US Airways was a major American airline that ceased to operate independently when the Federal Aviation Administration granted a single operating certificate for US Airways and American Airlines on April 8, 2015. Publicly, the two carriers appeared to merge when their reservations systems and booking processes were merged on October 17, 2015; however, other systems were still separate at that time. The airline had an extensive international and domestic network, with 193 destinations in 24 countries in North America, South America, Europe and the Middle East. The airline was a member of the Star Alliance, before becoming an affiliate member of Oneworld in March 2014. US Airways utilized a fleet of 343 mainline jet aircraft, as well as 278 regional jet and turbo-prop aircraft operated by contract and subsidiary airlines under the name US Airways Express via code sharing agreements. The carrier operated the US Airways Shuttle, a US Airways brand which provided hourly service between Logan International Airport in Boston, LaGuardia Airport in New York City, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C.. As of October 2013, US Airways employed 32,312 people worldwide and operated 3,028 daily flights Roughly 60% of US Airways flights were operated by US Airways Express.In 1979, after passage of the Airline Deregulation Act, Allegheny Airlines changed its name to USAir and began seeking to expand its operations. A decade later, it had acquired Piedmont Airlines and Pacific Southwest Airlines, and was one of the U.S.'s seven remaining transcontinental legacy carriers. In 2005, America West Airlines carried out a reverse merger, acquiring the assets and branding of the larger US Airways while putting the America West leadership team largely in charge of the merged airline. In February 2013, American Airlines and US Airways announced plans to merge, creating the largest airline in the world. The holding companies of American and US Airways merged effective December 9, 2013. In preparation for their eventual integration, the airlines began offering reciprocal frequent flyer benefits on January 7, 2014, and US Airways left Star Alliance to join Oneworld on March 31, 2014. The combined airline carries the American Airlines name and branding and will maintain the existing US Airways hubs in Charlotte, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Washington, DC for a period of at least five years under the terms of a settlement with the Department of Justice and several state attorneys general. US Airways management runs the combined airline from the American headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. On April 8, 2015, the FAA officially granted a single operating certificate for both carriers, marking the end of US Airways as an independent carrier. The brand continued to exist until October.On July 13, 2015, American announced that it planned to discontinue the US Airways brand name on October 17, 2015. On that date, US Airways made the final flight for the airline from San Francisco to Philadelphia with stops at Phoenix and Charlotte, operating as Flight 1939—with 1939 commemorating the birth of All American Aviation, which evolved over the decades to become US Airways. However, repainting of US Airways' planes into the American Airlines scheme was expected to take until late 2016, with new flight attendant uniforms also being introduced in 2016, at which point the US Airways brand was to no longer be displayed on any of its former planes, employees or assets.
Continue reading...From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.