US Airways' FAQs: May 26, 2011
Q. What did US Airways announce with Delta Air Lines?
A. On Monday, US Airways and Delta Air Lines announced a new agreement to transfer takeoff and landing rights at New Yorks LaGuardia (LGA) and Washington D.C.'s Reagan National (DCA) airports. Under the new agreement, which is subject to certain government and regulatory approvals, US Airways would obtain 42 slot pairs from Delta at DCA, Delta would obtain 132 slot pairs at LGA from US Airways and Delta would pay US Airways $66.5 million in cash. We will also acquire additional rights from Delta to operate daily service at one of worlds most important business destinations Sao Paulo, Brazil (GRU).
Q. How is this agreement different from our original 2009 proposal?
A. In our original proposed transaction, US Airways would have obtained 42 slot pairs at DCA from Delta and Delta would have obtained 125 slot pairs from US Airways at LGA with another 15 that it would lease from us and obtain at a later date.
US Airways would also have received rights to operate service to Tokyo, Japan (NRT) from Delta. This is no longer part of the agreement since Japan and the U.S. now have made an Open Skies agreement, which erases limits on flights and opened up a second Tokyo airport Haneda to U.S. service.
Q. Do we think this transaction will be approved?
A. The competitive landscape at LGA and DCA has changed significantly since our original 2009 proposal. New entrants and smaller carriers, including AirTran, JetBlue and Southwest, have gained considerable access to slots at both LGA and DCA and expanded service at these and other airports in the New York and Washington regions. Also, mergers between United and Continental and Southwest and AirTran have dramatically sharpened competition on the East Coast generally and particularly in the New York and Washington regions.
In addition, to address concerns previously raised by the Department of Transportation, the agreement provides for the divestiture of up to 16 slot pairs at LGA and eight at DCA by Delta if required by the regulatory authorities. These changes, together with the transactions exciting benefits for travelers, make this a very compelling proposal.
Q. Why are we acquiring additional rights to Brazil if there is now an Open Skies agreement between the U.S. and that country?
A. The U.S. has signed an Open Skies agreement with Brazil that is scheduled to take full effect in late 2015. However, Brazil is still revising its domestic laws to ensure Open Skies can happen.
Regardless of what happens with Brazilian law, we know as a result of our Delta transaction, we will have uninterrupted service to GRU if we have to return our current frequencies to United, from whom we are borrowing them, in 2015. If Open Skies moves forward as we anticipate, we will have all the assets we need to begin a second GRU flight if we decide to. We dont expect any changes in our Rio de Janeiro (GIG) service as a result of our Delta transaction.
Q. Where will we operate at LGA?
A. Well operate all of our flights at LGA from our existing terminal Terminal C rather than being split between the Marine Air Terminal and Terminal D as we originally proposed in 2009. Well operate out of nine gates in Terminal C: six gates with jetways and three other parking positions that can be easily accessed from the terminal. Our customers will also have access to a new 5,000-square-foot US Airways Club located near our gates in Terminal C.
Q. How will the agreement affect employees?
A. Like the 2009 agreement, this slot agreement will have an impact on jobs. In DCA and at DCA destinations, we may add more airport employees, though its too early to say how many.
Its also too early to say what impact if any there will be to mainline flight crews.
While we will still retain a significant presence at LGA, this transaction does reduce our operations there and therefore the number of jobs needed. We estimate that approximately 300 Piedmont positions at LGA will be eliminated when the reduced flight schedule is implemented next year. Some mainline and additional Piedmont employees who support the impacted regional service at LGA and at field stations could also be affected. This is the most difficult part of any transaction and we will do everything we can to support those employees whose jobs are effected.