Doug Parker nixes bonus
US AIRWAYS HEAD NIXES BONUS
By PAUL THARP
In a burst of corporate virtue, the new chief of the patched-up US Airways vows he won't accept his $770,000 bonus until his weak airline becomes profitable.
Shaky finances, however, didn't stop the aviation executive, W. Douglas Parker, from accepting separate perks valued at $21 million for helping merge two anemic carriers - America West and the twice-bankrupt US Airways - into the recharged airline he now heads.
Parker, 44, had headed America West and helped create the remodeled combination which took off five months ago with a bankroll of $2.5 billion cash for its third lease on life.
Parker made his bonus pledge yesterday just four weeks after the airline wound up its first quarter as a combined carrier - losing $261 million along the way.
He said he felt it wasn't right to accept money while times were tough for thousands of employees affected by layoffs and pay cuts in the painful merger.
Parker was owed his $770,000 bonus by America West for its performance in the final days ahead of the merger.
To keep Parker and other executives from bailing out during the complicated merger, hammered out in bankruptcy court, the airlines heaped on bonuses and awards.