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Mar 21, 01, 10:19 am
America West said it's growing pax capacity (ASMs) 8%-9% in the first quarter ending March 31 compared to the yr-ago period & expects full-year capacity to be up 5%-7% over 2000. Unit costs are forecast to rise 3%-4% in the quarter, primarily owing to the impact of higher fuel prices. Excluding the impact of fuel costs, CASM should increase 1%-2% for the quarter and 1%-3% for the year. The airline is 51% hedged for the first quarter, 60% for the second, 25% for the third and 7% for the fourth. It also reported improved operating metrics--its Jan. and Feb. completion factors were 96.3% and 97.2% respectively, while maintenance-related cancellations fell to 10.6 per day in Feb. versus 11.8 in Jan. and 13 in Dec.