US Airways! Has anyone heard???

[pattyk]

also, my thanks please keep us informed of what you hear- i have reservations in jan. and hope everything will be o.k.

[cbryteach]

I just received my cruise docs for my Nov. 27 Serenade of the Seas cruise. All of my flights are on US Air (booked through cruise line). We booked through Sam's Club and they have an independent travel insurer. What happens if something goes on between now and then?

[bUU]

I'd check with your travel insurer.

 

However, it is extremely unlikely that anything will happen now, before the end of the year.

[Sea-shell]

We have tix on US Airways for our mid-January cruise. We are hoping everything will be ok, but what if they go under while we are on the ship? Anyone know what happens if we return to San Juan and US Airways is gone?

[bUU]

I think the answer is, right now, that nobody knows. It will depend on many things, but most of all, whether the law is extended past November 19.

[Globaliser]

It will depend on many things, but most of all, whether the law is extended past November 19.

Bicker, are there any signs that you know of that this extension is going to happen?

[Globaliser]

On Monday, Aviation Daily reported:-

US Air Posts Weakening Liquidity, Wants Wage, Benefit Cuts

By Steven Lott

11/15/2004 09:14:19 AM

 

US Airways warned Friday that its cash levels are falling to dangerously low levels and unless the bankruptcy court approves a new motion to impose pay cuts on three of its large unions, cut retiree health benefits and end pension plans for its mainline staff, the carrier may be forced to liquidate in January.

 

In a sobering 120-page bankruptcy court filing, the airline details its deteriorating financial state and argues why it needs to impose mandatory pay cuts and eliminate a pension plan. US Airways predicted a full-year loss of more than $700 million, and the loss could be even greater in 2005 if it survives that long. The airline also revealed that it has been "uncomfortably close" to the Air Transportation Stabilization Board minimum cash balance covenants.

 

In recent days, the airline took a series of interim steps to boost cash balances, including "unwinding their remaining fuel hedges" to get an additional $46 million, and negotiating short-term deferrals of some aircraft finance obligations of more than $50 million in the month of November alone. "These steps provide temporary relief with respect to the debtors' cash balance, but do not offer any long-term solutions to their problems," the filing said.

 

...

Remainder of story available (at the moment, anyway) from that link.

 

For myself, the scariest part of this report is the fact that US has dumped its fuel hedging contracts for a short-term cash gain. In the present state of the oil market, they cannot have taken that step without some very pressing reasons.

[bUU]

Time for a new update. I just posted this in another thread. Globalizer: Is this how you read the situation?

The recent agreement with GE will hold [uS Airways] through June 2005, unless they encounter a strike, in which case, the strike may affect many airlines (including American, incidently), since their unions have agreed to go out on strike as well, if their US Airways cohorts go out on strike. So the worst of the risk with respect to US Airways appears to be over, with a small risk remaining, shared by many airlines.

[Elizanessie]

I was looking for flights for our cruise for next year on the Airmiles UK site and noticed that US Airways is one of the companies which is now on their system.Normally it is the usual 3/4 big companies that you can fly with using your airmiles.At first I thought ok prices better than other companies then the penny dropped as to where I had seen the name before.....on here.So big thanks guys for the info you have provided on the US Airways situation....scary thought if we had booked our flights and they went bankrupt....we could have been stranded anywhere very far from home/or lost a heck of a lot of pounds/dollars.

 

Keep up the good work

 

Liz

[pattyk]

whew!!I can breathe again, but please keep us updated of any changes. thank-you

[Globaliser]

Globalizer: Is this how you read the situation?

:eek: I think I need to read up and take stock - I've been a bit out of the loop on this over the last week or so. :)

[Philly Steve]

US Airways is also getting some bad press over lengthy delays in post-flight baggage claim at the airline's hub at Philadelphia International Airport; some as long as three hours.

 

http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/11/24/41a41c5093bf8

 

Anyone know if this is happening at other US Airways hubs? We're traveling over New Year's.

[pasto5]

The article seems to indicate that it was a Thanksgiving problem. Since that is the busiest travel time of the year..........hopefully it won't happen in January!

[bUU]

Anyone know if this is happening at other US Airways hubs?

That's basically Charlotte, now. Pittsburgh is no longer a hub. Ft. Launderdale isn't really a hub yet, and LaGuardia and National are marginal.

[kiefaber455]

Have tickets to Miami on USAir on Jan. 23 and returning Feb 4. A cousin of mine who works for an investment firm, told me last week that there should be no worries about USAir for this January. However, by next January, you'd better have used all your frequent flyer miles.

[JandD Mom]

Actually, USAir has been getting substantial press about baggage delays in Philly, even before the holiday. Almost always, the big delays occur on Sundays. Apparently lots of the baggage handlers there have been calling in sick on the weekends, or some have just decided to quit on the spot and not show up. It is a bad situation.

 

If I had a choice, I would get a flight out of PHL on USAir, but consider buying the return ticket on another carrier. I was on Airtran a few months ago and had my bags in hand within 20 minutes of touching down. That's virtually unheard of on USAir even on a good day.

[ozcaz]

Hi Bicker and Globaliser,

Thank you so much for keeping us all updated.

 

I for one really appreciate it and come on this post to check out what is going on. Like i think i have said before being here in Australia we hear nothing.

 

It would appear for us, that we will be okay for our december flights.

 

Lets hope they can stay in the air and save not only passengers any heart ached but there many staff as well.

 

Caz

[BrooklynCruiser]

Here is some more potentially bad news.

 

http://www.nypost.com/business/20959.htm

[JandD Mom]

So what happens to those of us holding tickets if there is a strike. I have started a thread on the strike topic here What happens if there is a strike?

 

I hope the gurus will visit that topic since many airlines besides US AIrways may be hit by a strike.

[Globaliser]

News story from CNN Money:-

US Airways: 1 deal down, 2 to go

Carrier voids customer service worker contracts in effort to avoid bankruptcy.

December 3, 2004: 6:55 AM EST

 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - US Airways reached a tentative agreement with the union representing more than 5,000 customer service workers, and continued talks with two other big labor groups about steep givebacks to keep the airline flying past January.

 

The seventh-largest domestic airline announced the agreement hammered out Thursday with the Communications Workers of America as it sought bankruptcy court permission to terminate that group's contract as well as throw out labor agreements covering flight attendants and mechanics.

 

Any ratified concession deal would take that union off the list of those whose contracts the company seeks to terminate.

 

The company says it will liquidate in mid-January if it cannot secure $650 million in cost savings from labor contracts and win approval of its bid to terminate three union pension plans, worth another $100 million a year in savings.

 

Details of the giveback package with the CWA were not disclosed, but the airline was seeking roughly $137 million a year in wage and benefit cuts and work rule changes from that group.

 

Any agreement would no doubt include steep wage reductions that would be permanent. The CWA and the other unions without concession deals in place took a temporary 21 percent pay cut in October.

 

A ratification vote on the CWA agreement is expected to take two weeks, the company said in a statement. Any agreement would also have to be approved by the bankruptcy court.

 

...

Remainder of article available at the above link, which contains a bit more background on the strike threats, and the context in which they were made.

[bUU]

The key, now, is the flight attendants, I think. If they get an agreement with the FAs, they're golden; if not, they're sunk.

[Globaliser]

I agree about the second part, but not the first.

 

If they get an agreement with the FAs, they live to fight another day - but the fight will still be long and hard even if it's ultimately successful. They have big problems about network reach, shape, target market and general strategy. If they turn themselves into a newly-born JetBlue clone, as is their apparent goal, can they stay within *A? Can they still purport to be a real network carrier? Are they really going to be able to sustain the re-equipment costs? Will they continue their international ops? And crucially, where is oil going and what are they going to do about its effects on their costs and their fares?

 

In the middle of all of this, I think there is one big question: How much do they want to try to be all things to all people?

[ozcaz]

Hi Bicker & Globaliser,

 

As I leave in 3 days just a quick note to say a big thank you for keeping me updated on all the happenings. I really do appreciate it. It has helped to keep an eye on things.

 

As we are doing other travelling before hitting the states lets hope US Air will still be flying which appears will be the case for all our flights in late december and jan.

 

 

 

A big Merry Christmas to you both and your families.

 

 

 

Caz

[parody]

As reported by http://frequentflier.com/ffc-120804.htm

After a protracted and seemingly irresolvable debate, both houses of Congress have voted to approve intelligence reform legislation which includes, as an amendment, a 1-year extension of Section 145 of the 2001 Aviation & Transportation Security Act (ATSA).

Section 145 mandates that U.S. airlines assist passengers ticketed on insolvent carriers -- like Southeast Airlines, which shut down on Nov. 30 -- on a space-available basis, for a fee not to exceed $50 roundtrip. The ATSA expired on Nov. 19, 2004.

 

The legislation does not take effect until signed by President Bush, probably next week.

[JandD Mom]

Section 145 mandates that U.S. airlines assist passengers ticketed on insolvent carriers -- like Southeast Airlines, which shut down on Nov. 30 -- on a space-available basis, for a fee not to exceed $50 roundtrip. The ATSA expired on Nov. 19, 2004.

 

The legislation does not take effect until signed by President Bush, probably next week.

 

How does this impact those of us who are travelling to a cruise and therefore, have a definite deadline to get to our destinations?

 

For example, if I have a cruise leaving 5 pm on Saturday, January 15, and my flight is scheduled to leave Philadelphia (where USAir is the dominant carrier) at 5 pm Thursday January 13. What happens if USAir goes out of business? Thursday night, Friday and Saturday are heavily travelled times. That means I am taking a chance that MAYBE some other airline will have enough space to get me and my family of 4 to FLL on time for the cruise on their existing flight schedule. Given that it is a weekend and flights to FLL seem to be full on the weekends with other people going on cruises, isn't that a huge "IF". Another big problem would be that the only carrier with lots of capacity to FLL to begin with is USAirways. I can't see any of the other carriers coming close to being able to absorb all of the displaced passengers in the span of a couple of days.

 

Don't you think it is safer to book a refundable ticket on another airline if it is affordable?