From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Dec 1 11:41:09 2005 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Thu, 1 Dec 2005 06:41:09 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] Pittsburgh Airport Travel Increased Since US Airways Pulled Flights Message-ID: <20051201064016.S3948-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 30 November 2005 ; Airport Business Pittsburgh Airport Travel Increased Since US Airways Pulled Flights http://www.airportbusiness.com/article/article.jsp?id=4434 --- Scott McCartney, The Wall Street Journal / The Seattle Times Communities think of the loss of an airline hub as a doomsday scenario less traffic and less prestige. But in Pittsburgh, the opposite happened this year: After US Airways pulled half its flights, local travel increased sharply. Since US Airways announced last fall that it would stop using Pittsburgh International Airport as a hub, five discount airlines came rushing in and bigger legacy airlines beefed up service. Fares plunged: Prices for round-trip flights from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, for example, fell to $186 from $680. So people travel more. While the number of connecting customers is down sharply at Pittsburgh, the number of passengers beginning trips there was up 12 percent in September compared with last year, according to the airport's manager, the Allegheny County Airport Authority. Pittsburgh's experience shows the price many communities across the country pay for having an airline hub at their local airport. While these airports offer the convenience of hundreds of nonstop flights to scores of destinations, hubs also suppress local travel. That is because, until recently, low-cost competitors shied away from battling bigger network airlines at their dominant hubs. The lack of competition led to high ticket prices that stifled local travel. A 2001 U.S. Department of Transportation study of hubs found that travelers in hub markets paid 41 percent more than travelers from competitive markets. Charlotte, N.C., Cincinnati, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh had the highest hub prices, the study found. In the past several years, things have begun to change. Discount carriers with strong balance sheets have made inroads at many hubs. In response, incumbent airlines began cutting business-travel fares. For example, Delta Air Lines cut fares at its Cincinnati hub, American Airlines cut fares in Miami and US Airways moved to match Southwest Airlines pricing in Philadelphia. One of the most drastic post-hub changes has been in the price of a Pittsburgh-to-Philadelphia flight. That route was priced at $680 round-trip when US Airways had a monopoly, encouraging many travelers to drive the five hours instead. Then the price plunged to a maximum of $186 round-trip when Southwest began flying to Pittsburgh in May. Many more people now fly the route. To keep up with the demand, US Airways now has a dozen daily flights in each direction between the two cities, up from eight in January. Southwest has six daily flights each way. "The benefits of a hub come at a very high price," said Kent George, executive director of the Allegheny County Airport Authority. "Now we have the good old American free-market system responding to demand." Still, there have been hassles for travelers and the community. Pittsburgh has lost nonstop flights to 50 cities as US Airways dropped to about 200 flights a day from a peak of more than 400. The airport's total traffic, which peaked at more than 10 million passengers boarding planes in 1997, will be about 6 million this year. And the retrenchment has meant massive job losses at the airport, as employment at the airport has fallen to 3,500 from 11,500, George said. To cope with the loss, the Pennsylvania Legislature pledged $150 million from gambling revenue over 10 years to pay for facilities such as gates that were abandoned by US Airways. The airport is finding it can run a lot more economically when it doesn't have to grapple with the inefficiencies of a hub waves of planes coming in and leaving at the same time, followed by emptiness until the next wave. Instead of doing maintenance on runways in the middle of the night, for example, airport officials now close one of their four runways during the day and get work done cheaper. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Dec 2 14:22:52 2005 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 09:22:52 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways faces fines on security Message-ID: <20051202092201.H3948-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 2 December 2005 ; The Arizona Republic US Airways faces fines on security http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/1202broker02.html --- Worker histories weren't checked Dennis Wagner The Arizona Republic US Airways confirmed Tuesday that the Tempe-based company faces major fines from the Transportation Security Administration because of a failure to conduct criminal background checks on employees. Philip Gee, media relations manager, said the federal violations occurred in 2002 and 2003 at America West Airlines, before its merger with US Airways. Gee said the company received formal notification Nov. 8 that it will face penalties of up to $178,000. "US Airways takes these matters very seriously," Gee said. "Our Number 1 priority is the security and safety of our customers. Today, US Airways is in full compliance with the TSA regulations." In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, America's airports and airlines were required to do criminal background checks on flight crews, attendants, baggage workers and other employees with access to secured areas. Those who had committed serious felonies in the previous decade are barred from employment. The Code of Federal Regulations provides that "no individual is granted unescorted authority (to secured areas) unless the individual has undergone a fingerprint-based CHRC (criminal history records check) that does not disclose that he or she has a disqualifying criminal conviction." Each background report costs about $100. America West had about 13,000 workers at the time of the violations. It is unclear how many of those were employed without background checks. Gee declined comment on the number of violations and other aspects of the case. He said the airline is still working with TSA, adding, "It is a pending investigation, so we have to be sensitive to that." Under federal regulations, each infraction can result in a fine of up to $25,000. An enforcement policy guideline published on TSA's Web site says failure to conduct criminal record checks merits a maximum penalty. The Arizona Republic filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act for security inspection audits, investigative reports and other records related to the violations. TSA officials acknowledged that the probe has accumulated more than 230 pages of documents but declined to release any materials because the case is ongoing. America West merged into US Airways in September to form the nation's fifth-largest air carrier, with about 40,000 employees.