Dear andrewp:

After months of planning, the merger of America West and US Airways is almost upon us, and if all goes as planned our companies will formally merge within the next two weeks. We couldn’t be more excited about this important milestone in aviation history and I want to take a moment to communicate a couple of important things for you to know as we prepare for day one.

First, I want to pass along the sincere gratitude of our 14,000 employees, including Doug Parker, Scott Kirby, Ron Cole, Joette Schmidt, and myself. You meet some of these fantastic people every time you fly with us, and I am honored to be a co-worker to some of the finest aviation professionals in the business. All of us recognize that you are part of a distinctive group of travelers that have made up the heart and soul of America West. Quite simply, you fly more frequently and pay more for your tickets, than anyone else. We value the business you bring us, and we thank you for putting your trust in us to help you succeed in your own business. Thank you for working with us for so many years.

The second reason I’m writing to you is to ask for your continued support as we implement the merger. You’ve undoubtedly heard the line from our inflight video (maybe you’ve seen enough of that video by now?) that “merging two airlines is a complex task.” Well, it’s true. Our number one marketing priority has been to create a seamless transition for our Elite members, from day one. To meet this goal, we’ve had literally hundreds of people from numerous companies working tirelessly since June on integrating our systems. We’re confident that in large measure we will be successful, and that you will be able to complete almost all required transactions on day one as easily as you do today.

However, as with any integration that involves complex information technology work and systems integration, we ask that you “pardon our dust” if, in fact, you do encounter a slightly more rudimentary process than you might be used to. We would rather be upfront with you about what we can deliver on day one, and while it is our goal to provide “one face” to the customer immediately, we know there will be bumps along the road (or perhaps “minor turbulence along the flight path”). More important, though, than everything working perfectly on day one will be our attitude and response to any mishaps, and you have my personal commitment that we are ready to respond to any issues quickly and handle them appropriately so you can be on your way.

To that end we are taking the following steps to ensure our cutover goes smoothly:
Increased staffing at our Elite desk by 20 percent starting on day one, so that when you call for assistance, we answer quickly.
For the first few months, we will still have two websites, americawest.com and usairways.com. Eventually, we will have a single website, but in the short term, continue to use americawest.com as you have in the past. If you want to seek out new flight options not available at americawest.com, then move to usairways.com.
On the effective date of the merger, we will create a dedicated Elite e-mail address [email protected] for you to send us your comments. I will personally participate in the review and response to this mailbox.
We’ve built manual back-up plans for things like upgrades, in case our systems are unable to automatically process certain transactions.
From you, we ask for three things:
First, please read and save the emails we’ll send you over the next several weeks. They will have important information to help make your travel and planning work smoothly and will answer almost any question you have about the new airline.
Secondly, look for a specific and very detailed communication regarding our combined company’s frequent flyer program, including information for Elite members.
Finally, continue to fly with us and look forward to a significantly expanded route network system and the same extraordinary benefits you’ve always enjoyed with America West.
Thank you again for flying with us so regularly, for being one of our best customers, and for your patience as we create the only airline you’ll ever need for business and leisure travel worldwide.

With warm regards,



Travis

P.S. Here’s one more tip: Continue to use americawest.com as you have in the past. Over the next several months we’ll be adding new destinations and routes available for purchase online. If you don’t see the destination you want that the new, combined airline serves, visit usairways.com to make your reservation. We will eventually be merging websites, and we will give you plenty of notice before this happens.