US Airways 2006 Annual Report Download - page 40

Table of Contents
In the marketing area, we have:
• Launched the combined airline's new website, usairways.com. The new site integrated the former americawest.com and increases
overall functionality. Bookings on the new website have exceeded the combined revenues from the two standalone sites;
• Merged the former AWA frequent flyer program, FlightFund, into US Airways' frequent flyer program, Dividend Miles, to create
one consolidated program that allows customers to more easily earn and redeem miles across our network and Star Alliance;
• Realigned the combined airline's fare class structure to simplify and establish an identical fare hierarchy across all US Airways
and AWA operated flights;
• Released the new US Airways Vacation web site with improved functionality and eliminated the America West Vacations
brand; and
• Developed and launched the new airline brand "Fly with US" and the new employee brand "I make US fly".
US Airways Group's labor integration team has achieved the following since the merger closed:
• Reached transition agreements with US Airways' and AWA's pilots, flight attendants and fleet service personnel;
• Received single carrier certification by the National Mediation Board, which will further the process of getting to single
representation for US Airways' and AWA's mechanics and fleet service workers;
• Reached a final agreement with the Airline Customer Service Employee Association, an alliance between the Communication
Workers of America (CWA) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), the two unions that represent the airline's
7,700 passenger service employees and reservations agents;
• Reached a final agreement with the Transport Workers Union (TWU), the union that represents flight dispatchers, on a single
contract that transitions former AWA dispatchers to the labor agreement covering pre-merger US Airways dispatchers;
• Recalled 100 furloughed US Airways pilots and 200 furloughed US Airways flight attendants, due to increased operations since
the merger; and
• Increased hiring in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Reno, Nevada reservation centers to bring some of the currently
outsourced reservations work back in-house.
We are fast approaching several significant milestones as we near completion of our integration efforts. Our next steps include:
• Migration to a single reservation system by the end of the first quarter of 2007; and
• Completion of the transition plan to merge the airlines into one FAA operating certificate during 2007.
Additionally, we are continuing to negotiate with the pilot, flight attendant, fleet service and mechanic labor groups in hopes of
reaching final agreements with these unions. After final agreements are reached, we will make necessary changes to payroll and other
labor-related systems.
Cost Control
We remain committed to maintaining a low cost structure, which we believe is necessary to compete effectively in the airline
industry. Low cost carriers, some of which have cost structures lower than ours, continue to enter and grow in the markets in which we
operate. In addition, the traditional legacy carriers, which have competitive advantages including vast route networks, alliances and
generous frequent flyer programs, remain focused on lowering their respective costs. This includes using the bankruptcy process to
restructure with lower cost structures. In light of this environment, we continue to focus on minimizing unnecessary capital expenditures
and prudent spending for discretionary expenses. We believe our combined mainline cost per available seat mile ("CASM") will remain
competitive with the low cost carriers and among the lowest of the traditional legacy
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