued all in-flight entertainment except on long haul flights. However, Wi-Fi will be offered on a trial basis on a select fleet of Airbus A321 aircraft.

US Airways/America West merger

Even before the second bankruptcy filing of 2004, one of the alternatives US Airways Group explored was a possible merger with America West, as the two airlines had complementary networks and similar labor costs. The parties held preliminary discussions and conducted due diligence from February through July 2004. Ultimately, these talks ended due to issues related to labor, pension, and benefit costs.

By December 2004, US Airways had cut labor costs significantly. Its investment adviser, the Seabury Group, suggested putting the airline up for sale. The following month, US Airways Group and America West Holdings resumed their discussions. On May 19, 2005, both airlines officially announced the merger deal, structured as a reverse takeover. Financing for the deal was supplied by outside investors including Airbus, an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, the European aerospace consortium. Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation, operator of numerous US Airways Express flights, and ACE Aviation Holdings, the parent company of Air Canada, also bought shares in the combined airline. The merged airline retained the US Airways name to emphasize its national scope, as well as to capitalize on US Airways' worldwide recognition, Dividend Miles frequent flyer program, and Star Alliance membership. On September 13, 2005, America West shareholders voted to approve the merger agreement, and three days later the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia approved US Airways' emergence from bankruptcy, allowing the merger to close on September 27.

Since the merger, US Airways has been 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 company's aircraft merged FAA operating certificate since September 2007, including the retention of America West's airline call sign "CACTUS". Most of the major labor groups remain separate and fly separate fleets pending the outcome of labor talks and a seniority court case pending at the 9th Appellate District.

Headquarters

US Airways has its headquarters in Tempe, Arizona. The 225,000 square feet (20,900 m2) building was originally occupied by America West Airlines. Jahna Berry of the Arizona Business Gazette said in 2005 that the building "is one of the dominant buildings in downtown Tempe. The City of Tempe gave America West $11 million in incentives and tax breaks so it would occupy what is now the US Airways headquarters, which cost $37 million to construct. Construction of the building began in January 1998, although the official groundbreaking ceremony was held on February 19 of that year. As of 2006 over 700 employees work at the nine story building.

Previously US Airways had its headquarters in Crystal Park Four, a Class A mixed-use development in Crystal City, Virginia. Park Four is between Reagan National Airport, The Pentagon, and Washington, D.C. After the merger with America West Airlines, the company decided to close its Virginia headquarters and moved the employees into the former America West building in three to six months after the merger closed. Russell Grantham at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said that the decision to move the headquarters to Tempe was not that difficult because the Crystal City facility "consisted of like two or three floors of people.

Destinations

US Airways' routes are 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 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 Mountains 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 November 11, 2007, US Airways announced nonstop service between Philadelphia and London Heathrow Airport, its first service to the airport. The airline will retain its existing nonstop service between Charlotte and London Gatwick Airport.

Also in 2007, the airline applied for flights to Bogotá, Colombia, however its application was denied by the U.S. 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 has added three international flights during the summer of 2009, including to Tel Aviv from Philadelphia. US Airways has also started year-round service between Charlotte and Rio de Janeiro. On June 1, 2010, US Airways inaugurated its new service to Anchorage, AK from Philadelphia.

In 2009, US Airways and Delta have reached an agreement to exchange landing/takeoff slots at both LaGuardia Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Also, US Airways plans to purchase flying rights to Tokyo and São Paulo from Delta. The airline plans to begin service to Tokyo from its Phoenix hub with Airbus A330 aircraft, however it plans not to begin service until 2012 or later.

US Airways has announced they will use United Airlines dormant Brazil slots to begin nonstop service to São Paulo from Charlotte. The route has been approved by the United States government and US Airways is waiting for approval from the Brazilian government to begin the route. Service is expected to start January 2011.