NYCommuter
May 6, 04, 8:51 am
From today's USA Today:
US Airways to become a discounter?
US Airways plans major changes to its hub network, and will instead emphasize to the fare model and point-to-point service that has been profitable for the nation's discounters, reports The Associated Press. America West has watched its earnings improve after making similar changes last year, scrapping its Columbus, Ohio, hub and focusing on point-to-point routes and the airline's hubs in Las Vegas and Phoenix. As part of US Airways' plan, Philadelphia will remain a hub for trans-Atlantic flights and Charlotte will remain a hub for the airline's large Caribbean network. But the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the new plan effectively strips the Pittsburgh of its hub status, which will see a major reduction in flights by fall. Pittsburgh was once the airline's busiest hub. Rendell told Bloomberg News "it's also possible they just pull out of Pittsburgh." US Airways has several times threatened just that, citing high costs. Meanwhile, the carrier's corporate credit rating was reduced yet again — it's already "junk" —, which USA TODAY says threatens a key aircraft financing deal underpinning its restructuring. Standard & Poor's downgraded the airline's debt to CCC+ from B- and attached a negative outlook, Reuters reports. That comes just before what many view as US Airways' biggest single challenge to survival —the arrival of Southwest this Sunday at its Philadelphia hub. Updated at 9:30 a.m. ET
US Airways to become a discounter?
US Airways plans major changes to its hub network, and will instead emphasize to the fare model and point-to-point service that has been profitable for the nation's discounters, reports The Associated Press. America West has watched its earnings improve after making similar changes last year, scrapping its Columbus, Ohio, hub and focusing on point-to-point routes and the airline's hubs in Las Vegas and Phoenix. As part of US Airways' plan, Philadelphia will remain a hub for trans-Atlantic flights and Charlotte will remain a hub for the airline's large Caribbean network. But the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the new plan effectively strips the Pittsburgh of its hub status, which will see a major reduction in flights by fall. Pittsburgh was once the airline's busiest hub. Rendell told Bloomberg News "it's also possible they just pull out of Pittsburgh." US Airways has several times threatened just that, citing high costs. Meanwhile, the carrier's corporate credit rating was reduced yet again — it's already "junk" —, which USA TODAY says threatens a key aircraft financing deal underpinning its restructuring. Standard & Poor's downgraded the airline's debt to CCC+ from B- and attached a negative outlook, Reuters reports. That comes just before what many view as US Airways' biggest single challenge to survival —the arrival of Southwest this Sunday at its Philadelphia hub. Updated at 9:30 a.m. ET