About US Airways
Our application for service to China is a landmark for our company that reflects the significant progress US Airways has made in just a few years. Since 2005, we’ve:
- Merged two carriers into a strong airline that last year reported full-year 2006 profits in excess of $500 million (excluding special items) and that shared more than $50 million of that profit with our employees
- Invested millions of dollars in facilities, equipment and information technology to improve the travel experience of our customers.
- Placed a multibillion dollar order with Airbus for more than 100 new airplanes, an order that will make US Airways the North American launch customer for the A350 wide-body aircraft
- Worked with community leaders across the country to lower our fares and create competitive choices for hundreds of thousands of customers, primarily in smaller towns and cities
Today, we are one of the most financially stable airlines in the industry. Our proposed service to China would allow us to remain competitive and build on the success we’ve had.
Part of that success has come from our focus on expanding our International service. We’ve added new European destinations, ordered new long-haul aircraft and improved our International business class, Envoy. We’ve invested heavily in our growing global reach.
New aircraft
Much of that investment is in new aircraft, especially for our International flights. US Airways is the first U.S. airline to place firm orders for the high-technology A350 – a long-haul, wide-body aircraft. As the North American launch customer, we’ll add 22 of these remarkable aircraft to our fleet. We’ve also ordered ten A330/A340 aircraft for deliveries starting in 2009. These state-of-the-art international aircraft will serve passengers connecting through our hubs on 97 brand new A320-series aircraft that arrive starting in 2010. We’re also upgrading our regional fleet with the addition of 25 Embraer 190 aircraft. No other U.S. airline has made such a robust commitment to fleet renewal and expansion.
Our proposed nonstop service to Beijing will be flown by Airbus A340-300 aircraft, which seats 269 passengers in two classes, 42 in Envoy and 227 in Economy.
Improvements onboard
We’ve also invested over $20 million in 2006 alone to upgrade the interiors of our International fleet. In Envoy, we’ve added new personal on-demand entertainment systems, improved our meals choices and service and are adding new near-lie flat seats to our Boeing 767 fleet in late 2007. For all of our flights, we’re hard at work improving the food and beverage choices as well as the service.
Focus on customer service
Our financial stability has allowed us to invest in providing better service to our passengers. We’ve hired more agents throughout the system, both at the airport and at our Reservations call centers, as well as moved to a single Reservations system to make booking a flight simpler. We’ve also installed or improved hundreds of airport kiosks to reduce check-in lines.
US Airways is also a member of the Star Alliance™, giving our passengers access to over 850 destinations worldwide on our partner airlines. Our customers have enjoyed the expanded network of the Star Alliance, and we’d continue to offer even more choices through our proposed service to Beijing. We’re establishing codeshare agreements with both Air China and Shanghai Airlines to provide service to 33 other cities in China, including key Chinese business centers and tourist destinations.
Taken as a whole, US Airways is committed to improving our airline to provide better service, better selections and a more enjoyable experience, from booking to touchdown. We’re investing in our future, and our application for service to China represents our belief that we’re in a strong position to continue growing internationally.
