So... if you follow the logic in the posted USA Today article (btw, great post skyflyer69), then the domestic industry is merely at the halfway point of eliminating companies which cannot or do not change to meet the current industry economics. US Airways would merely be the next company on the list...
Now here is something that makes sense to me... Every economic downturn since 1978 has seen major "legacy" airlines fail... In the early 80's, it was Braniff. In the early 90's, it was Eastern and Pan Am. Why should there not be another legacy carrier failure in this recession? We have already seen TWA fail in this one, plus UAL and U Group seek Ch. 11 Reorganization. While I am not hoping for this result, it stands to reason that the worst recession to hit the airline industry, amplified by terrorism, security concerns, and growing LCC's, that this trend of "legacy carriers" failing continue.
I would like to see US Airways survive. I really would. But the reality is that this is a company that has had 25 years to adapt to deregulation... And certainly, you can make the case that it adapted better than Braniff, Pan Am, and Eastern. But regardless, US Airways should have been more agressive on eliminating non-employee costs over the last several years... Common fleet types, rationalizing flight schedules, consolidating reservation centers, becoming part of an alliance, rationalizing Express partners, etc. Had all of this been focused on in 1995, today's situation would not be as bad as it has become. Of course, that is ancient history now. Today's problem is that US Airways is quickly running out of cash, and cannot afford to make the structural changes in the timeframe allowed. And even if it could afford it, there probably isn't enough time to do it without a major cash infusion. Now, if Richard Branson or Mesa made a major cash infusion + immediately started a program to fix these structural problems, it is possible that US Airways could be saved. The problem is that it might make more sense for Branson and/or Oreinstein to start from scratch with assets acquired during Chapter 7, rather than fix something which is so structurally broken.
I wish the best to every US Airways employee (including furloughs). Unfortunately, whatever lies ahead, it is guaranteed to be turbulent.
