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US Airways cutting 1,000 jobs, reducing routes

Wednesday, October 28, 2009
(Updated 6:18 pm)

Struggling US Airways said Wednesday it will cut some 1,000 jobs next year, shift nearly all of its flying to its three hubs and Washington, and suspend several international routes.

The retrenching is aimed at putting its airplanes where the money is — its hubs at Charlotte, Philadelphia and Phoenix, as well as Washington. US Airways said flying from its hubs has been profitable.

Once the changes are made early next year, 99 percent of US Airways flights will be to or from those cities, up from 93 percent now. It's also keeping its US Airways Shuttle between Boston, New York, and Washington, although some of the Boston flights are shifting to smaller Embraer 190 jets.

US Airways has said its domestic flying will drop slightly next year, while international flying will rise a little.

The changes announced Wednesday include dropping Colorado Springs, Colo., which it said is too close to Denver to be profitable. It is also trimming Las Vegas flights from 64 departures per day to 36.

The carrier is scaling back international flying from Philadelphia. It will suspend flights between there and London Gatwick; Birmingham, England; Milan, Italy; Shannon, Ireland; and Stockholm. It also will formally give up its government permission to fly between Philadelphia and Beijing, which it never used.

Us Airways said its first flights across the Pacific will now be on its planned route to Tokyo, beginning in 2012 "or when market conditions become favorable." The company said revenue on trans-Atlantic routes has fallen $273 million this year through September.

The Tempe, Ariz.-based airline said the job cuts will happen in the first half of 2010 and will include 600 passenger and ramp service workers, 200 pilots, and about 150 flight attendants. The airline will close crew bases in Las Vegas and at LaGuardia airport in New York on Jan. 31, and in Boston on May 2.

The company also said it would close its maintenance station in Santa Ana, Calif. early next year, although it expects the companywide number of mechanics to remain about the same next year.

US Airways Group Inc. lost $80 million in the third quarter and is expected to lose money for the full year. The airline lost $2.3 billion in 2008.

"It is obvious we cannot continue to operate unprofitably forever," he wrote in a letter to workers on Wednesday.

Airlines have been stung by a drop-off in business travel, which tends to be their most profitable passenger segment. US Airways President Scott Kirby said in an interview that he still believes he's seeing a recovery in business traffic.

"But you have to remember that business demand was down 30 to 35 percent," he said, "so saying you see recovery doesn't mean that things are great and it's time to start growing and acting like the world is fixed for airlines because it's not."

US Airways shares fell a penny to close at $3.13.

Accompanying Photos

File photo (News & Record)

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Comments

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justaguy46

October 28, 2009 - 9:29 pm EDT

This is a good reason for people of North Charleston NOT to rejoyce because Boeing is coming to town. Technology has reduced business travel drastically. How many people purchase an airliner, especially a super jet like the one in making for Boeing? In the future there will be only one or two major airlines. I really don't see much future in these big-ticket items.

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