Last 2 US Airways flights to take off in October, officials say

DALLAS, July 11 (UPI) -- Nearly 80 years after it was founded, US Airways has made reservations for its final flights. The carrier will complete its last two flights in October before the name becomes entirely absorbed in its merger with American Airlines, officials said Friday.

Flights 496 and 434 will be the final two US Airways flights to take off on the evening of Oct. 16, the airline said. Both flights are scheduled to depart Phoenix and San Francisco, respectively, at exactly the same minute, the Dallas Morning News reported Friday.

But the San Francisco flight will be the last to land -- in Philadelphia four hours later. The Phoenix flight will land in Denver just after midnight local time, officials said.

American Airlines decided to merge the carriers' reservations into one system on Oct. 17, which will officially retire the US Airways name.

"At that point, we're going to be one airline for our customers," American executive Maya Leibman said. "We will have one website, one mobile app, one set of travel policies and elite benefits."

"The great news for customers is that after our cutover on Oct. 17, the travel experience will be seamless," another American executive, Kerry Philipovitch, said.

The airline was founded in 1937 as All American Aviation. It changed its name to All American Airways eight years later and Allegheny Airlines four years after that.

The brand changed to USAir in 1979 when deregulation allowed the airline to open up routes across the Southeast -- and, finally, to US Airways in 1997. It operated hubs in Phoenix, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Charlotte.

US Airways officially merged with American Airlines in December 2013 to create the world's largest carrier by revenue and fleet size.