Hawaii angle emerges in America West talks
The airline industry is now watching to see, not just whether America West Airlines and US Airways can reach agreement to merge, but whether they can do it this week, and whether such a merged airline spreads its wings to Hawaii.
Talks have been confirmed but America West refused Monday to comment on a Wall Street Journal report that the parties are trying to conclude a deal before the America West annual shareholders meeting and have some hope of managing it. That meeting is scheduled for Tuesday of next week.
The WSJ story, attributed to sources, also said that the two airlines are talking about expanding to Hawaii. Neither carrier currently does.
US Airways, currently struggling through its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy, has a route network concentrated east of the Mississippi and serves a number of smaller U.S. East markets. It is one of the dominant carriers in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh and accounts for four out of five flights at Charlotte, N.C. Not only does US Airways not currently fly to Hawaii, but it has an extensive network of flights to rival tourism destinations in the Caribbean.
America West currently funnels passengers to Hawaii through a code-share alliance with Hawaiian Airlines, interchanging passengers at both of its hubs, Phoenix and Las Vegas. Hawaiian is America West's next-door neighbor at a terminal dominated by America West flights at the Phoenix SkyHarbor.
The only discount carrier larger than America West, Southwest Airlines, has a similar alliance with ATA Airlines and hands off passengers to ATA at Phoenix and on the West Coast. The head of Southwest recently told the Indianapolis Star that the alliance was generating more business than expected and said Southwest was selling 1,000 tickets a day for travel that ends on ATA.
All of the five largest U.S. airlines, American, Delta, United, Continental and Northwest, fly to Hawaii. Others connecting Hawaii with the North American mainland are Hawaiian, Aloha, ATA, North American and Air Canada.
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