Gee, I'm glad you finally believe my facts. You asked a question, and I took the time to answer, in great detail, I might add. I'm not sure why you think I would pull numbers out of my ass, or why you were so quick to attack me.
As you can clearly see in black and white US Airways was twice the size it is now. USAir at the time of the Piedmont merger was one of the largest airlines in the world, operating over 5,000 flights a day. By 2000 there were less flights, but larger aircraft and more crew. That was not counting Express, which at the time was a very comprehensive regional network with it's own mini-hubs, instead of a network of jets replacing mainline routes. It's three wholly owned subsidiaries were also twice the size the remaining two are today. US Airways itself operated the US Airways Shuttle as an actual brand, and operated it's own LCC called Metrojet, which itself had 43 aircraft. In addition to it's domestic, Shuttle, Express, and Metrojet products it offered a competitive three class transatlantic product. It placed an order for 400 aircraft, regarded as the largest aircraft order in history.
Maybe that puts it in perspective a little just how much of a shadow of itself this two-bit, half-ass "US Airways" is. Even with America West it's not the size it was at the beginning of the decade, saying nothing of it's apalling prouct and performance.
It's also a bit telling that you even think that is all that big. Even at the time US Airways was the smallest of the major carriers. Trust me, "princess", both American and United dwarf US Airways by far. American Airlines operates 652 aircraft. They have 20,000 flight attendants. It's owned subsidiary American Eagle has 308 aircraft.
United Airlines has 460 aircraft. They have 24,000 flight attendants in fourteen bases in four countries, and are hiring 2000 this year (so they are hiring the equivalent of America West this year alone.)
Even combined, even if we got our furloughees back, we are a drop in the bucket. Hope you guys are ready for the next merger- maybe do a little research first so you know our relative place in the industry.