Usairways To Play Hardball

[tadjr]

This is what came up on the Google search.

US Airways flies into low-fare competitors' territory
Washington Business Journal, DC - 1 hour ago
Feeling the pressure from low-cost carriers edging onto its home field, US Airways has decided to play hardball. Beginning June ...


When I click on the link, I cant find ANYTHING to do with this story. The suspense is killing me. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SalesGuyCCY]

Here's the article:

LATEST NEWS
12:00 AM EDT Friday
US Airways flies into low-fare competitors' territory
Tim Mazzucca
Staff Reporter
Feeling the pressure from low-cost carriers edging onto its home field, US Airways has decided to play hardball.

Beginning June 18 -- not coincidentally, two days after the launch of Dulles-based low-cost carrier Independence Air -- US Airways will cap the cost of half of its pre-booked one-way flights out of Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport at $499, or 63 percent lower than the $1,350 some one-way tickets might have cost before the cap.

"It's no longer a low-cost carrier threat," says US Airways spokeswoman Amy Kudwa, "it's a low-cost carrier reality."

The cap will go into effect for 22 of the 44 cities the Arlington-based carrier flies to from here, as part of Go Fares, the name under which the new program is being introduced in the Northern Virginia airports.

The cheapest one-way fare in the plan -- $79 -- will get passengers to Norfolk, the Carolinas, Florida and Missouri.

The only cities west of the Mississippi River that are included in the program are Phoenix, Las Vegas and Kansas City, Mo.

Kudwa would not say whether the company plans to expand Go Fares beyond the original 22 markets. Federal law prohibits airlines from announcing future pricing plans.

US Airways is the first major airline to transform itself into a low-cost carrier. The other low-cost carriers either are startups -- such as Independence Air and JetBlue -- or subsidiaries of major airlines -- such as United's Ted or Delta's Song.

The Go Fares program was introduced first in Philadelphia, just a month after Southwest Airlines increased the number of flights in and out of the City of Brotherly Love.

And with Independence Air's launch out of Dulles, analysts say US Airways is simply following suit.

"They're being forced to do this," says Ray Neidl, airline and aerospace analyst at New York-based Blaylock & Partners. US Airways "has identified good markets to start their conversion."

However, high fuel costs have put a strain on profits for young, low-cost carriers. Song, for instance, says it will spend $670 million more on fuel this year than in 2003.

So how can US Airways afford to cut its fares?

"We can't afford not to," Kudwa says. "This is very much a price-driven industry. This goes hand in hand with our business strategy to get our costs in line."

 

[tadjr]

Thanks for the rest of the story. Looks like GOFares are here to stay and not just in PHL!

 

[usair_begins_with_u]

Looks like GOFares are here to stay and not just in PHL!

Looks like liquidation will find a shorter path

 

[ACrazy8]

Quit already!