From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Jan 1 15:04:44 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 10:04:44 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways frequent flier? Use those miles Message-ID: <20070101100438.M2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 1 January 2007 ; Charlotte Observer US Airways frequent flier? Use those miles http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/16355090.htm --- Dormant time allowed drops from 3 years to 18 months BY STEVE HARRISON Attention occasional fliers: all your US Airways Dividend Miles will expire after Jan. 31, if you haven't had account activity in 18 months. Airlines such as Southwest have long had true "frequent flyer" programs, where passengers had to fly frequently to fly free. Now, legacy carriers are instituting similar rules, though the good news for US Airways fliers is that "activity" is loosely defined. US Airways quietly announced the change earlier this year. Previously, the dormant period was three years, a change made just a year ago to much consternation among customers. Delta Air Lines has also changed its frequent flyer program, flushing miles from someone's account if it hasn't had activity in two years. It used to be three years. Northwest may also close an account if it's dormant for three years, and Continental may close an account after 18 months of inactivity. Here's what the new US Airways sunset period means for its sporadic customers, of which there are hundreds of thousands in the Charlotte region. * The most obvious way to get miles is to fly on US Airways or one of its partner airlines, such as United or Lufthansa. But your flight must occur before Jan. 31 to keep your account alive. Booking in January for a flight in February won't count. Certain hotel stays and rental car bookings can also count. But there can be a delay in posting miles from hotels and rental cars, so they might not show up before Jan. 31. * If you have a US Airways Dividend Miles credit card, any purchase -- including gasoline or groceries -- will count as activity. * And there are a number of relatively inexpensive ways to keep your account going. You can earn two miles by downloading a song from iTunes for 99 cents, as long as you go through the US Airways Web site. (From the home page, click on "Dividend Miles," then "Earn more miles" You'll find the iTunes offer under "Dividend Miles Shopping Mall.") You also can buy other items through the US Airways shopping mall. Sending someone flowers through FTD also energizes your account. * You can also redeem miles for a trip, or make a minimum donation of 1,000 miles to a charity. If all else fails, you can pay a fee to keep your account alive and to keep your miles. But it's not cheap. You can call the Dividend Miles Service Center at 800-428-4322 and pay a $50 fee and $.01 per mile to reactivate your account. If you had 25,000 miles -- enough for a free domestic ticket -- that will cost you $300. You could probably get the ticket cheaper just by paying for it. For more information, you can visit the US Airways Web site at http://usairways.com/awa/content/dividendmiles/promotions/stayactive.aspx.If a US Airways account is dormant for 36 months, miles are discarded and can't be retrieved, even for a fee. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Mon Jan 1 15:05:35 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 10:05:35 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways not raising Delta offer Message-ID: <20070101100529.J2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 1 January 2007 ; Business Journal of Phoenix US Airways not raising Delta offer http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2006/12/25/daily25.html --- US Airways Group Inc. does not plan to increase its $8.4 billion offer for Delta Air Lines Inc., but it doesn't foresee backing out of its pursuit of the airline, Chief Executive Doug Parker says. Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways, which operates its largest hub at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, firmly believes its offer for Atlanta-based Delta provides more value than Delta's stand-alone reorganization plan, Parker says. "We believe our offer is more than fair and don't feel any need to amend it at this point," he said Thursday in an interview with reporters from The Associated Press. However, Parker did not rule out the possibility of changing his mind about the offer price. He doesn't see any reason to drop US Airways' hostile bid for Delta. "I can't envision any scenario where we simply say, 'We change our mind.' " On Thursday, Delta issued a statement similar to one it made Dec. 21, saying it is moving forward with its plan to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a stand-alone company. The airline believes its plan will provide creditors with "superior value as well as a faster recovery and much greater certainty of execution" than any competing proposal. Lawyers for Delta (Pink Sheets: DALRQ) have scheduled a Feb. 7 hearing in bankruptcy court on the disclosure statement of the carrier's reorganization plan. That statement will include details on Delta's operations. If the statement is approved, Delta will be able to start soliciting creditors' votes on the reorganization plan, a process that typically takes four to eight weeks. In Thursday's AP interview, Parker said if that hearing schedule goes forward, it could create urgency to US Airways' hopes of acquiring Delta, because US Airways (NYSE: LCC) hopes to consummate the deal before Delta emerges from Chapter 11. US Airways currently operates 40 flights out of Raleigh-Durham International Airport, where it employs 125 workers. Delta (Pink Sheets: DALRQ) has 36 daily flights out of RDU and employs 79 workers there. The airline and its regional carriers flew 900,000 passengers out of RDU in 2005. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Jan 3 12:24:28 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2007 07:24:28 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] Boost in bid for US Airways center a response to Charlotte? Message-ID: <20070103072420.H2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 3 January 2007 ; Charlotte Business Journal Boost in bid for US Airways center a response to Charlotte? http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2007/01/01/daily6.html --- Phoenix has more than doubled its initial proposal to attract a 600-employee US Airways Group Inc. flight operations center, apparently in response to Charlotte's offer. Charlotte Aviation Director Jerry Orr says he thinks the Arizona-based airline took Charlotte's proposal to Phoenix and said, "Measure up, boys." Orr adds, "It doesn't bother me because I'm old, experienced and a realist." He and other Charlotte officials have declined to disclose details of their proposal, citing state laws that allow economic-development proposals to remain secret. Details of the Pittsburgh and Phoenix bids have been made public. US Airways (NYSE:LCC) has flight-operations centers with 150 employees in Phoenix and 450 in Pittsburgh. Last fall, the airline invited those two cities and Charlotte to submit offers in October for a combined, 600-employee center. The airline is telling the three cities that its proposed takeover of Delta Air Lines Inc. (Pink Sheets:DALRQ) is not affecting its plans for the new center, Orr says. But everyone realizes a merger of the two giant airlines would be a dramatic change, he adds. If US Airways acquires Delta, Orr predicts US Airways will put the center in Atlanta, where its largest hub would be located. Delta is aggressively opposing the US Airways takeover bid, however. Phoenix's package of incentives and tax breaks could save US Airways as much as $36 million over the next 25 years. Most of the savings stem from a 28-year loan with a 1.38 percent interest rate, according to the Arizona Republic newspaper. Phoenix is also offering property-tax waivers and low-cost land leases. Phoenix officials told the Arizona newspaper US Airways might make a decision on the facility at its Jan. 26 board meeting, with a public announcement following shortly. US Airways has said it will announce its decision in February. Charlotte City Council member Don Lochman says he's disappointed Orr and other city leaders have not provided details of Charlotte's US Airways proposal to City Council. "You don't want staff running amok," he said. "I think it's a rash assessment to think we want to get in this race." But another councilman, Andy Dulin, opposes public disclosure and says he's satisfied with the limited information Orr has provided elected officials. "I know Jerry Orr runs a very tight operation," Dulin says. "If we got our bid out in public, then our competitors would know what it is and jack up their offers." In October, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell announced the details of Pittsburgh's initial offer, which included $16.25 million in grants, tax credits and loans. It's not clear if Pittsburgh has upped its bid. Pittsburgh will not enter a bidding war to attract the center, says Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato. "We feel our offer is competitive, it's aggressive and it's best for our region and US Airways," Onorato told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "We'll wait and see what happens." The flight centers manage US Airways' 950 daily flights and handle various staffing and aircraft maintenance scheduling issues. US Airways, which operates its largest hub at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, launched its $8 billion takeover bid for Atlanta-based Delta on Nov. 15 in a bold effort to create the world's largest airline. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Jan 12 00:15:37 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 19:15:37 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways increases bid for Delta Message-ID: <20070111191525.Q2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 11 January 2007 ; Orlando Business Journal US Airways increases bid for Delta http://orlando.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2007/01/08/daily20.html --- US Airways Group Inc. has raised the value of its hostile takeover bid for bankrupt Delta Air Lines Inc. to $10.2 billion. Atlanta-based Delta (Pink Sheets: DALRQ) -- Orlando International Airport's second-largest carrier -- has already rejected US Airways' bid and filed a standalone plan to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, valuing itself at between $9.4 billion and $12 billion. However, on Wednesday, Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways (NYSE: LCC) said its increased bid would provide between $12.7 billion and $15.4 billion in value to Delta's unsecured creditors. "While our original proposal offered substantially more value to Delta's unsecured creditors than the Delta stand-alone plan, we are making this revised offer to eliminate any doubt that a merger with US Airways offers Delta's unsecured creditors significantly more value," said Doug Parker, US Airways chairman and CEO. "Without the support of the creditors, our offer is set to expire on Feb. 1. It is time for this process to move forward." Delta's unsecured creditors would receive $5 billion in cash and 89.5 million shares of US Airways stock, under the terms of the new bid. Based on the closing price of US Airways stock on Jan. 9, the new offer has a market value of about $10.2 billion. The airline's original bid was valued at $8 billion. But Delta is standing firm on plans to come out of Chapter 11 in spring 2007. Delta has said its creditors can expect to recover about 63 percent to 80 percent of their allowed claims. The airline projects operating margins from 8 percent in 2007 to 10.5 percent in 2010 with a return to profitability in 2007 and an increase in net income, after profit sharing, from about $500 million in 2007 to about $1.2 billion in 2010. Delta has argued the US Airways bid's projected network and cost "synergies" are based on "deeply flawed economic assumptions." Delta said US Airways claimed $1.65 billion in synergies and financial benefits from the proposed merger are overstated because US Airways has "ignored major negative synergies that previous transactions have proven will occur." Delta also maintains the combined company would be stuck with a high total debt load in a fragile industry, noting its analysis shows the merger would create $23 billion in total debt for the combined entity. This compares with $10 billion in total debt Delta expects to carry when it comes out of bankruptcy. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Jan 12 12:08:40 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 07:08:40 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways inks deal with Carolina Panthers Message-ID: <20070112070834.D2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 12 January 2007 ; Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area US Airways inks deal with Carolina Panthers http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2007/01/08/daily38.html --- US Airways Group Inc. will paint one of its planes with the Carolina Panthers' logo and team colors as part of a sponsorship agreement the airline has signed with the NFL team. US Airways also will have promotions and advertisements at the team's home field, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, where it has its largest hub. Financial terms of the agreement weren't disclosed. "The Carolina Panthers are one of the most exciting teams in football..." says Travis Christ, US Airways vice president of sales and marketing. "We look forward to a long-lasting partnership, giving Panthers fans and the citizens of Charlotte their very own aircraft." US Airways is one of the busiest carriers out of Piedmont Triad International Airport. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Jan 12 12:10:03 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 07:10:03 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways shares creep toward November's record high Message-ID: <20070112070845.C2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 12 January 2007 ; Arizona Republic US Airways shares creep toward November's record high http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0112biz-usairways0112.html --- BY Dawn Gilbertson US Airways shares are inching toward the all-time high hit in the days after the Delta bid was unveiled in November. The stock was up nearly 4 percent Thursday, a bigger boost than it got Wednesday after it boosted its Delta offer to more than $10 billion. Shares closed at $61.20, up $2.27 or 3.9 percent. The all-time high is $63.27. The stock is up 14 percent already this year. Analysts continued to weigh in on the industry's unfolding merger mania and what it means for the industry. None is quite sure how it all will work out. Some comments: - "An increase in the bid for Delta by US Airways further increases the chances of a successful deal, in our view," Susan Donofrio of Cathay Financial said. - "The value of a new US Airways proposal is financially superior to Delta's standalone plan and will be attractive to Delta creditors. However, we place a low probability that the transaction will ultimately receive Department of Justice approval given the Delta management/labor opposition and antitrust issues," Michael Derchin of FTN Midwest Securities Corp. said. - "While we believe US Airways' offer for Delta is sufficiently compelling and antitrust issues workable, we're assuming US Airways is ultimately unsuccessful in its bid to merge with Delta; in our view, management/labor hostility too big an obstacle to surmount," Daniel McKenzie of Credit Suisse said. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Jan 12 12:11:26 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 07:11:26 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways becomes largest user of AIRMAN -- Airbus' real-time maintenance tool Message-ID: <20070112071005.D2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 12 January 2007 ; Luchtzak Aviation (Belgium) US Airways becomes largest user of AIRMAN -- Airbus' real-time maintenance tool http://www.luchtzak.be/article13406.html --- Following the success of AIRMAN in America West operations, Airbus' real-time maintenance and troubleshooting tool, Airbus Customer Services is pleased to welcome the fleet engineering team of US Airways as a new AIRMAN user. Airbus has signed an agreement with US Airways Group for the selection of AIRMAN to monitor its Airbus fleet of over 200 Airbus aircraft. With this selection, US Airways becomes the largest user of this successful Airbus maintenance service, designed to help reduce maintenance and operating costs and improve aircraft dispatch reliability. "Over the last three years we have reaped the benefits of the AIRMAN tool on the former America West fleet," Scott Hutson, Sr. Manager, Engineering Technical Center at US Airways said. "As an acknowledgement of AIRMAN's potential, we will add over 100 aircraft to this tool in early 2007, bringing the total to over 200 aircraft being monitored and evaluated by AIRMAN. Today's announcement solidifies the new US Airways' commitment to our customers to continuously improve aircraft reliability. We look forward to maintaining our great relationship with Airbus and the AIRMAN Support Team." "Airbus Customer Services is very pleased to have the US Airways Airbus operation as the largest AIRMAN user," said Patrick Gavin, Executive Vice President Airbus Customer Services. "We are looking forward to supporting them and further improving the success of US Airways maintenance operations." AIRMAN is Airbus' real-time health monitoring tool that enables operators to optimise line maintenance and troubleshooting of aircraft. It is part of Air+ by Airbus, the comprehensive portfolio of products and services for fleet operations optimisation. The operational benefits of AIRMAN are significant savings in maintenance and operations as delays and cancellations can be avoided, leading to an improved aircraft dispatch reliability. The latest (V9) version of AIRMAN was released at end of November 2006. New features have been integrated into this latest version to help further increase the efficiency of the Maintenance Control Centre and line maintenance. Selected by 84 airlines, AIRMAN currently monitors over 2,000 aircraft worldwide. The recently merged US Airways and America West fly the largest fleet (205) of Airbus aircraft in the world, including single-aisle and widebody aircraft. US Airways headquarters is based in Tempe, Arizona, with major international and domestic operations based out of Phoenix, Charlotte, and Philadelphia. US Airways employs nearly 35,000 aviation professionals worldwide. US Airways, US Airways Shuttle and US Airways Express operate approximately 3,800 flights per day and serve more than 230 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. The new US Airways -- the product of a merger between America West and US Airways in September 2005 -- is a member of the Star Alliance, which provides connections for our customers to 841 destinations in 157 countries worldwide. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Fri Jan 12 21:33:33 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 16:33:33 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] Spotlight: Doug Parker of US Airways Message-ID: <20070112163318.D2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 12 January 2007 ; International Herald Tribune Spotlight: Doug Parker of US Airways http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/12/business/wbspot13.php --- Chief executive brings back optimism By Jeff Bailey TEMPE, Arizona: A good mood can be infectious, and W. Douglas Parker, chief executive of US Airways, with a sunny disposition and a $10.5 billion takeover proposal for Delta Air Lines, has helped make the U.S. airline industry feel better about itself again. Gone for the moment are dreary laments about sky-high fuel costs, about fractious labor relations and the inevitable economic downturn that could very well plunge one or more thinly capitalized carrier back into bankruptcy. The usual glum talk about airlines is being drowned out by the sweet murmurings of speculation, as an industry that for many reasons should be loathed by investors regains a little glamour on Wall Street. Will Parker succeed in buying Delta and in carving out his promised $1.65 billion in cost savings, or will someone else pay even more? Will United Airlines and Continental Airlines, fearful of being left behind, also merge and force a wholesale streamlining of the industry that might help smooth out the wrenching ups and downs of the past? Parker, more than any other industry player, sparked this turnaround in sentiment with what appears to be a startlingly successful merger of the old US Airways, a carrier that has been in bankruptcy court twice since 2001, and his America West Airlines, a much smaller company that badly needed a cash infusion. He raised $866 million from outside investors and brought the airlines together in time to catch an updraft in ticket pricing that has restored the industry to a rare state of profitability. US Airways' market capitalization now stands at $5.4 billion. Since the merger, its new shares have tripled in value from a first-day close of $20.21 on Sept. 29, 2005, to $61.20 on Thursday. For the first nine months of 2006, US Airways reported net income of $292 million on revenue of $8.77 billion. "We are the first post-Sept. 11 success story," said Jack Stephan, a captain and head of the union chapter that represents pilots from the old US Airways side. It has not hurt, in navigating the merger, that "Doug Parker is charming," Stephan added. Parker, 45 and boyish -- pilots and others call him Doogie, after a U.S. television series, "Doogie Howser, M.D.," about a teenage doctor -- has, with a combination of self-deprecation and a quiet determination about the economics of mergers, made investors see airlines as a troubled industry that can be profitable instead of just a troubled industry. In an interview at US Airways headquarters, Parker said the success of his initial merger -- and the market's embrace of the proposed Delta combination -- had nothing to do with superior management skills and everything to do with the savings from combining two airlines. "We'd like to attribute it to management, but it's due to the merger," he said. In pursuing Delta before the earlier merger is completely integrated, Parker is trying to take advantage of Delta's stay in bankruptcy, where a company can jettison assets and obligations and reshape its operations more easily than outside bankruptcy. He is also moving on to the new target before negotiating more expensive labor contracts with US Airways workers, who gave up a lot to keep the airline in business. The chief executive of a much larger airline said admiringly that Parker was "smart enough to know, 'I've got this really low cost structure, which is temporary, because when these people storm the barracks, I'm going to have to appease them after what they've been through.'" To date, Parker has kept unions at US Airways from overtly opposing the Delta takeover. He tells workers the combination would make the companies more profitable and thus more stable for employees. "Given the track record of Parker and his team, I'd think he'd have a good idea of what's going to happen," said Gary Richardson, who heads the chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants representing workers from the old America West. While Richardson is frustrated by the slow pace of negotiations, and wants a big pay increase for historically low-paid flight attendants at the airline, he remains a Parker admirer. "He's a great guy," Richardson said, "an incredible man." Parker joined the airline industry right after finishing his education, working in finance at American Airlines and then Northwest Airlines before joining America West, where he was promoted to chief executive just 10 days before Sept. 11, 2001. The airline was nearly out of cash and survived only by securing a government loan guarantee. Parker nonetheless went looking for acquisitions. He was outbid by Southwest for some assets of ATA Airlines. That left America West free to pursue the much larger US Airways, which was teetering near liquidation, in 2005. The good will that many workers, including union officials, feel toward him is partly due to the upward swing that America West and US Airways benefited from shortly after he became chief executive. But it is also partly due to his manner. He steers away from management- speak, uses plain language and often tries to discuss a situation from the other person's perspective. And he laughs easily at himself. His wife, Gwen, is a former flight attendant and union activist at American Airlines. As Parker said in an interview last year, if he comes home complaining that workers need to make concessions, "it's not going to make for a nice evening at home." From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Jan 16 02:56:10 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2007 21:56:10 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] Delta pilots vow to spend $15 million fighting US Airways Message-ID: <20070115215600.Y2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 15 January 2007 ; Atlanta Journal-Constitution Delta pilots vow to spend $15 million fighting US Airways http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/delta/stories/2007/01/12/0112bizdeltapilots.html --- Thousands of job losses likely if sweetened offer succeeds, union chief says By RUSSELL GRANTHAM Delta Air Lines' pilots union has earmarked $15 million to help defeat US Airways' hostile takeover bid, which the union's top official said poses a "clear and present danger to the careers of all Delta employees." US Airways Chief Executive Doug Parker "will soon come to realize that we cannot be ignored, that we are not going away, and that the Delta pilots will not be 'synergized,' " union Chairman Lee Moak said in a letter to pilots. Moak said leaders of the Air Line Pilots Association's Delta unit decided to set up the war chest and temporarily move their leadership headquarters from Atlanta to Washington, to concentrate on lobbying politicians and investors. Industry experts say the battle for Delta is likely to escalate in the wake of US Airways' decision this week to boost its nearly two-month-old offer from about $8.5 billion to $10.3 billion. US Airways has given Delta's creditors a Feb. 1 deadline to indicate support. US Airways has projected that the merger will produce $1.65 billion in savings or higher revenues through a combination of capacity reductions, aircraft lease cancellations and other moves. But Moak said the fattened offer would add debt to the merged airline and also casts new doubt on US Airways' credibility. "Two weeks ago, (US Airways CEO Doug) Parker definitively stated that he had no intention of increasing his offer. (Wednesday), he increased his offer, while at the same time reaffirming his 'plan' for no 'frontline' employee furloughs," Moak wrote. "But on the same day, Parker's number two man was openly discussing additional divestitures beyond those originally disclosed to quell antitrust concerns that US Airways claims don't exist in the first place. "With divestitures come job losses. Make no mistake--Parker's plan will result in thousands of job losses regardless of Parker's empty promises." A merger is also opposed by Delta management, but the airline's bankruptcy court creditors could force it to pursue the deal. One creditor faction, representing about 15 percent of claims, has already urged Delta to take preliminary steps in that direction in light of the new offer. Moak repeated earlier criticisms that the US Airways merger plan ignores elements of the Delta pilot contract that would block or complicate integration of the two airlines. "Parker mistakenly believes that he can somehow magically overcome the . . . protections built into our contract and to date refuses to discuss the contract in anything other than superficial terms," Moak said. He added: "The Delta pilots will not change any provision of our contract in order to facilitate the hostile takeover of our company." Moak did not address reports that Delta might be talking to Northwest Airlines about a possible post-Chapter 11 merger of those two carriers, as an alternative to a US Airways deal. But he said: "I want to caution you about the many press reports you will read and see in the coming days and weeks regarding both the US Airways' hostile merger attempt and any other industry merger activity. "I want to make this perfectly clear. Delta remains committed to emerging from bankruptcy as a standalone airline, and the (union leadership) shares that commitment. Nothing will distract us from the task at hand." Despite the heated pilot union opposition, some analysts think the new US Airways offer has boosted chances that Delta creditors will push for the deal. A self-named "unofficial committee" of unsecured creditors late Wednesday said it wants the airline to start the paperwork and that the new bid "represents a significant premium to the valuation Delta itself places on its stand-alone plan." The group, which was already believed leaning in favor of a deal, represents several hedge funds and other investors that have bought up about $2.3 billion of Delta's bankruptcy claims. It represents a potential rival camp to the court-appointed creditors committee --- made up of major suppliers, financial backers and others including the pilot union --- that is weighing US Airways' offer against Delta's stand-alone plan to exit Chapter 11 later this year. That group, which accounts for roughly half of all claims and this has more clout, hasn't indicated a position so far. Delta creditors holding at least two-thirds of all claims must approve any plan of reorganization. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Wed Jan 17 12:22:50 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2007 07:22:50 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] Delta: Takeover will cost cities Message-ID: <20070117072241.M2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 17 January 2007 ; St. Petersburg Times Delta: Takeover will cost cities http://www.sptimes.com/2007/01/17/Business/Delta__Takeover_will_.shtml --- It estimates 550 Tampa-area jobs could be lost in a US Airways buyout. By STEVE HUETTEL While airline executives, economists and lawyers debate how US Airways' hostile bid for Delta Air Lines could change the airline landscape, Delta and its workers are taking a narrower focus. How would the blouster deal hit dozens of local communities in the pocketbook? As part of a campaign to build public opposition to the bid, Delta put together an 18-state interactive map of potential job losses and other negative effects city by city. Topping the list for Tampa: Delta's West Shore reservations center, which employs nearly 400. Other possible casualties include a base for 120 flight attendants and about 30 mechanic jobs at Tampa International Airport. US Airways said it could squeeze out $1.65-billion in annual costs by merging the airlines, largely by reducing the combined fleets 10 percent and eliminating overlapping costs. Delta pilot Rick Dominguez of Tampa said US Airways is soft pedaling what the merger means for Delta workers. "They're very disingenuous with the use of the word 'synergies,' " Dominguez said. "That translates to cuts and layoffs." No so, said US Airways spokesman Philip Gee. The airline pledges not to lay off or furlough employees outside of administrative jobs or management. Since America West Airlines merged with US Airways last year, no "frontline" employees lost their jobs, although the carrier cut 15 percent of its flying, he said. US Airways has since recalled 700 workers and hired 4,000 new ones to make up for employees who left. The airline "doesn't anticipate anything changing" at the Tampa reservations center, Gee said, but he hasn't been able to examine Delta's books. That could change soon. Last week, US Airways increased its bid to $10.3-billion in cash and stock, up 20 percent from its original offer. The offer came with a Feb. 1 deadline for creditors of bankrupt Delta to endorse the bid. Delta wants to emerge from Chapter 11 as a stand-alone carrier. An airline employee group, using part of its annual funding from Delta, launched a campaign to stay independent called Keep Delta My Delta. They've handed out thousands of buttons to flight attendants and other employees and have a Web site, KeepDeltaMyDelta.com. The interactive map of jobs and services "at stake" appears on the site. Delta's hub in Salt Lake City and focus city of Cincinnati may have the most to lose. US Airways flies from Western hubs in Las Vegas and Phoenix and operates a focus city in Pittsburgh. President Scott Kirby told newspapers in both cities last week their airports would survive the merger without the loss of jobs or air service. Employees at Delta's Tampa reservations center "were in a constant state of angst" last year as the airline decided where to cut jobs, said Mike Maharrey of St. Petersburg, who left his job as an agent there last summer. Delta instead closed a South Florida center with 500 workers and one in Montgomery, Ala., with 150 employees. But most airlines have scaled back domestic reservations centers, sometimes contracting with cheaper overseas outfits in India and Latin America, said Darryl Jenkins, an airline consultant in northern Virginia. "The whole idea of a merger is to have a certain level of service with fewer employees," Jenkins said. "Reservations centers are in danger all over." US Airways hired 240 agents and recalled others last year after service problems with its foreign centers, Gee said. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Tue Jan 23 21:32:36 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2007 16:32:36 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways deal gaining foes Message-ID: <20070123163217.O2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 23 January 2007 ; Arizona Republic US Airways deal gaining foes http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0123biz-usairways0123.html\" --- Travel group comes out against takeover; Delta pilots planning rally in Washington BY Dawn Gilbertson On the seesaw that is the US Airways/Delta takeover battle, Delta appears to be bouncing higher as opposition to the deal mounts and grows louder. On Monday, the Business Travel Coalition trade group blasted the merger, calling it a toxic combination, and Delta's pilots for the first time took their non-stop campaign against the merger to US Airways employees in Phoenix and Charlotte, N.C., with rolling billboards featuring doomsday messages. Today, Delta employees plan a big rally in Washington, D.C., to showcase the support they've garnered in the two-month-old "Keep Delta My Delta" campaign, including electronic petitions against the deal. The stepped-up posturing is timed to capitalize on the government spotlight on airline mergers this week. The Senate Commerce Committee, whose members include Arizona Sen. John McCain, is holding a hearing Wednesday in Washington on the impact of airline consolidation, with the proposed US Airways/Delta deal exhibit No. 1. The CEOs of US Airways and Delta are due to speak, as is a handful of industry and government experts. The public buzz so far has favored Delta, with employees, lawmakers, frequent fliers and others weighing in with concerns and, in some cases, strenuous opposition. A high-octane public relations and lobbying blitz is natural for the target of a hostile takeover, but this battle has been particularly lopsided, with little public support to date for US Airways' bid. US Airways' unions have been neutral, if they've said anything about the merger. In contrast to Georgia's congressional delegation, no one from Arizona's delegation has publicly come to US Airways' defense, in general or regarding the merger. In the past, McCain was a vocal supporter of the former America West, most recently when it applied for a government loan after Sept. 11. "Other than US Airways and Wall Street, no one else has come out in favor of the deal," said Jim Corridore, airline stock analyst for Standard & Poor's. "There seems to be nearly unanimous opposition among all other constituencies that would be party to this merger, so that's not good for US Airways in terms of their ability to push this through." Corridore and other analysts believed US Airways' chances of success improved after it sweetened its bid to more than $10 billion earlier this month. Now, Corridore isn't so sure as reports surface of difficulty getting Delta's creditors to decide on US Airways' latest offer despite a Feb. 1 deadline to take action. "I do not see a very strong chance that the merger will be consummated, even though I think that it would be the best deal for Delta creditors," he said. US Airways' stock has fallen 8 percent in the past week, worse than any other major airline. It rose in the days after the offer was increased Jan. 10. C.A. Howlett, senior vice president of public affairs for US Airways, said some people are misreading concern over the merger as opposition to it. He said that US Airways has talked to "hundreds of people" on Capitol Hill and that the more they hear the airline's side of the merger story, the more supportive and understanding they are. He said the company is "quite comfortable" with where it stands in Washington, including with the Arizona delegation. "I think if and when we need it (public support), we'll get it," he said. He said US Airways CEO Doug Parker's brief presentation to the committee Wednesday will focus on, among other things, the industry's struggles the past five years, the entrance of more low-cost rivals, the fragmented market share of the major airlines and the early results from the US Airways/America West deal and what that portends for a US Airways/Delta deal. In the end, Howlett said, the U.S. Department of Justice has the biggest say in the proposed merger as it relates to competition. The airline is simply asking Delta's creditors to allow it to start the antitrust review process to back up its claims that a deal would receive regulatory approval. "The he-said/she-said debate ... is all great theater, but it means nothing," Howlett said. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Thu Jan 25 04:30:12 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 23:30:12 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] Delta CEO to Senate: US Airways merger would 'derail our momentum' Message-ID: <20070124233005.I2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 24 January 2007 ; Washington Business Journal Delta CEO to Senate: US Airways merger would 'derail our momentum' http://washington.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2007/01/22/daily24.html --- Delta Air Lines Inc. Chairman and CEO Gerald Grinstein on Wednesday told U.S. senators the company is set to emerge from bankruptcy in spring as one of the best positioned airlines in the country, and reiterated the airline's opposition to US Airways Group Inc.'s $10.2 billion hostile takeover bid. Grinstein testified to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation about the state of the airline industry and the potential impact of airline mergers and industry consolidation. "The stage is set for Delta to emerge as a powerful, competitive force to be reckoned with -- unless US Airways' takeover bid is allowed to derail our momentum and jeopardize our hard-won gains," Grinstein said. Delta's (Pink Sheets: DALRQ) board of directors rejected US Airways' initial $8 billion takeover bid and said its standalone plan of reorganization will provide creditors with superior value, faster recovery and greater certainty of execution. However, the Delta board will review the revised $10.2 billion proposal made by US Airways earlier this month. Grinstein said Congress should examine the competitive impact of the US Airways proposal, because the merger would trigger broad industry consolidation and it fails to meet antitrust standards. "Almost every day brings a new media report on potential mergers in the airline industry, most of which are stated openly as direct reactions to US Airways' bid," he said. "And if this anticompetitive proposed merger gains approval despite its substantial adverse impacts on competition, consumers, communities and employees, virtually any other airline merger would likely pass regulatory muster. In our view, the likely outcome of follow-on consolidation would be to leave the combined Delta and US Airways as the weakest carrier, with little West Coast and Asian presence and a staggering debt load." Grinstein noted the merged US Airways-Delta would have a $24 billion debt burden. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Sat Jan 27 18:02:01 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2007 13:02:01 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] Delta bondholders want US Airways talks Message-ID: <20070127130156.E2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 27 January 2007 ; Charlotte Observer Delta bondholders want US Airways talks http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/16554754.htm --- By STEVE HARRISON There are mixed reports about whether Delta's creditors are supporting a merger of Delta and US Airways. Bloomberg News reported this week that a group of Delta bondholders wants Delta to talk with US Airways about merging. The bondholders own $2.25 billion of Delta's debt, and don't do business with the airline. They are looking for the best return on their investment. Meanwhile, Delta's official creditors committee -- which includes companies such as Boeing and Coca-Cola -- are believed to be more sympathetic towards Delta. They are considering the US Airways offer, but are weighing that against their long-standing business ties with Delta. US Airways increased its bid for Delta nearly two weeks ago by nearly 20 percent. It also said it would revoke its offer on Feb. 1 if Delta's creditors committee didn't give an indication it wanted to consider the merger. US Airways executives said Wednesday that they could increase their offer a second time. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Sat Jan 27 18:04:11 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Sat, 27 Jan 2007 13:04:11 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] As time runs out, Delta, US Airways woo creditors Message-ID: <20070127130359.N2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 27 January 2007 ; Daily Report As time runs out, Delta, US Airways woo creditors http://www.dailyreportonline.com/Editorial/News/new_singleEdit.asp?individual_SQL=1/25/2007 at 13321_Public_.htm --- U.S. Department of Transportation official told Senate committee that having fewer, larger carriers could result in more service to small communities By PHILIPPA MAISTER, Staff Reporter US AIRWAYS' contention that bigger airlines are better for the public got unexpected support yesterday from a senior official in the U.S. Department of Transportation testifying at a Senate hearing on airline mergers. Since Sept. 11, the declining health of network carriers has created a growing need to subsidize air service to smaller communities, Andrew B. Steinberg, assistant secretary for aviation and transportation affairs, told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation--many of whose members represent largely rural states like Alaska, West Virginia and Minnesota. "Contrary to what may have been suggested, having fewer, larger network carriers could result in having more services to smaller communities as they try to serve the entire country," Steinberg said. While US Airways CEO Doug Parker supported Steinberg's statement, Delta Air Lines CEO Gerald Grinstein, who also testified, countered that a merger would only improve service if it involved airlines where there is not a significant amount of overlap, as there is in the Delta-US Airways case. The Committee's hearing comes as two key deadlines in the first and second weeks of February loom for Delta as it struggles to take control of its future. The first deadline is Feb. 1, the self-imposed date on which Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways' offer to buy Delta will expire--unless Parker chooses to extend it. Although some bankruptcy lawyers and financial analysts are questioning its chances for success, a group of creditors holding billions of dollars in claims wants Delta to look at it more closely. The second deadline is Feb. 7, when the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York will hold a hearing on Delta's revised disclosure statement--essentially a prospectus that provides creditors and other interest-holders with the financial information they need to help them decide whether to go along with Delta's reorganization plan. As the deadlines approach, both sides have stepped up their public relations campaigns. Delta's unions and employees have rallied to their company's cause in displays of support, as have Georgia Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss. Meanwhile, US Airways has placed ads in two Capitol Hill publications, Roll Call and The Hill, to persuade legislators that its offer, which it valued at $12.7 billion to $15.4 billion, is best for the traveling public and the companies' employees. In a letter to Parker, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., raised "serious concerns" about the merger, which he said "could cast a huge shadow over upstate [New York] air service." Schumer demanded answers to questions about how a merger with Delta would affect routes, fares and employees in his state. The Senate can't block the merger; only the U.S. Justice Department has that authority. Still, it has influence. Schumer claimed credit in his letter for foiling an attempted hostile takeover of Independence Airline by Mesa Airlines in 2003. Schumer said his request that the Department of Justice investigate Mesa's possible anti-competitive behavior caused Mesa to drop its plan. Paul Burke O'Hearn, a partner in Burr & Forman's Atlanta office, predicted that a bankruptcy court-appointed unsecured creditors' committee is likely to support Delta's stand-alone plan. O'Hearn is a past chairman of the American Bar Association's Subcommittee on Lender Liability and of the State Bar of Georgia's Bankruptcy Section. He is not involved in the Delta bankruptcy case. According to Delta's revised disclosure statement, unsecured creditors of Delta subsidiary Comair will get stock in the new Delta projected to be worth 76 percent to 100 percent of their claims. Delta's unsecured creditors will get a 62 percent to 78 percent projected recovery of their claims. "That's a pretty good deal, assuming all the valuations are right," O'Hearn said. He noted that valuations are performed by investment banks and involve sophisticated analysis of business plans. But O'Hearn acknowledged there are other players who may not support Delta's reorganization plan. One group that may not is an unofficial committee of unsecured creditors made up largely of hedge funds that want Delta to take another look at US Airways. The Unofficial Committee of Unsecured Claimholders, formed Dec. 7, is represented by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. It includes 18 hedge funds and investment management companies that hold $2.35 billion worth of creditors' claims against Delta and its subsidiaries. On Jan. 10, the group called on Delta to allow US Airways to do due diligence on the merger and to postpone the Feb. 7 disclosure hearing so that the proposal could be fully evaluated. O'Hearn said hedge funds--or, as he termed them, "vulture funds"--buy up stock and debt in troubled companies at significant discounts and can make a 300 percent return on a six-month investment when the claims are settled. Another player is the federal Pension Benefits Guaranty Corp., which holds $2.2 billion in claims against Delta. O'Hearn said the PBGC may be attracted to the US Airways buyout offer--but may also be concerned that, if the merged company failed, it could wind up with an even larger number of pension obligations. Delta's fate could become clearer after the Feb. 7 disclosure hearing. Creditors could object to approval of Delta's disclosure statement, claiming it doesn't accurately value the US Airways offer and the official and unofficial creditors committees could square off. If approved, the statement will be submitted to a vote of all creditors. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Sun Jan 28 13:30:48 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2007 08:30:48 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] US Airways Defends Its Plan to Buy Delta Message-ID: <20070128083041.C2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 28 January 2007 ; Washington Post US Airways Defends Its Plan to Buy Delta http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/24/AR2007012401998.html --- By Del Quentin Wilber Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, January 25, 2007; Page D01 With a critical deadline looming in his hostile takeover bid for Delta Air Lines, the chief executive of US Airways faced tough questions yesterday from senators worried that a combined carrier would reduce service to rural areas and increase fares. The concerns emerged during a lengthy Senate hearing on the proposed merger of Delta and US Airways, and the potential impact of future airline consolidation. The hearing also put the chief executives of the two airlines, who have been slugging it out in news releases, within arm's length of each other in public for the first time since the merger bid was announced in November. [Photo by Nikki Kahn (The Washington Post), Caption: From right, US Airways chief W. Douglas Parker, Assistant Transportation Secretary Andrew Steinberg and Delta Air Lines chief Gerald Grinstein at the hearing.] Democratic and Republican senators expressed fears that a merger would force other carriers to combine. Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation's subcommittee on aviation, said such consolidation could harm small towns and other "end-of-the-food chain markets and their prices and their service." US Airways chief executive W. Douglas Parker repeatedly defended his bid for Atlanta-based Delta, which is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, by saying that a combined carrier would provide better service to rural areas. "In general, I would say that healthy network carriers that earn adequate profits are actually good for smaller communities and good for consumers because they can afford the breadth and scope of service that we want to deliver," Parker said. Two weeks ago, Parker increased his bid for Delta by 20 percent to a total of $9.8 billion in stock and cash. He has set a Feb. 1 deadline for Delta's creditors to accept his offer. Despite Parker's assurances on preserving service to small communities, senators from Maine to Mississippi expressed skepticism. "The inevitable will happen, which is to say that we're going to, you know, lose service and also, I think, [the outcome will] result in higher prices," said Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine). Sens. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said they did not think the merger would help their residents and were not pleased by the hostile nature of the bid. "It's one network carrier saying 'I'm going to take over the other network carrier,' " Dorgan said. "I'm not a big fan of that because inevitably what is going to happen is the other network carriers are going to decide we've got to merge. . . . I don't think that gives consumers more choices. I think that gives them fewer choices." Lott added: "Now, I must say you are an aggressive suitor. But the lady from the South -- Atlanta -- doesn't seem to want to be forced into this shotgun wedding." Delta's chief executive Gerald Grinstein disputed Parker's claims. Grinstein agreed with the senators that service to rural areas could be lost. He also questioned the viability of a combined company because it would have about $24 billion of debt. "If you believe that with the kind of debt that this is going to have, that you're not going to reduce your hubs, you're not going to reduce frequencies, you're not going to consolidate flights and reduce planes, you believe in Tinker Bell," Grinstein said. Grinstein also denied media reports that Delta and Northwest have been negotiating a possible merger. "Let me be very clear about that: We are not negotiating any such deal with Northwest," Grinstein testified. Some of the senators also pressed the executives on whether they thought it would be a good idea to re-regulate the industry to promote service to small towns and rural areas. Grinstein and Parker said they would work with the Transportation Department and Senate staff members to study such proposals. Although the executives were cordial, the high stakes of the fight were not lost on those attending the hearing. The room was packed with Delta pilots and other employees, who burst into applause at one point and wore buttons supporting the carrier's efforts to avoid a takeover. When Rockefeller called a break so senators could attend a vote, he asked Andrew B. Steinberg, a top official at the Transportation Department, to "maintain your position between those two CEOs. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Sun Jan 28 13:37:16 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2007 08:37:16 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] Workers face hassles of US Airways security Message-ID: <20070128083704.G2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 28 January 2007 ; Beaver County Times Allegheny Times Workers face hassles of US Airways security http://www.timesonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17771810&BRD=2305&PAG=461 --- By Tom Fontaine, Times Staff [Photo by Kevin Lorenzi (The Times), Caption: Roberta Campbell holds up a letter she gained from her efforts to be removed from the TSA's] Meet Kevin Kelly. The Moon Township man has been a flight attendant with US Airways for nearly 33 years. He's worked through airline bankruptcies and mergers, the specter of terrorism and, on one flight, an adult passenger wiping boogers on him. But his job is the easy part. Getting to and from work is the problem. For more than a year, Kelly's name was erroneously included on the federal government's "no-fly list" of suspected terrorists and other criminals who are considered too dangerous for commercial airline travel. Kelly said he was told he shares the same name as a suspected terrorist in Northern Ireland. After repeated inquiries and prodding, Kelly said, the Transportation Security Administration removed his name from the federal no-fly list this fall, but strangely, his name remains on a similar watch list kept by his longtime employer, US Airways. "I work for the airline, I've gone through all of their background checks, and I'm their No. 1 line of defense in the air," said Kelly, who is based at Philadelphia International Airport and commutes back and forth on commercial flights. "But whenever I go to work and go home, I'm just a terrorist on a watch list," he said. Kelly's not alone. "I've run across a lot of people out there who are in the same boat, and as far as I'm concerned, our rights are being violated," said Roberta Campbell of Rochester, a 18-year baggage handler for US Airways who, like Kelly, also managed to get off the federal no-fly list but remains on the airline's watch list. Being on the airline's watch list is just as bad as being on the federal government's no-fly list, the employees say, and has made boarding flights a complicated, time-consuming and often frustrating process. Kelly often goes to the airport an hour before his flight is scheduled to depart, even though he doesn't have to check bags or buy a ticket. Although he can get through security checkpoints by showing TSA screeners his work badge, red flags start to pop when he arrives at the gate and tries to board a flight. "They see me coming and say, 'Oh no, it's Kevin.' They put my information in the computer and the red flags come right up," Kelly said, adding that a supervisor has to be paged and clear him to board. It's often harder to get home from Philadelphia, because supervisors aren't always readily available, particularly late at night or when the airport is swamped. "Every day you go to work and don't know if you're going to get there. Then if you're lucky enough to get on the plane, you have to go do your job and go through the stress of not knowing whether you'll get home that night," Kelly said. Worse, Kelly said, he checked with several other airlines, including Southwest and JetBlue, and found that he was not on any of their watch lists. Campbell said she's often had to wait an hour or more at the gate to get cleared to board. Sometimes she's been allowed to board only to get yanked off for questioning minutes later, and flight captains have questioned her in front of other passengers. "It's embarrassing," Campbell said. As a "back-door" approach to get around the problem, Campbell said, she has booked multiple flights using the same "record locator," a code of numbers and letters that identifies flights. After going through the hassle of getting cleared to board a flight, she keeps that flight's record locator and then uses it to book dozens of future flights in advance, which she can then board hassle-free. Kelly and Campbell said they have made countless calls to try to get their names off the airline's watch list, all to no avail. US Airways spokesman Morgan Durrant could understand the employees' frustration, particularly since they're being red-flagged "by their own airline." Durrant advises any employees experiencing similar problems to call the airline's customer relations department at (866) 523-5333 to get their names "deflagged." After receiving the number Friday afternoon, Kelly said he planned to call but was skeptical it would do any good. "We've called everyone under the sun and been given the runaround, but now, after a year and a half, they're saying this can be easily fixed? I'll believe it when I see it," he said. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Sun Jan 28 13:39:24 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2007 08:39:24 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] Frequent fliers: Find the phone Message-ID: <20070128083916.Y2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 28 January 2007 ; Charlotte Observer Frequent fliers: Find the phone http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/16564638.htm --- By STEVE HARRISON It's no secret the value of frequent flier miles is falling. We've all logged on to an airline Web site to redeem miles, and experienced an aeronautical eclipse: Blackouts on every flight to every city. Or perhaps the only domestic ticket available for 25,000 miles is one that arrives at your destination at midnight. Great -- that will be fun with a 16-month-old. But there can be a better way: Pick up the phone. It seems counterintuitive today, but the most effective way to redeem your miles is by talking to a reservations agent. They can check seat availability on partner airlines. That can be especially helpful when flying overseas. We're used to the Web giving us access to all information, but in redeeming miles, it only shows part of the picture. "For a reservations agent -- this is what they do for a living," said Tim Winship, who co-authored "Mileage Pro -- The Insider's Guide to Frequent Flyer Programs." "They understand how to get around supply bottlenecks. They can bypass a hub when it's congested." US Airways charges a $10 fee per ticket to make a reservation over the phone, but if an agent can do what the computer can't, it's worth it. "There is big potential value of hundreds of dollars," Winship said. US Airways' Web site -- and the Web sites of many other airlines -- only show you their available seats. For instance, the US Airways Web site will let you buy tickets on its partner airline United, but you can't redeem miles for a United ticket. To try and get a seat on a Star Alliance carrier -- which includes Air Canada and Lufthansa -- you call 800-428-4322. But some US Airways partner airlines have a different number. To book travel on Big Sky, Hawaiian, Royal Jordanian or Virgin Atlantic airlines, call 800-247-5691. I asked a friend, Seth Kaplan, to walk me through the process. He flies a lot and also publishes Airline Weekly, which covers the industry. So he understands all the frequent flyer angles. For instance, he's spent $400 on two trips to Venezuela and walked away with 60,000 miles by taking advantage of special promotions. Normally, he would have pocketed 5,400. In fact, he knows the system so well that I wouldn't be surprised if his photo has been taped to airline ticket counters, with a warning to airline employees: "Do not sell a ticket to this man." "I've gone to Europe five times on partner airlines -- American miles with US Airways (when they had an alliance); Delta miles to fly Air France; Continental miles to fly Delta; and American miles to fly Swissair," Kaplan said. "And everyone of those times, I couldn't fly my airline." Kaplan said the first step is to do research. "So you want to fly US Airways to London, and you go on their site, and there are no seats. So you can figure out that Virgin Atlantic flies there and try them," he said. And once you call to use your miles, you need to be pro-active, to press to make sure to check all available options. Are they checking this airline? Or this connection? Winship warns that using foreign carriers isn't always a panacea. But he said it's always worth picking up the phone. "The airlines have trained us away from that," Winship said. US Airways said in two years its Web site may show all available seats on partner airlines. GOING AWAY Quantas Codeshare US Airways and Qantas will end their codeshare and frequent flyer partnership Feb. 28. The last day to ticket award travel on Qantas is Feb. 28 and the last day to travel on an award ticket is Jan. 31, 2008. Star Alliance Star Alliance members: Air Canada, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, bmi, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways, United, US Airways. You can earn and redeem miles in the mileage program of your choice while flying any of these carriers. Mileage Subtraction US Airways partner United recently announced its Mileage Plus members will lose miles if their accounts are dormant for 18 months. It used to be three years. Accounts that have not had activity since July 1, 2006, will expire Dec. 31. Passport Requirements U.S. citizens must now have a passport for all international air travel, even to the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada. For a list of area offices where you can apply for a first-time passport, see today's Travel section, 5I. Mann Travels, at its Travel Show at the Charlotte Convention Center today from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., will let people apply for a passport on site. The private company, A Briggs, will have the necessary paperwork, and can turn them in for processing. Required documents include: - The original or a certified copy of your birth certificate or expired passport. - Naturalization papers if you were not born a U.S. citizen. - Your driver's license. If your license was issued less than six months ago, call A Briggs for additional requirements. - Two passport photos. If you don't have one, A Briggs will take one for $10. It will cost $97 to get the passport in six to eight weeks. You can also pay $127 to get the passport in four to six weeks. From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Sun Jan 28 23:03:36 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2007 18:03:36 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] Grinstein: Delta-US Airways Would Be Weakest Message-ID: <20070128180327.Q2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 28 January 2007 ; Aviation Week Grinstein: Delta-US Airways Would Be Weakest http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/GRIN01257.xml --- By David Bond Aviation Daily US Airways' main goal in trying to take over Delta is to eliminate its "key competitor," but if successful it will have created the weakest of an eventual three consolidated network carriers, Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein told the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday. As dozens of uniformed pilots and other Delta employees ringed the crowded hearing room, Grinstein sharpened and elaborated somewhat on his case against the hostile-takeover attempt. By contrast, US Airways CEO Doug Parker restated his position in familiar terms. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), aviation subcommittee chief who chaired the full-committee hearing, floated the idea of re-regulating commercial aviation with respect to small markets. The US Airways takeover, proposed as an offer to Delta's unsecured creditors as Delta prepares to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, is "the poster child of an anticompetitive merger," Grinstein said in prepared remarks. "Delta and US Airways are each other's most direct and pervasive competitors." Parker repeated US Airways' pledge that all points currently served by Delta or US Airways will be served by the merged airline. Grinstein argued, however, that US Airways' plan to reduce the merged carrier's capacity by 10% means that service at some locations would have to be cut back, and he predicted a reduction in hub competition for one-stops between lesser points. Referring to the two carriers' hubs and focus points as "three twins and a triplet," Grinstein said the merger would reduce consumers' choices. Without closing hubs, the new airline still would offer Tallahassee-Boston one-stops through Atlanta (operated currently by Delta) and Charlotte (US Airways), but one of these hubs -- probably Charlotte -- would be downsized significantly. The other groups of siblings are New York Kennedy (Delta) and Philadelphia (US Airways), Cincinnati (Delta) and Pittsburgh (US Airways), and Salt Lake City (Delta), Phoenix and Las Vegas (US Airways). "No merger in the history of this industry has ever been approved by the Department of Justice with anywhere near this degree of network redundancy," Grinstein declared. "This merger is being proposed to cut service, shrink hubs and increase prices." If US Airways-Delta were approved, creating the largest airline in the world, "virtually any other airline merger would likely pass regulatory muster." That kind of "follow-on consolidation," a defensive reaction among American, United, Northwest and Continental, would leave US Airways-Delta as "the weakest carrier, with little West Coast and Asian presence and a staggering debt load," Grinstein predicted. Although low-cost carriers generally don't serve small or even medium markets, Parker argued that they can affect network-airline fares at nearby points. For example, US Airways intends to reduce fares at Harrisburg, Pa., in order to recapture travelers who have been driving from Central Pennsylvania to Baltimore, a Southwest stronghold, for lower fares. About 81% of the merged airline's passengers would have competition from LCCs at their local airports and 13% more would have access to it within 100 miles, Parker said. Parker also tried to reassure Delta employees and labor-connected lawmakers by repeating pledges to reduce the "frontline" work force only through attrition and incentives, bringing all work groups to the highest pay level currently in effect at the two airlines, abide by both carriers' current labor agreements and permit Delta's non-union personnel to decide whether to join a union. Grinstein, Parker and Rockefeller agreed that consumers in small markets depend on network carriers because LCCs can't serve them profitably. The problem is that these markets also are the least profitable for network carriers, and these airlines look to such markets first when they cut back capacity. Pronouncing himself "very upset about what happens in end-of-the-food-chain markets," Rockefeller said he is "increasingly convinced that some [degree of] regulation may become an option to make sure small communities are not harmed by consolidation." From usairways at vision.moundalexis.com Sun Jan 28 23:06:43 2007 From: usairways at vision.moundalexis.com (Daily US Airways News) Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2007 18:06:43 -0500 (EST) Subject: [US Airways] Airline CEOs argue on Delta, USAir merger Message-ID: <20070128180636.X2973-100000@vision.moundalexis.com> 28 January 2007 ; Market Day Airline CEOs argue on Delta, USAir merger http://www.market-day.net/article_51859/20070125/Airline-CEOs-argue-on-Delta-USAir-merger.php --- WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Delta Air Lines CEO Gerald Grinstein slammed US Airways' proposed $10.2 billion takeover, calling it "the poster child for the worst kind of merger." Grinstein told the U.S. Senate Commerce and Transportation Committee a combination of the two airlines would lead to the loss of 10,000 jobs and reduced service for consumers. "If you believe this merger won't lead to reduced service, you believe in Tinker Bell," he said. Grinstein also denied Delta was in merger talks with Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest Airlines. US Airways Chief Executive Doug Parker, sitting at the same witness table, repeated US Airways' pledge all points currently served by Delta or US Airways would be served by the merged airline, Aviation Daily reported. He said an efficiently run combined carrier could also lower fares and he urged lawmakers to "let the market work." Parker said the merger of US Airways and America West Airlines was an example of a successful combination. "Many experts" initially questioned that deal, he said. "I am proud to say that for our employees, our shareholders and our customers, that 'foolish bet' has paid off handsomely," he said, predicting a strong profit when US Airways announces its 2006 results next week.