When asked about it last month, Lakefield called his $425,000 compensation a "pimple" and said he needed the salary to support a second home in the Washington, D.C., area, away from his retirement home in Naples, Fla.
The company warned in bankruptcy documents Friday that management pay has to keep pace with the rest of the industry if it has any hopes of retaining key personnel.
Through October, according to the company, more than 250 management and administrative employees had left the company, with 20 percent of them taking positions at other airline companies, "most at higher pay."
US Airways said it needed to balance its desire to "share the pain" with the "market reality" of what is necessary to keep managers, adding, "Substantial departure of management employees could cripple" the airline.
Jetblue can find talented managers to work for under $200,000 a year. Guess Lakefield isn't looking hard enough.