PHOENIX, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- A reconstituted US Airways emerged from bankruptcy Tuesday, billing itself as the first low-cost, full-service airline in the United States.
With $1.5 billion in new cash from outsiders, the new airline combines Arlington, Va.-based US Airways with Tempe, Ariz.-based America West to form the nation's fifth-largest carrier.
America West executives, who are running the airline, must keep costs down, find ways to make the old East Coast flight schedules of US Airways more efficient and integrate two workforces, analysts say.
The biggest problems, says Michael Boyd, an aviation consultant in Evergreen, Colo., are too many flights in "obscenely" competitive markets like New York, too many flights at congested Philadelphia airport and huge growth plans in the region by low-cost carriers Southwest, JetBlue and AirTran.
All of these challenges must be met quickly and amid high jet fuel costs.
