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First post-merger profit for US Airways

Old 05-09-2006, 09:32 AM
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Default 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.
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Old 05-09-2006, 10:13 AM
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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.......
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Old 05-09-2006, 01:02 PM
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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.
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Old 05-09-2006, 01:38 PM
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"$90 million gain associated with the forgiveness by Airbus of a company loan"
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Old 05-09-2006, 03:20 PM
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Originally Posted by B757200ER
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.
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.
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Old 05-09-2006, 04:14 PM
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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.
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Old 05-09-2006, 04:37 PM
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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.
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Old 05-10-2006, 12:48 AM
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Originally Posted by B757200ER
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.
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...?

Last edited by Savannahguy; 05-10-2006 at 01:07 AM.
 
Old 05-10-2006, 08:44 AM
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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!
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Old 05-10-2006, 10:13 PM
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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.
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