First post-merger profit for US Airways
 

US Airways reports first post-merger profit
The Business Journal of Phoenix - 9:39 AM MST Tuesday

Higher fares and a cut in industry capacity pushed the Valley's hometown airline to a first quarter profit.

US Airways Group Inc. Tuesday reported net income of $65 million, or 76 cents per share, compared with a loss of $174 million, or $6.58 per share, a year ago. Excluding special items, the company posted a profit of $5 million, or 5 cents per share, compared with a loss of $16 million, or $1.09 per share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Wall Street analysts were expecting a loss of 17 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial Network.

The special items include a $90 million gain associated with the forgiveness by Airbus of a company loan, which represents the return of certain aircraft deposits previously paid to Airbus as restructuring fees in conjunction with the merger. In addition, the airline recognized a $26 million unrealized gain related to its fuel hedges.

The Tempe-based airline said the results are compared to America West's standalone results for the first quarter of 2005. America West did not merge with US Airways until in September 2005.

Operating revenue surged to $2.65 billion from $733 million a year ago.

"While we recognize we are early in the integration process and we have much work yet to do, these results highlight the tremendous value we have achieved through the merger of US Airways and America West," said Doug Parker, US Airways chairman, president and chief executive. "While fuel prices remain an industry problem, the merger synergies are allowing us to keep our non-fuel-related costs in line. Looking forward we anticipate a very strong spring and summer and now expect to be profitable for the full year 2006, even after accounting for merger-related expenses and with continued high fuel costs."

Wall Street liked the first quarter news, and US Airways stock was up nearly 7 percent to $50.86 in early afternoon trading, a gain of $3.56.

The company closed out the first quarter with $1.6 billion in unrestricted cash.

US Airways (NYSE: LCC) operates approximately 3,800 flights per day and serves more than 230 communities in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America.

For more: www.usairways.com.

Glad to read about it. My cousin still flying as an A320 F/O (was a capt once) with them. He was hired I believe sometime in Jun '86.

Good luck merging the seniority numbers.......

Great news! Good merger, good marraige. I think these results will show it works.

As far as seniority integration, it must be fair & equitable for both sides. DOH won't work, because almost 80% of the USAir list will be at the top. A 2-1 ratio (2 US and 1 AWA) with 5-year fences for bases and equipment should do it.

"$90 million gain associated with the forgiveness by Airbus of a company loan"

A 2 to 1 will be a windfall for the west guys in 10 years when most of the east guys retire.

DOH with the same 5 year fence would result in a fair integration because in 5 years most if not all the pre 83 hires in the East will be gone therby making for a nice fair mix of the remaining pilots.

Yeah, but if most 'East' guys are retired, why is it a problem? Because of the furloughed pilots? I think all the returning furloughees will be happy just to get 737/A320 Captain slots in CLT/PHL, and won't care if AWA guys are senior.

The thank you we furloughees are going to get for taking 100 percent pay cut to save this sorry ass operation is going to be stapled to the bottom. That is the way it is looking. If anyone has any light to shed on this that is different then I would love to see it. But the writing on the wall is not good. And I personally am not interested in retiring as a narrow body Captain making the lowest wages in the industry for my sacrafice.

Think again pal.

I fail to see why the AWA guys feel it is so important to screw those of us on furlough, other than you know it is a windfall for you if you do

BTW, perm. Widebody fences are the price you should pay if you do not like DOH. And you should be fenced out of all the EMB captain slots too for that matter. You want to go with a slot/ratio system then thats the way it works. Can't have your cake and eat it too.

That way you can reach the pinnacle of your "career expectations", and we can take the left seats of the EMB for now, and still reach the pinnacle of our own career expectation in the widebodies later.

Afterall, you won't care if you do not get to fly aircraft you did not have if "you AWA guys are senior", right...?

Retraction
 

Savannah & Walt---

I need to retract and retreat ASAP, because I do think you senior 15-yr guys on furlough deserve something. My opinion/speculation was based on what I thought might happen, not what will. Please don't take my comments personally or as disrespectful----it wasn't meant that way.

My overall opinion is it should be fair & equitable for both sides, not a windfall for either group. If I was the arbitrator, that's what I would shoot for.

Best of luck, really. I've been in your shoes!

Sorry, guys, career expectations for the old US Airways were pushing a broom at Home Depot right about now. That's pretty blunt, and I don't take any satisfaction in saying it, but if you guys think that anything other than relative seniority is fair then you are smoking crack. This was an aquisition, not a merger, read the SEC disclosures. Parker is brilliant at saying one thing to the employees and another to Wall Street but he can't lie to the Feds - that's jail time if he does. America West is the aquiring carrier. It's money our management team raised that saved the East operation.

Yes, you have been hit with a lot of cuts but at least you were on top as far as pay and benefits in the past. We sacrificed for 22 years to get the company where it is today, only to see our CEO throw our careers onto the table to gamble away at the Big Airline Game. We didn't sit at pay parity with Delta or United or any other carrier until they all fell down to our level. Well, howdy, boys and girls, welcome to the cellar. And the best joke of all is that we made some good gains our last contract and we were to start Section 6 negotiations this month, just when our airline would have been making money. Now we have to drag the East contract up to our level just to get parity for both sides. Don't think that Glass isn't costing out that $13/hr pay raise for 737 and Bus drivers. And hey, when you get that $35000 per year from the government when you retire just remember that that is 35k per year more that I will have. Yeah, it sucks to lose most of your retirement but it sucks more to never have had it at all.

And I see that the PHL LEC is telling you guys not to answer the phone this summer. That's great, go ahead and screw up the operation during peak travel season. Now is not the time to be playing games. You need to make the operation work so that when we are in the END game of negotiations you can turn the screws a little. Don't trip over your dick at the starting line, we have a long way to go.

Whining about what has happened to your airline is like watching a guy blow the rent at the track. It was your choice to bet on that horse and you did so with whatever information you had at the time. But the result is the same - the money is still gone and you can't get it back. Shooting the horse may give you satisfaction for a moment but you'll never get a chance to recoup your money.

I want to see this deal work. I know there are good guys back East and I'm sure most pilots want this to get settled and the airline to grow so we can all get a better contract down the road. But if you think that that is going to happen if you start talking DOH and fences then you are not living in the real world. By the way, our widebodies were much bigger than your widebodies.

Once again....."2-US and 1 AWA'??? who saved who???? reverse that quote and it might be fair....or just staple US to the bottom...which is where they were headed anyway if I were Mr Parker, I would have shut US down fore one day.then rehired who I needed with new DOH's that would be fair no?

Mergers generally S$$k fo the labor groups. As for what is fair.......that is in the eyes of the beholder.

Don't get into a ****ing contest back and forth because it does no good.Line pilots have little control.............the actual integration #'s will more than likely be decided by binding arbritration.

Redeye - you are absolutely right - there is no need to get into a ****ing contest over something that will be decided by an arbitrator. I just need to vent sometimes, though. I just don't understand why the concept of relative seniority can't be understood by the East side. That way there is no displacement, there are no extra training events (something management has said they will not allow anyway) and everyone gets to stay where they are at until a bid comes out and then you just bid what you can hold.

Every time there has been a merger with seat and equpiment fences and complicated ratios based on the position of the sun and stars on the leapyear date there has been great heartburn and major lawsuits. The simpler you make the system for combining lists the more transparent the process is and the less chance for a DFR (duty of fair representation) lawsuit.

The ratio for active pilots is about 3 US for 2 HP. Start with the A330 slots at the top of each list and then go 3 for 2 for each seat after the A330 slot numbers go to the US side. Oh, well, too simple I guess..

Post-merger beefs
 

Yes, regardless of how the lists are combined. Happened with Delta and: C & S, Northeast, Western, and Pan Am. The only way to keep peace in the cockpit is to say: "You're absolutely right. Hey, did you see that Cubs game last night?" ;)

I am not whining, rather letting you and whoever suggests that this whould be any sort of windfall for the AWA pilots that they should think again.

When DOH is not used, fences get thrown up. that's just the way things are. You might hold better senority in the A320 as a result of a ratio/precentage merger, but there is no reason you should be able to bid into the widebodies as tradeoff..

Career expectations are carrer expectations. DOH is DOH, If you do not want to dea with one, you get to deal with the other.

Much like the current situation, in which your certificate has no widebody or EMB 170/190 flying, so should your your career expectations be limited from those aircraft if you demand that date of hire senority is unfair.

Any merger is a give and take, and to allow a ratio style merger, while also allowing you access to aircraft types you did not have on the property when the companies were merged is nothing short of a windfall for you and the rest of your AWA pilots.

To argue about it at this point is fruitless, as it will be in the hands of the arbitrator. And arbitrators favor the solution that gives each party something (so they get arbitration work in the future) I agree that you probably will see a senority windfall in U's narrowbody aircraft, but you better wake up to the reality that it might cost you the widebody positions as a result.

With my luck, I would end up with a rabid White Sox fan!:)

CactusMike and Petergowzinya, remember that it is best to be nice to those who are junior to you now, as one day you MAY very well be working for them. Tides turn and fortunes change. This is a small industry and it is best not to poo poo on the road behind, for one day you will have to take three steps back before you go forward again.

Walt - been there. I pulled gear at AWA for a former F/O at Henson who got on AWA a month ahead of me. It was pretty funny because he had come to Henson from a desk job in the Air Force and was pretty rusty. I wasn't too sure he'd last as a civillian pilot but a year or so later it turned out great and we had a good time. Another former Director of Ops from a former job pulled grear for me at AWA on the 737 when he was busted back to F/O for a short while due to an incident. That was the wierdest one of all but it worked out well for both of us. It's happened at least a half dozen times to me. I try to never burn bridges.

Nice try at back peddling.

Where do you see backpeddaling? Where, for that matter do you see any attempt to not "be nice" to someone junior to me? I already explained that I have been through this situation and am quite cognizant of the fortunes of aviation. 6 airlines in 25 years will do that to you. Try reading the posts in their entirety before you start slamming. My whole point was that US East has a fixation on DOH as a starting point for a merged seniority list. We are asking for relative seniority. Only an arbitrator will decide so there is no further use in perpetuating this discussion unless it is to vent. We certainly will not decide this issue in any forum other than a courtroom.

You are correct Mike,

It is really hard to keep a positive attitude after being through two furloughs and think about being "STAPLED" to the bottom of the worst paid major airline in the industry. WSJ just profiled all the majors with Capt pay at 12 years on a320/737. Guess who was at the top versus at the bottom.