Join the carrier’s Frequent Traveler frequent flyer program in July. The same month, the company’s new $58- million, 551,000-sq.-ft. maintenance complex is opened at Charlotte and StateWest Airlines joins the “USAir Express” commuter compact.
A B-737-222 with 5 crew and 22 passengers fails its takeoff from Charlotte on July 22; following the abort, an engine must be shut down and the nosewheels separate from their gear. There are no injuries reported.
Fare wars during the summer, coupled with enormous fuel price increases in the wake of Iraq’s August 2 invasion of Kuwait and growing national recession in the year’s second half, lead to what Chairman Colodny calls “the most difficult year in the company’s history.” Seattle to Reno service begins in August and at the end of the month, 3,600 employees are laid off.
On September 5, thrice-daily roundtrips begin from Charlotte to Harrisburg while Philadelphia to New Orleans service is increased from one to two daily roundtrips and Pittsburgh to Charlotte frequencies are reduced to five daily roundtrips. Alitalia, S. p.A. and KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.) join the Frequent Traveler frequent flyer program later in the month, as four new destinations are inaugurated from Boston: Columbus, Indianapolis, Tampa, and Orlando.
In October, daily roundtrip service is initiated from Boston to Columbus, Indianapolis, and Orlando and from Kansas City to Tampa/St. Petersburg. A B-737-2B7 flight is added roundtrip from Kansas City to Orlando while a B-737-3B7 roundtrip is started from Los Angeles to Kansas City. Daily nonstop B-737-3B7 Dayton to Fort Myers service begins on November 1, followed by daily B-767-2B7ER service from Pittsburgh to Frankfurt in December.
Passenger boardings for the year decline 1.8% to 60,059,269, a figure still 4th among world carriers. Freight comes through again, however, climbing 15.8% to 166.74 million FTKs. It is in the ledger books that disaster is most clearly seen. Revenues are off by 2.66% to $6.08 billion, still 7th best in the world. Expenses, on the other hand, swell 6.39% to $6.62 billion and turn the previous year’s small operating profit into a huge $543.23-million loss. Meanwhile, the small net loss becomes a gigantic $454.4-million downturn.
Not willing to suffer reversal without a fight, USAir attacks its physical and fiscal difficulties in 1991. Seven thousand employees are laid off. twenty-four B-727-2B7s begin withdrawal, and B-737/767 deliveries are pushed back into the future. Beginning on January 1 and running through March 15, the carrier offers special $175 roundtrip fares to Frankfurt for travel agents in appreciation of their assistance over the previous year.
DC-9-31 flights commence on January 8 from Pittsburgh to Stewart International Airport in New York State. Also in January, an additional flight is added from Greenville and Spartanburg to Baltimore (BWI). Air Midwest joins the “USAir Express” commuter network at month’s end, while daily DC-9-31 service from Pittsburgh to Newburgh, New York, begins in February.
Flight 1493, a B-737-3B7 with 6 crew and 83 passengers landing in clear weather at Los Angeles (LAX) on February 1, alights atop Sky-west Airlines Flight 5569, a Fairchild Metro lll with 2 crew and 10 passengers, preparing for takeoff. The jetliner bursts into flames (34 dead) and the Fairchild is smashed and all aboard are killed. The crash is blamed on an air traffic control error.
In the face of tough competition from Southwest Airlines, withdrawal from the eight California markets, including Orange County-John Wayne Airport, begins on May 2 as hubs are realigned with more through-flights from Pittsburgh, Charlotte, and Philadelphia and fewer departures from Baltimore (BWI) and Cleveland.
Flight crew bases are closed at San Diego, Syracuse, Miami, and Greensboro and all 18 ex-PSA BAe 146-200s are withdrawn, while delivery of 16 aircraft is delayed. The same day, nonstop daily B-767-2B7ER service begins from Philadelphia to Paris and San Francisco. During the month, nonstop daily Fokker 100 flights commence from
Pittsburgh to Des Moines and Omaha, while DC-9-31s offer nonstop Pittsburgh to Myrtle Beach and Birmingham flights. B-737-4B7s now fly nonstop from Pittsburgh to Reno.
Chairman Colodny relinquishes his CEO/president titles to Seth Schofield on June 1. After issuing $213 million of convertible preferred stock and completing $332 million of aircraft lease financing through the first six months, the airline’s liquidity position, at the end of June, is approximately $820 million in cash and available bank lines of credit.
In July, employing five Fokker 100s as security, the company completes $103 million of secured-debt financing with Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau. Also during the month, the new $22.5-million maintenance facility is opened at Indianapolis.
During July, a code-sharing agreement is signed with LADECO Chilean Airlines, S. A. and is designed to promote transportation between the South American nation and USAir’s North American cities served from the Baltimore (BWI) hub.
On August 7, the U. S. Federal District Court, Atlanta, converts an antitrust lawsuit against nine airlines into a class-action that could benefit many consumers and cost the carriers millions of dollars; the antitrust suit charges that this company and the others conspired to keep ticket prices high at 23 hub airports.
Also in August, hourly shuttle service commences between Boston and Washington, D. C. In conjunction with All Nippon Airways Company, Ltd. (ANA), USAir inaugurates daily B-737-3B7 service from Washington, D. C. (DCA) to Orlando at month’s end.
On September 4, Philadelphia to Austin and San Antonio B-737-4B7 flights begin while, on September 23, an all-cargo interline agreement is signed with Aeroflot Soviet Airlines. Also in September, the carrier initiates hourly (14 flights per day) Boston to Washington direct frequencies. After losing some $45 million in 18 months, the carrier closes its Dayton hub, laying off 359 employees; “spoke” flights from the Ohio city are diverted to Pittsburgh. An agreement in principle is signed with Air Canada, Ltd. for a strategic alliance in the areas of operational, marketing, technical, and investment activities.
In October, “USAir Express” Charlotte-Montgomery commuter service is replaced with Fokker Fellowships. Also in October, a new arrangement is made with General Electric Capital Corporation for aircraft leases; under its terms, 10 former Eastern Air Lines B-757-225s, parked since that carrier’s January failure, are chartered. In addition, GECC promises to purchase and leaseback to USAir 15 B-737-3B7s at a price of $330 million. Simultaneously, the airline begins to call upon its employees for further participation in cost-cutting programs.
Daily F.28-4000 frequencies are introduced on November 1 from Charlotte to Rochester and twice-daily nonstops begin from New York to West Palm Beach and three-times-daily nonstops are launched from Plattsburgh to Trenton. The same day, daily nonstop roundtrip B-767-2B7ER service is inaugurated from Charlotte to Frankfurt. Also in the fall, total of 114 slots are purchased from Continental Airlines at Washington, D. C. (DCA) and New York (LGA) for $61 million, with new the East End Terminal thrown in at the latter point.
Additionally, two London routes are purchased from Trans World Airlines (TWA) for $50 million. A management contract is signed for operation of the Trump Shuttle and $16 million is spent for an option to purchase it.
Customer bookings fall another 7.4% to 55.6 million, while cargo moves ahead by 19.7% to 199.53 million FTKs. Although revenues decline 0.58% to $6.04 billion, expenses drop 5.68% and still total $6.25 billion. The resulting operating loss is an improvement over the previous year, but still a minus figure of $202.1 million. The net loss is cut in half to $259.99 million.
Company employment remains level in 1992 at 47,000 as 10 B-757-225s arrive, replacing a number of retired B-737-2B7s and BAe 146100s. Due to operating losses, the company discontinues hub operations from Dayton on January 2, reducing the number of daily jet departures from 73 to 20. The majority of jetliner flights previously flown between the home of the Wright Brothers and smaller communities are hubbed at
Pittsburgh and there is no reduction in systemwide capacity as a result of the shift.
Hourly Boston-Newark shuttle service begins on January 7, the same day nonstop daily frequencies are initiated from Charlotte to Albany, from Pittsburgh to Evansville, Champaign/Urbana, Flint, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Fort Wayne, and South Bend, and from Philadelphia to Dallas (DFW). “USAir Express” commuter flights from Charlotte to Atlanta are replaced by F.28-1000s and four-times-per-day DC-9-31 flights are opened from Atlanta to Madison via Indianapolis.
Flight 305, a DC-9-31 with 5 crew and 36 passengers, is destroyed as the result of a heavy landing at Elmira, New York, on January 18; there are no fatalities.
Also in January, USAir begins flying its B-767-2B7ERs from Philadelphia to Paris. Vice Chairman/Executive Vice President-Marketing Randall Malin resigns at month’s end and is succeeded, in February, by United Airlines Senior Vice President-Planning W. Thomas Lagow. When the new Galileo International reservations service is formed, the carrier acquires 11% shareholding. It is announced at month’s end that the salaries of directors will be cut 20% and those of top airline officials by 15%.
With ice on its wings, Flight 405, an F.28-4000 with 4 crew and 47 passengers, mostly from Ohio, is unable to complete its March 22 takeoff from New York (LGA) for Cleveland in a blizzard. The jetliner stalls and crashes, coming to rest upside down and partially submerged in Flushing Bay (27 dead). Fredric Nickell, who is driving a lavatory pump truck, and Jimmy May, operating a baggage cart, race to the scene and braving flaming jet fuel, pull dazed survivors from the freezing waters in an act of heroism celebrated by the local media.
Alan Ebert tells of the survival of actor Richard Lawson after the accident in “Angel in My Corner” in Essence 23 (July 1992): 90-92. The Subcommittee on Transportation and Related Agencies of the U. S. Senate’s Committee on Appropriations also looks into the accident in its Field Hearing to Receive Testimony on the Crash of USAir Flight 405: Hearings,102nd Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington, D. C.: GPO, 1992). Kendra St. Charles will live with memories of the tragedy for years before reporting them, with the help of editor Patricia Burnstein, in “‘Just Lean on Me’” in Ladies Home Journal 107 (May 1995): 44+.
On April 12, USAir assumes management of the former Trump Shuttle and renames it USAir Shuttle; hourly service is continued between New York and Boston and between New York and Washington, D. C. (DCA). The contract gives USAir the right to purchase the shuttle outright at the end of four-and-a-half years. “USAir Express” chief Gordon Linkon is transferred to the shuttle as president/CEO. Also in April, ground is broken on a $23.5-million maintenance hangar at Tampa.
Daily, nonstop service is inaugurated from Philadelphia and Baltimore (BWI) to London (LGW) on May 1, the same day flights commence between Charlotte and Bermuda. Service from Baltimore (BWI) is adjusted downward on May 22 to certain markets, while allowing increases to other destinations. Overall daily jetliner departures are reduced from 111 to 88 while “USAir Express” flights are increased from 87 to 102.
A B-727-254 shuttle, approaching New York (LGA) on May 19, aborts its landing and passes within 50-75 feet of a United Airlines jetliner taking off for Chicago.
Also in May, a new four-year contract is signed with company pilots that provides for $100 million in wage and work rule concessions. The FAA cites company heroes Nickell and May, now working for USAir Shuttle, for their “selfless concern for the preservation of human life” for their rescue work in connection with the Flight 405 disaster.
When Chairman Colodny retires on June 30, his title is assumed by President/CEO Seth Schofield.
Piedmont Aviation Services, Air Service, and Aviation Supply Corporation are sold to Piedmont Holding on July 15. The carrier joins with British Airways, Ltd. (2) on July 21 to announce plans for the formation of the world’s largest code-sharing alliance. The U. K. flag carrier will invest $750 million in new 7% convertible preferred shares in USAir and receive, in return, 4 seats on the company’s board of directors and 21% interest in the voting stock.
Although the company offers nonscheduled lift to some 20 college football teams and a number of professional hockey teams, its only charter contract with a National Football League team continues to be held with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Two of the carrier’s jetliners, a B-767-2B7ER and a DC-9-31 carrying more than 200 passengers, come within half a mile of each other 28,000 feet over Richmond, Virginia, on September 1. The new USAir Terminal at New York (LGA) is opened on September 12. Also in September, the chairmen of Federal Express, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines formally oppose the USAir-BA arrangement unless greater traffic rights are forthcoming from the U. K.
The carrier becomes the primary tenant (53 of 75 gates) when the new, $750-million state-of-the-art Midfield Terminal is opened at Pittsburgh on October 1, gaining 17 additional gates. On October 8, the company’s 8,300 unionized machinists stage a 4-day job action, the first strike in the company’s history, to protest the carrier’s call for additional economic concessions; the action causes the cancellation of over 1,000 daily flights. Machinists end their strike on October 12 by agreeing to pay concessions as part of a new 4-year contract.
During November, another alliance is signed with All Nippon Airways Company, Ltd. (ANA) to provide one-stop service between Charlotte and Tokyo. Six-times-per-week Charlotte (later Orlando)-Washington, D. C. (lAD) flights are inaugurated, timed to connect with the ANA service to Japan.
In December, the outgoing Bush administration signals its disapproval of the BA deal. The arrangement costs USAir $750 million in an immediate and long-term British cash infusion and is put off in December. Chairman Schofield and nine other top executives are forced to delay receipt of $4.3 million in bonuses due upon completion of the BA deal.
Passenger boardings for the year dip 1.7% to 54,654,575, but freight rises 4.2% to 207.89 million FTKs. Although revenues are up by 3.1% to $6.23 billion, expenses jump 5.8% to $6.61 billion and guarantee a leap in operating loss to $330.52 million. The net loss is an almost unbelievable $1.22 billion, highest in the U. S. airline industry.
The payroll is cut a slight 0.7% in 1993 to 46,667, 6th largest in the world airline industry; the 441-unit fleet is the 5th biggest.
Early in the month, the carrier merges its USAir and “USAir Express” operations in Florida into a new USAir Florida Shuttle. At the same time, the carrier engages in a costly fare war with Delta Air Lines in the Boston-New York-Washington shuttle market, shaving its weekday tariffs by 34%.
On January 21, USAir and British Airways, Ltd. (2) announce a restructured investment and alliance plan. The U. S. DOT approves the British airline’s immediate, passive investment of $300 plus $450 million over the next five years if outstanding difficulties (read: the necessity to get USAir’s costs down) are resolved. In return, BA will receive an initial 19.9% voting interest and a major code-sharing marketing agreement. Three BA executives are voted onto the 16-member USAir board: CEO Sir Colin Marshall, Chief Financial Officer Derek Stevens, and Corporate Strategy Director Roger Maynard.
Although the integration plan contemplated the previous July is shelved, the U. K. operator receives entry to 38 American communities via Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore (BWI). USAir is required to divest itself of its rights to London from Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Charlotte, but wet-leases Boeing 767-3B7ERs to BA for London to Baltimore, Charlotte, and Pittsburgh frequencies.
On February 1, the USAir Florida Shuttle begins to cover all USAir flights within the Sunshine State. Copying the ex-Trump Shuttle operation up north, the airline introduces new hourly jetliner or DHC-8 turboprop flights between Miami and Tampa and Miami and Orlando. Passengers frequently employing the new service are given the opportunity to join the USAir Florida Shuttle Club. Overall, intra-Florida operations are increased by 10% from 300 to 330 daily departures, while services from Florida to other states rises by 11% from 199 to 221 flights.
The same day, new B-737-3B7 services are launched from Bangor to Boston, Lebanon to Boston, Manchester to Boston, Tampa to Nassau,
Tampa to Columbus, and Orlando to Columbus. Flights to the Colorado ski slopes are increased in number via a new daily nonstop B-737-3B7 roundtrip frequency from Philadelphia to Denver. The next day, roundtrip nonstops commence from Washington, D. C. (DCA) to St. Louis. Company flight attendants reach tentative agreement on a new contract, also in February.
Albuquerque to Kansas City flights begin on March 2. The same day, services are increased from the St. Louis hub by 11 flights per day, including thrice daily to New York (LGA), four times per day to Kansas City, one to Orlando, one to Omaha, and two to Baltimore (BWI).
A severe winter storm over the eastern U. S. on the weekend of March 12-14 severely impacts company services; on Saturday alone, all operations are cancelled at Boston, New York (LGA), Rochester, Pittsburgh, Newark, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlantic City, Syracuse, Buffalo, and the Charlotte hub. Flights gradually resume March 14-16.
During the month, the U. S. government approves the company’s strategic alliance with British Airways, Ltd. (2) for a year and authorizes the wet-lease transatlantic services contemplated. In early spring, USAir cancels delivery of 20 B-737-4B7s this year and defers delivery of 40 others for 5 years.
Roundtrip B-727-2B7A service is inaugurated on April 4 from Boston to Bermuda. The same day, new nonstop B-727-2B7A roundtrips are started from Orlando to San Juan while B-737-3B7s begin flying, twice daily, from Pittsburgh to John Wayne-Orange County Airport in California. The long haul flights from Orange County are the first flown by the company from that destination in two years. At the same time, jet service is discontinued out of Tucson. Northwest Airlines announces on April 15 that it will buy the carrier’s Baltimore to London route for $5 million and move the U. S. terminus to Detroit by mid-June.
The City of Nashville reaches an unusual agreement with USAir on April 27 to acquire that carrier’s Charlotte to London route for $5 and to shift the U. S. end to Nashville, allowing American Airlines to operate the route in exchange for certain concessions to the city. Also during the month, the Philadelphia to London (LGW) route is sold to United Airlines for $14.5 million; American Airlines protests the arrangement, which is not completed. To compensate the manufacturer, company officials agree to exercise options on 15 B-757-2B7s and place options on 15 more.
Also during the month, the company proposes the sale of 10 million shares of common stock. Acting under the January 21 agreement, British Airways, Ltd. (2) announces that it will purchase sufficient additional preferred stock in USAir so as to maintain its 24.6% interest in USAir Group’s equity share capital on an undiluted basis. The final significant event of the month is the opening of the new $27-million maintenance base at Tampa.
On May 1, British Airways, Ltd. (2) announces that it will begin sharing flight codes with its new American partner; the move will provide flight codes of both airlines on USAir domestic services that connect with BA’s transatlantic flights. Meanwhile, USAir initiates additional new routes: Philadelphia to Mexico City, Baltimore to St. Thomas, and Charlotte to Grand Cayman.
The right engine of an MD-81 is completely destroyed by an explosion at cruise altitude later in the day; the aircraft is able to execute a safe emergency landing at Tampa and no injuries are reported.
On May 2, new nonstop service is initiated from Savannah, Georgia, to New York (LGA) and from Washington, D. C. (lAD) to Boston. Because the U. S. and German governments cannot agree on a new bilateral agreement, new Philadelphia to Frankfurt service scheduled for the day must be cancelled. During the month, the carrier receives cash infusions not only from BA, but from a $231-million offering of common stock. At their annual meeting in Virginia, USAir Group stockholders approve the British Airways, Ltd. (2) arrangements announced in January and April. Their action is the final step in the completion of the integration process.
Nonstop B-757-2B7 roundtrips are inaugurated on June 9 from Philadelphia to both Seattle and San Diego. New daily roundtrips are also initiated from Orlando to Raleigh/Durham; they are flown one way with B-737-4B7s and the other way with Fokker 100s. Daily B-737-3B7 roundtrips are also begun from Kansas City to Boston during the day, as a new Northeast fare program is unveiled that provides savings for business and leisure travel in 286 markets.
Also during the month, a B-767-2B7ER equipped with Sundstrand Data Control’s HF-DataLink system, begins operational trials of the ground-based reporting and data transmission system. Another of the type, wet-leased to British Airways, Ltd. (2) in BA colors, begins daily nonstop service from London (LGW) to Pittsburgh; the flights are staffed by USAir crews in BA uniforms.
The DOT awards American Airlines the Philadelphia to London route on July 5 that the carrier was recently forced to cede as part of the price of the BA link. Arch-rival Southwest Airlines (2) steps up the pace of competition in California in July and, consequently, USAir reduces the fares on its hourly Los Angeles-San Francisco shuttle and offers special bonus miles in its frequent flyer program for those employing the service. During the month, $300 million in income is received from a public debt issue.
Daily nonstop roundtrips are inaugurated on August 1 to Mexico City from both Philadelphia and Tampa. Southwest also causes considerable pain when it begins to move into East Coast markets, starting with service on August 17 from Baltimore (BWI) to Chicago (Midway) via Cleveland. A full-scale fare war breaks out between the two as both slash fares to rock-bottom prices in the competition that follows. A new intra-Florida small package express service is introduced on August 20 between 19 airports.
Terry V. Hallcom succeeds the retiring Gordon Linkon on September 1 as president/CEO of USAir Group. Additional nonstops are added on September 7 between Baltimore (BWI) and Chicago (MDW) via Cleveland; also from Baltimore (BWI), new daily roundtrips are started to Las Vegas and New Orleans. Service from Baltimore (BWI) to Indianapolis is also increased this day from two to three daily flights and to Pittsburgh from five to seven.
From Pittsburgh on September 7, daily B-737-2B7 roundtrips are offered to Tri-City Airport in Tennessee, while daily Pittsburgh to Charlotte “USAir Express” DHC-8 flights are supplemented by twice-daily B-737-3B7 frequencies. Finally this day, roundtrips are started every 24 hours between Charlotte and Las Vegas and to Las Vegas from Columbus. Responding to the continuing rivalry with Southwest Airlines (2), the carrier, on September 16, cuts fares to many East Coast cities, including Florida destinations.
Four days later, USAir unveils new package tours, known as USAir Vacations. Effective October 1, package tours to vacation destinations will be offered, including 2-to-21-day tours to 27 markets, including Paris, London, Frankfurt, and Mexico City. In October, revived Continental Airlines establishes its CALite low-fare operation and, like Southwest Airlines (2), specifically targets USAir markets. Also during October, British Airways, Ltd. (2) launches daily nonstops from London (LGW) to Baltimore (BWI) employing a wet-leased USAir B-767-2B7ER in BA livery and staffed by USAir crew in BA uniforms working to BA service standards.
The company initially enters the Virgin Islands market on November 10, with the start of daily roundtrip B-727-2B7A services from Baltimore (BWI) to St. Thomas. The same day, four-times-per-week roundtrips commence from Tampa to Grand Cayman and thrice daily to that destination from Charlotte. Also on November 20, twice-daily nonstop roundtrips begin from Roanoke to Pittsburgh, increasing the total number of frequencies in that market to nine per day.
Customer bookings slide 1.8% to 53,678,114, still 4th highest among the globe’s carriers. Cargo grows 4.2% to 216.59 million FTKs. Revenues advance 5.9% to $7.08 billion, the 10th best income in the world. Expenses rise 2% to $7.15 billion and cause an operating loss of $149.1 million. Net loss is $418.97 million.
Airline employment in 1994 is cut by 1.4% to 46,000. The DOT, in January, agrees to extend its approval of the expanded BA-USAir codesharing agreement through March 17, but no longer than that unless all U. S. airlines receive additional access to London (LHR).
At the same time, British Airways, Ltd. (2) inaugurates daily nonstop service from London (LGW) to Charlotte using a wet-leased USAir B-767-2B7ER in BA livery and staffed by USAir crew in BA uniforms. This is the last of three wet-leased services to be provided by BA under the January 1993 alliance agreement.
To battle Continental Airlines’ CALite, USAir, beginning on February 16, unveils Project High Ground, which increases frequencies to 18 of its East Coast short-haul markets, reducing turnaround times from 45 to 25 minutes. An agreement is started with Qantas Airways (Pty.), Ltd. that covers round-the-world fares, links frequent flyer programs, and provides code share on USAir flights for the Australian line on services between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
As the result of recommendations by the company’s unions, Executive Vice President-Finance Frank L. Salizzoni, elected president/chief operating officer at the end of 1993, takes office on March 1, while Michael Schwab, executive vice president-operations, resigns; John W. Harper becomes senior vice president/chief financial officer.
At the same time, another public debt issue brings in $175 million that helps to pay for slots at Washington, D. C. (DCA), New York (LGA), and Orlando. As a further response to CALite and Southwest Airlines, the company, in early March, reduces business-class fares by 50% to 96 cities and drops leisure fares by up to 70% in the same markets.
During the first week of March, the company indicates that its financial losses will again be high this quarter. To combat the situation, the carrier introduces its Management Action Plan, which is designed to enhance revenue opportunities and pursue cost reductions and productivity improvements.
Still, the airline’s partner, BA, freezes further investment in USAir Group until the carrier can get its costs under control. On March 17, the BA code-sharing agreement, which will cover 66 cities by year’s end and become a factor in U. S.-U. K. bilateral negotiations, is, nevertheless, approved by the DOT through March 1995. The government refuses to act on the U. K. line’s application to extend these arrangements to further destinations. In response to its low-fare enterprise, the company must, during the month, recall or hire 800 part-time reservations agents and 200 flight attendants.
The smell of a household bug killer in a carry-on bag prompts authorities at Baltimore (BWI) to evacuate a USAir flight on April 1 and quarantine 78 passengers for 4 hours.
On April 5, a new turnaround, short-haul approach is developed; based on the use of B-737-2B7s, the program is designed to cut costs and have aircraft in and out of airport gates in as little as 20 minutes. A total of 22 “Baby Boeings” are initially committed to the new effort.
The company begins offering year-round discounts of as much as 55% on many routes between the Northeast and Florida. Two days later, USAir drops its weight standards for flight attendants, settling a 1992 lawsuit filed by the EEOC, and institutes a performance test to make sure attendants can easily fit down aisles and emergency chutes.
On May 1, a B-737-3B7 with 89 aboard lands at Charlotte without its faulty nosegear deployed; no injuries are reported. During the month, low-fare flights are inaugurated from Washington, D. C. (DCA) to Newark. Also in May, the company announces plans to subcontract freight and mail operations at 35 cities. Although the move is challenged in court by the United Steel Workers of America, the case is dismissed in U. S. District Court.
Actual possession of 40 B-737s scheduled for delivery between 1997 and 2000 is postponed on May 12.
Beginning in June and continuing through August, the carrier’s air freight and mail-handling operations at 56 cities are subcontracted; the move is designed to save $11.5 million. Also, on routes from Atlanta to Philadelphia and Chicago (MDW), the company faces and responds to a challenge from new competitor Valujet Airlines.
Chairman Schofield announces the company’s intention, in a “Billion Dollar Solution” plan, to cut expenses by a billion dollars a year for the next 3 years, with $500 million each 12 months coming from permanent wage cuts and productivity improvements. The other half will center on a combination of maintenance restructuring, fleet rationalization, increased aircraft utilization, product changes and enhancements, and purchasing centralization. At the same time, it is announced that a memorandum of understanding has been signed with Mexicana Airlines, S. A. de C. V. under which negotiations will proceed toward a strategic and code-sharing alliance.
By July 1, 100 aircraft are dedicated to the quick-turn service, which is viewed as one way to combat the Southwest/CALite challenge. As the popularity of the approach increases, some 800 part-time reservations agents and 200 flight attendants are hired.
Coming in from Columbia, South Carolina, on July 2, Flight 1016, a DC-9-31 with 5 crew and 52 passengers, descends too fast and crashes into a wooded area and a private home while reattempting a missed approach to Charlotte in a thunderstorm (37 dead). Following the crash, flight attendant Richard DeMary becomes a hero for his rescue work in saving survivors; he will receive the Flight Safety Foundation’s heroism award in ceremonies in Lisbon, Portugal, in the fall. Wind shear is determined to be the cause of the first fatal U. S. air disaster since the company’s March 1992 F.28 tragedy.
In an effort to save at least $10 million annually, the company now begins to subcontract its mail handling and air freight operations at upwards of 35 airports. Subcontractors begin handling freight services on July 3 at Hartford, Charlotte, Greensboro, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Beginning on July 18, other companies take over freight at Boston, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Providence, Roanoke, Islip, and San Francisco.
The pilots’ union suggests sweeping financial restructuring of the airline on August 3, under which $2.5 billion in wage concessions would be made in return for 25% equity, $700 million in preferred stock, and board seats. The offer is not supported by any other employee group, including the AFA, and BA is not receptive to the idea; the carrier rejects the offer two days later.
On August 24, the airline sells a package of assets to Mesa Airlines for $28 million; the northeastern division of the latter’s Florida Gulf Airlines subsidiary will launch “USAir Express” flights to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston from a base at Reading, Pennsylvania. Later in the month, a code-sharing agreement is signed with United Airlines. On August 30, it is reported that the pilots of the Douglas transport lost on July 2 did not receive the wind shear alert broadcast on radio frequencies shortly before the crash.
Flight 427, a B-737-3B7 with 132 aboard on final approach to Greater Pittsburgh from Chicago on the evening of September 8, suddenly nosedives into a wooded area 7 miles out, near the town of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania; there are no survivors.
The arrangement with United Airlines comes into effect in September and under its terms, the Pittsburgh major feeds the UAL Latin American hub at Miami. Also during the month, USAir announces a decision to defer quarterly dividend payments on a class of preferred stock not held by British Airways, Ltd. (2).
At the same time, the Chicago-based megacarrier scales back its daily departures at Orlando from 39 to 16 and eliminates service from that Florida city to 6 domestic locations. During the month, the carrier leases out 18 aircraft: 5 B-737-2B7s to Frontier Airlines (2), 2 B-737-2B7s to Kansas-based TSP, Inc., 3 F.28-1000s to Atlantic Island Airways, Ltd., 2 F.28-1000s to Horizon Air, and 4 B-737-2B7s to an unidentified operator.
It is announced on October 1 that the carrier will, during the next year, remove 12 B-767-2B7ERs, 8 B-727-2B7As, 10 B-737-2B7s, and 14 B-737-3B7s from its fleet over the next year and terminate transatlantic service. On October 7, the carrier’s pilots, in light of the previous week’s decision that will result in 525 surplus pilots, pull out of talks aimed at cutting the company’s labor costs; even if 225 retire as expected, the remainder will be downgraded. At the same time, the quarterly dividend payments on $972 million in preferred stock are suspended in an effort to save cash.
The company and its pilots, on October 25, accept a mediator, the former governor of Virginia Gerald Baliles, to help resolve the impasse over how much union workers should contribute to the carrier’s costcutting efforts. It is made known that the company will not participate in the fare war expected the following summer between Southwest Airlines (2) and the new Shuttle by United division of United Airlines. To emphasize the point, it is announced that the San Francisco crew base will be closed in the spring.
Under a licensing agreement with BA governed by the two carriers’ global alliance, a B-767-2B7ER introduces BA’s Club World business and World Traveler economy-class services on a transatlantic flight from Charlotte to Frankfurt on November 1. Over the next two months, the branded services will be put in place on frequencies from Pittsburgh to Frankfurt and from Philadelphia to Paris. At the same time, a B-737-222, B-737-247 and B-737-281 are leased to Kansas City-based new entrant Vanguard Airlines.
In response to intense competition in the Los Angeles (LAX)-San Francisco (SFO) market, the number of daily roundtrips between Los Angeles and San Francisco is reduced on November 13 from 16 to 4. It is revealed in The New York Times on the same day that, following the company’s elimination of two preflight refueling checks in July of the previous year, 9 USAir departures were made without adequate fuel over the next 16 months. Two days later, on November 15, company and ALPA officials agree to resume talks and settle their contract difficulties within 30 days.
In a move to reassure customers after the fifth fatal crash in five years, USAir on November 20 appoints retired USAF Gen. Robert C. Oaks to the newly created position of vice president-corporate safety and regulatory compliance. The carrier also hires a consulting concern, PRC Aviation, to conduct an independent safety audit of its flight operations.
While at cruising altitude on November 26, a loud bang is heard in the right engine of a company MD-81, after which the engine shuts down. A safe emergency landing is made at Raleigh/Durham.
On November 27, the airline sets up a joint frequent flyer plan, Lat-inpass, with 12 Latin American carriers, becoming its exclusive domestic U. S. partner. The move is the largest expansion of the Frequent Traveler Program during its entire 10-year history.
A new $50-million service class is introduced on December 1 for full-fare passengers in short-haul, East Coast markets, replacing first class. Business Select is unveiled aboard 30 B-737-2B7s making some 210 daily departures and is based upon the installation on those aircraft of the Recaro Aircomfort convertible seat. On December 3, the carrier, in reaction to The New York Times story on November 13, reports that it has reinstated the two refueling checks previously eliminated.
A week later, on December 10, transcripts of the exchange between pilots and ATC during the last moments of Flight 427 are released. On December 23, USAir Group and the pilots’ union suspend cost-cutting talks for the holidays, promising to resume early in January 1995.
The windshield of the first officer of an MD-82 cracks while at cruising altitude on December 26; an emergency descent is made as the aircraft diverts to a safe emergency landing at Charlotte, North Carolina.
At year’s end, plans are made with Qantas Airways (Pty.), Ltd. for code-sharing between Los Angeles and San Francisco and employees can take pride in having beaten back the East Coast invasion by Continental Airlines’ CALite. Still, during the month, mega-shareholder Warren E. Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, acknowledges to analysts that his investment in USAir had been a mistake.
Passenger boardings for the year jump 10.8% to 59,495,000, while freight falls 13.3% to 187.89 million FTKs. Revenues slip 0.7% to $6.57 billion, while expenses advance by 4.8% to $7.09 billion. Consequently, the pretax loss increases to $516.97 million and the net loss surges to $716.18 million.
The workforce stands at 43,100 in 1995, a 6.3% decrease. Two B-737-301s will be sold during the first quarter and arrangements made to sell 11 more by year’s end. In addition, the leased maintenance hangar at Indianapolis will be closed and delivery of the B-757s scheduled for 1996 is pushed back a year.
As a result of electrical power problems at Newark (EWR) on January 9, the carrier is forced to cancel 18 of its 54 flights from the New
Jersey airport; power supplies return to normal the next day. During the month, Business Select short-haul service is introduced in 16 cities; the new product provides enhanced comfort for business travelers in a separate cabin, special check-in lines, advanced seat reservations, and reserved baggage space.
On February 11, the company joins in the Delta Air Lines initiative to place a cap on the commission paid to travel agents. Four days later, it is among the 5 majors taken to court by Travel Network, Ltd., franchiser of 350 travel agencies, in an effort to halt the new practice.
Also on February 15, company officials announce that they will match the fare cuts for winter and spring travel in the U. S., the Caribbean, and Mexico started by American Airlines and America West Airlines two days earlier. The same day, three jet flights from Cleveland to New York are dropped, along with one each to Indianapolis and Pittsburgh.
Federal regulators, on February 24, commend USAir for its safety efforts in the aftermath of recent crashes. In a ceremony, company flight attendant Richard DeMary receives the DOT Heroism Award for his “selfless heroism” following the crash of Flight 1016 the previous July. He is lauded for having disregarded his own injuries to evacuate one crew member and three passengers while helping to rescue others.
Daily nonstop B-737-296A roundtrips are introduced on March 1 from Pittsburgh to Toronto. Commissioned after the Flight 427 disaster the previous September 8, an independent study released on March 17 concludes that USAir is operated safely; still, it makes 30 recommendations for changes in flight training and maintenance procedures.
During the month, mega-shareholder Buffett announces that his Berkshire Hathaway has written down the value of its $358-million investment to $89.5 million and warns that he and Berkshire Vice Chairman Charles T. Munger will both resign from the airline’s board if the carrier is sold.
On March 25, the company ALPA chapter breaks a yearlong deadlock in negotiations with the airline over price-cutting measures. The flyers propose to take an approximate 20% pay cut and to let the company lay off up to 300 pilots in exchange for a 20% employee stake in the company, a seat on the board of directors for each of the three major unions, a seat for the nonunionized workers, and miscellaneous preferred stock and profit-sharing arrangements. The deal will be consummated, the ALPA negotiators report, only if the flight attendants and machinists agree.
Ticketless scheduled service is inaugurated by new entrant Nations Air on March 26, between Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Boston. The frequencies are offered five times daily on weekdays and four times daily on weekends. In response to the company’s $59 Philadelphia-Pittsburgh fare, USAir quickly counters with a $53 tariff and matches the upstart on 4 of its own 16 daily frequencies from Pittsburgh to Boston.
The Pittsburgh-Toronto frequency is doubled to twice daily on April 2 and DC-9-31s replace B-737-296As on the route. When a propane tank, thought to be a bomb, is found inside a men’s room at the company’s New York (LGA) terminal on April 23, the entire facility is evacuated until the New York City police bomb squad can resolve the incident. Bermuda-based Everest Capital, Ltd. and FMR Corporation of Boston purchase large investments in the carrier during the month.
On May 1, when Continental Airlines opens what has become an annual seasonal airfare competition, USAir quickly responds, matching that major’s discounts of up to 35% for off-peak summer travel on certain days. On May 3, the carrier and its chapter of the IAM agree in principle on wages and other concessions for mechanics and fleet service personnel. B-757-225s replace DC-9-31s on the twice-daily Pitts-burgh-Toronto roundtrips as of May 7.
During the month, British Airways, Ltd. (2) announces that it must take a $200-million write-down to reflect the decline in value of its 24.6% stake in USAir.
A tentative settlement is reached with its AFA chapter on May 21. Under its terms, wages of flight attendants will be cut some 5% over the next five years and there will be no raises for them during the same period; in exchange, the union members will receive a 10.8% stake in the company and a seat on the board of directors.
Rumors begin on June 21, the first day of stock trading following its reemergence from bankruptcy, that Hawaiian Airlines will be purchased by either USAir or Trans-World Airlines (TWA). The talk actually causes the stock of the Pittsburgh major to drop on the second day that shares of the Hawaiian company are traded. Officials of all three carriers deny such a possibility on June 23. During the second quarter, the price of the company’s common stock almost doubles.
With the beginning of summer, the company introduces a new strategy of offering shuttle service each half-hour on long-haul routes in an effort to lure a greater number of business travelers at full-fare. Planes and frequencies are removed from smaller cities in order to enhance services between Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, New York, and Washington, D. C.
On July 13, members of the local chapter of AFA reject the offered concession and investment contract of May 21. After due deliberation by management, the carrier, on July 28, calls off the proposed deal for part-ownership in exchange for concessions discussed with its three major unions. Instead, it will negotiate separate accords with each employee group as contracts come due over the next several years.
A jetliner landing at New York (LGA) on August 3 suffers a near collision with a helicopter after air traffic controllers fail to warn the pilots of the rotary-winged aircraft’s location. USAir Group informs the SEC on August 14 that the DOJ is examining charges of predatory pricing in certain cities made against it by Valujet Airlines and Nations Air Express. The charges will be dismissed. On August 28, the carrier follows the lead of Northwest Airlines and Continental Airlines two days earlier by temporarily cutting certain fares by up to 58%.
The fare sale is only the tip of the iceberg in a quiet major pricing change for flights that link major East Coast cities and Pittsburgh with most of the cities in western and northern New York. By September 1, fares for some passengers have been cut, but costs for weekly commuters rise almost 75% when the airline drops roundtrip discounts for those staying over Saturday nights.
As a result of Mexico’s struggling economy, the carrier stops flying its unprofitable return service to Mexico City on September 24. The number of dual-designator U. S. cities flown in partnership with British Airways, Ltd. (2) reaches 62 in September with the addition of 10 more communities in New Hampshire, Georgia, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Indiana, Missouri, and South Carolina. At the same time, the British major moves a specialized information management system into the USAir computer center at Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
On October 2, USAir admits that it is holding merger talks with the parent companies of United Airlines and American Airlines. The next day, British Airways, Ltd. (2) announces that its is reevaluating its alliances in North America in light of the USAir announcement the same day that Seth E. Schofield will remain chairman/CEO as talks with AA and UAL continue. During the third week of the month, the company introduces its Priority TravelWorks product that allows potential customers to review schedules and book services via the Internet.
On November 1, after an acquisition decision is postponed for two weeks, United Airlines Chairman Gerald Greenwald begins to actively seek the support of his employees for a takeover USAir. Letters are sent to local ALPA members explaining that the deal is being evaluated not only on the overall importance of a combined carrier, but on cost reductions to be enjoyed along with revenue-enhanced synergies. Greenwald will find much opposition to the union among the rank and file, but will persevere, believing the merger good for his employee-owned company.
On November 16, USAir inaugurates new services and added departures from Washington, D. C. (lAD) to Boston, Columbus, Orlando, and West Palm Beach.
Displeased by a Newsweek story, NTSB Chairman Jim Hall, during the week’s hearings on the crash of Flight 427, challenges anyone with a “golden nugget” reason for the crash to first inform the safety board instead of the media.
Although merger talks with American Airlines are quickly abandoned, those with United are pushed by that company’s chairman into
November. Rank and file of the employee-owned United voice much opposition and talks collapse at giving. On November 28, Chairman Schofield asserts that the company’s survival is not in doubt, despite the end of merger talks with the two majors.
During the year’s second half, departures have been cut by 17% to save costs. For example, most of the carrier’s jet service is withdrawn from Florida and turned over to local turboprop affiliates. Also, automated yield-management, crew-scheduling, and maintenance systems are turned on. Every employee seems to realize the truth in Chief Financial Officer John Harper’s words when he releases the carrier’s statistics at year’s end; USAir’s potential “cannot be realized, nor our existence assured, if we do not achieve a competitive cost structure.”
His figures show enplanements of 57,095,000, down 4.7%, and freight transport of 182.95 million FTKs, a 2.6% decrease. “Rightsizing” throughout the year results in an operating income of $7.47 billion, up 6.8%, and costs of $7.15 billion, down 4.5%; there is an operating profit of $321.68 million and a $119.28-million net profit is posted.
Airline employment stands at 42,087 in 1996, a 2.3% decline.
On January 6, the major introduces new jetliner flights from Washington, D. C. to Tampa and increases service in Boston. It also replaces its four-per-day roundtrips between Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne with SAAB 340 flights operated by “USAir Express” affiliate Chautauqua Airlines.
A major East Coast winter storm severely impacts operations during the second week of January. On January 7 a total of 1,032 flights must be cancelled, 1,302 on January 8, and 600 on January 9. Most of the cancellations occur at Washington, D. C. (DCA), Philadelphia, and the Baltimore (BWI) hub, which, with Boston, is the first to resume operations.
BA announces on January 19 that it will not exercise two options to buy another $450 million worth of preference shares in USAir Group. Stephen
M. Wolf succeeds the retiring Seth E. Schofield as chairman/CEO on January 22. Before month’s end, former Air France Vice President-Marketing and Development Rakesh Gangwal succeeds the retiring Frank Salizzoni as president with Lawrence M. Nagin as executive vice president.
Installation of the new management team causes stocks to increase $15 in value and speculation, unfounded as it turns out, begins that an employee buyout could occur within a year. Among the first moves of the new group is to meet during the last week to discuss the long-delayed entry on January 22 of rival Southwest Airlines (2) into the Florida market.
On February 1, a DC-9-31 swerves to avoid a small plane that has blundered into its path on the runway during the jetliner’s landing at Charlotte. A month-long 40% fare discount on travel between 40 markets in the Eastern U. S. ends on February 14.
Also in February, an agreement is entered into with Deutsche BA Luftfahrtgesellschaft, GmbH. that allows the American major to share codes on the BA subsidiary’s flights from Munich to Cologne, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, and Tegel Airport at Berlin. Flights are also inaugurated from the nation’s capital to West Palm Beach with additional services to Orlando and Boston.
Seven persons receive minor injuries when a B-767-2B7 with 147 passengers encounters moderate turbulence while on approach for its February 20 landing at Pittsburgh.
Under terms of the new U. S.-Canada “open skies” agreement, the carrier on February 28 launches twice-daily roundtrips between Washington, D. C. and Toronto.
Employing visual inspection methods, company maintenance personnel on March 4 uncover a 38.75-in. crack in the forward upper skin of a DC-9-31. The discovery prompts McDonnell-Douglas to issue a safety alert to all DC-9 operators.
New chairman Wolf, CEO of the nation’s sixth largest airline, tells employees on April 15 that the company’s future lies with purchasing another carrier, forming a partnership with another airline, or being acquired itself. For any of these possibilities to be created, Wolf notes, USAir must reduce its costs and become more productive.
Seasonal roundtrips between Pittsburgh and Frankfurt resume at the end of April. B-767-201ER frequencies commence on May 23 from
Philadelphia to Munich. On June 1, the long-haul Boeings also inaugurate nonstop roundtrips from Philadelphia to Rome.
On June 11, British Airways, Ltd. (2) announces a new marketing alliance with American Airlines. Four days later, daily B-767-201ER flights are started between Philadelphia and Madrid. As the result of a controller error at the New York Air Route Traffic Control Center on June 24, a B-737-3B7 en route to New York from Bermuda passes within 4 nm. and zero vertical separation at 31,000-ft. of a Kiwi International Airlines B-727-225A en route from Bermuda to New York. Disaster is averted when the latter, which had been wrongly ordered to climb, descends.
Together with Northwest Airlines and United Airlines, the company, on June 29, offers its customers software programs that allow do-it-yourself reservations and ticketing.
A Charlotte-bound B-737 is forced to return to Savannah on July 6 after 40-year-old Gary Lee Lougee of Pooler, Georgia, demands to be served drinks, pushes a flight attendant, and must be subdued by the airliner’s crew; Lougee is arrested.
Flight 614, a B-737 with 119 passengers and en route from Las Vegas to Charlotte is diverted to Nashville on July 26 after 25-year-old Daniel Walters threatens other people aboard. Walters surrenders to the FBI, who do not label the event as a hijacking attempt. Walters is the second unruly passenger to be jailed within a month.
On July 30, USAir Group files suit in federal court against British Airways, Ltd. (2) over its marketing partner’s new alliance with AA; the brief charges antitrust violations and breach of contract and fiduciary duty on the part of BA.
Roman Regman, a 21-year-old seminarian, is arrested at Tampa on September 2 after security personnel find six knives, a pistol, two grenades, and bomb-making materials in the carry-on luggage he is about to take aboard a company flight to Pittsburgh. Regman is held without bond on seven federal counts of possessing explosive devices and seven counts of possessing concealed weapons. In a statement from jail the next day, Regman claims the materials he had in his cases are harmless.
While en route on August 29, a B-737-3B7 with 4 crew and 80 passengers encounters clear-air turbulence over Chattanooga, Tennessee; four people are injured, three seriously.
Following the lead of Continental Airlines, USAir and three other major airlines on September 3 agree in principle to settle a suit by the American Society of Travel Agents charging the carriers illegally conspired to cap travel agent commissions on domestic airline tickets. The five will reportedly pay a total of $87 million, but will be able to retain the controversial $50 commission cap.
A day after the carrier elects not to renew its five-year contract with Greenwich Air Services on September 23, the stock of the engine-repair service plunges. While en route from New York City to Rochester on October 21, the cabin of a B-737 fills with smoke from an air-conditioner malfunction; the plane makes an emergency landing in Ithaca, but no injuries are reported.
As the dispute with British Airways, Ltd. (2) continues, the U. S. partner continues to evidence its displeasure. On October 24, USAir announces that it will end its marketing and code-sharing agreement with the BA on March 29 of the following year. At the same time, the American carrier applies to the DOT for permission to inaugurate its own services to London (LHR) from its gateways in Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Boston.
Toward month’s end, the Boeing Company offers to slide delivery of the eight-unit B-757 order from 1998-1999. The suggestion is the latest in six years worth of aircraft order and delivery schedule revisions, substitutions, and sliding made by the manufacturer, which has also returned to the carrier some $170 million in advance and options payments in an effort to help USAir survive. On November 1, the carrier defaults on a $3-million progress payment on the eight narrow-bodies.
On November 8, the company agrees to pay $450,000 to settle charges that it has violated, between 1990 and 1996, certain federal rules concerning maintenance, security, and flight operations. The next day, a preliminary agreement is signed with Airbus Industrie for the delivery, by century’s end, of 120 narrow-body A321s, A320s, and A319s; the sale, valued at $5.5 billion, is the largest of the European manufacturer in North America and, indeed, is the largest in its history to date. Needless to say, Boeing officials are shocked.
Three days later, on November 12, Chairman Wolf announces that, early in the new year, the company will change its name to USAirways. The move will be part of a large, bold, and, analysts suggest, risky plan to execute a new survival strategy. In addition to the corporate image changeover, the plan centers on increasing domestic and international services employing the new fleet requested a few days before. The chairman publicly renounces the Boeing contract.
The DOS and USAir, together with six other majors, reach an agreement on November 19 to provide speedier notification of the families of U. S. victims in the event of air disasters abroad. The arrangement, lobbied for by groups representing crash victims’ families, puts into effect the provisions of a 1990 federal law calling upon the carrier’s to provide the DOS with a passenger list within three hours of a crash.
In early December, Jon Bryan succeeds Robert Gaudioso as chairman of the master council of the local chapter of ALPA. In a December 10 letter to Boeing attempting to justify his company’s recent nonpayment actions, President/CEO Gangwal confirms that the B-757 contract is a binding legal document.
British Airways, Ltd. (2) takes the decision on December 18 to sell off its shareholding in USAir and in light of the suit filed by the American carrier during the summer, to disentangle itself from any further relationship. USAir is given the option to purchase the $500 million in preferred shares or, if it becomes necessary, they can be sold privately or through a public stock offering.
As a national debate on the growing problem of disruptive passengers unfolds, Gary Lee Lougee is sentenced by a federal judge in Savannah, Georgia, on December 27 to 4 years in prison plus 200 hours of community service upon his release. Because Lougee’s actions on July 6 had forced the pilot of his flight to turn around, he is also required to repay USAir $611.35 for fuel spent in returning to its point of origin.
Customer bookings dip 0.1% to 56,640,000 but cargo rises 22.2% as 221.78 million FTKs are operated. Operating income climbs 10.3% to $7.7 billion, even as expenses are swelling 8.7% to $7.33 billion. Operating profit reaches $368.68 million and a $183.23 million is posted. USAir Group as a whole records a record $263.4-million profit on revenues of $8.1 billion.
There is no change in the workforce at the beginning of 1997, although the company faces an uncertain future of downsizing in light of its inability to win labor concessions. Just after the new year, Chair-man/CEO Wolf opens contract negotiations with the Master Executive Council of ALPA, which represents the carrier’s 5,000 pilots. He proposes a seven-year agreement that seeks pay cuts, job security and work rule changes, and increased productivity. In addition, pilots are asked to allow creation of a low-cost carrier to compete with the “Delta Express” division of Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines (2).
On January 10, USAir joins Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Trans-World Airlines (TWA) in submitting requested comments to the U. K. Office of Fair Trading concerning the proposed strategic alliance between American Airlines and British Airways, Ltd. (2). All five protest that such a pact would provide the British and American giants the dominant positions in transatlantic and other markets and that the OFT’s proposal to require them to relinquish 168 weekly slots at Heathrow is insufficient to counterbalance the alliance. BA files a 148-page written response.
During the second week of January, the carrier is advised by Airbus Industrie that its failure to lower costs has placed in jeopardy the planned delivery of up to 57 aircraft over the next 3 years.
In early February, British Airways, Ltd. (2) CEO Robert Ayling, Chief Financial Officer Derek Stevens, and Investments Director Roger
Maynard all resign from the USAir board of directors. USAir Group, on February 18, refuses to exercise its option to purchase the 24.6% stake in the carrier owned by British Airways, Ltd. (2). Under the leadership of Chairman/CEO Wolf, who is seeking to turn around the company’s declining fortunes, the airline and its holding group parent are renamed USAirways effective at midnight on February 27.
USAIR EXPRESS. See AIR MIDWEST; ALLEGHENY AIRLINES (2); CCAIR; CHAUTAUQUA AIRLINES; COMMUTAIR; CROWN AIRWAYS; FLORIDAGULFAIRLINES; HENSON AVIATION; JET EXPRESS; JETSTREAM INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES; PARADISE ISLAND AIRWAYS; PENNSYLVANIA AIRLINES; PIEDMONT AIRLINES (2); STATESWEST AIRLINES; TRANS-STATES AIRLINES
USAIR EXPRESS (MESA AIR GROUP): United States (1997).
During the first week of January 1997, Mesa Air Group is again reorganized. The operating divisions Desert Sun, Florida Gulf, Liberty Express, and Mountain West are replaced by four new units: America West Express, Independent, “United Express,” and “USAir Express.” Also merged into the new divisions are the marketing and customer service departments of Air Midwest and WestAir Commuter Airlines. Florida Gulf Airlines and Liberty Express are combined into the new USAir division.
The paperwork is barely dry on the merger before an incident occurs. On January 10, Flight 5326, a Beech 1900D with two crew and nine passengers en route to Boston aborts its climb after takeoff from Bangor when the stall alert sounds; after a safe landing, the plane veers left and strikes a snowbank, injuring two passengers.
On February 27, USAir is renamed USAirways and “USAir Express” becomes “USAirways Express.” During the remainder of the year, this regional begins to repaint its aircraft in a modified version of the major’s grey and dark blue livery.
World History
