US Airways 2010 Annual Report Download - page 7

Table of Contents
Airline Operations
We operate the fifth largest airline in the United States as measured by domestic revenue passenger miles ("RPMs") and available seat
miles ("ASMs"). We have hubs in Charlotte, Philadelphia and Phoenix and a focus city in Washington, D.C. at Ronald Reagan
Washington National Airport ("Washington National"). We offer scheduled passenger service on more than 3,200 flights daily to more
than 200 communities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Central and South America. We
also have an established East Coast route network, including the US Airways Shuttle service. We had approximately 52 million
passengers boarding our mainline flights in 2010. During 2010, our mainline operation provided regularly scheduled service or seasonal
service at 132 airports while the US Airways Express network served 155 airports in the United States, Canada and Mexico, including 75
airports also served by our mainline operation. US Airways Express air carriers had approximately 28 million passengers boarding their
planes in 2010. As of December 31, 2010, we operated 339 mainline jets and were supported by our regional airline subsidiaries and
affiliates operating as US Airways Express under capacity purchase agreements, which operated 231 regional jets and 50 turboprops. Our
prorate carriers operated 10 turboprops and three regional jets at December 31, 2010.
In 2010, we realigned our operations to focus on our core network strengths, which include our hubs in Charlotte, Philadelphia and
Phoenix and our focus city at Washington National. These four cities, as well as our hourly Shuttle service between LaGuardia, Boston
and Washington National airports serve as the cornerstone of our network and represent 98% of our ASMs at December 31, 2010.
We continued our strong operational performance in 2010. We received twelve first place rankings, the most among the hub and spoke
carriers, in three critical U.S. Department of Transportation ("DOT") monthly metrics including six first place rankings in baggage
handling, three first place rankings in on-time performance and three first place rankings for the lowest customer complaints ratio.
On a full year basis as measured by the DOT, we ranked first in baggage handling and second in on-time performance. The
combination of continued strong on-time performance and fewer mishandled bags contributed to an overall 2010 customer complaints
ratio that was 10% better than the average of our hub and spoke peers.
In August 2009, US Airways Group and US Airways entered into a mutual asset purchase and sale agreement with Delta Airlines, Inc.
("Delta"). Pursuant to the agreement, US Airways would transfer to Delta certain assets related to flight operations at LaGuardia Airport
in New York ("LaGuardia"), including 125 pairs of slots currently used to provide US Airways Express service at LaGuardia. Delta
would transfer to US Airways certain assets related to flight operations at Washington National, including 42 pairs of slots, and the
authority to serve Sao Paulo, Brazil and Tokyo, Japan. The closing of the transactions under the agreement is subject to certain closing
conditions, including approvals from a number of government agencies. In a final decision dated May 4, 2010, the Federal Aviation
Administration ("FAA") rejected an alternative transaction proposed by Delta and us. On July 2, 2010, we and Delta jointly filed with the
United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit a notice of appeal of the regulatory action taken by the FAA
with respect to this transaction. We are presently in discussions with Delta and the relevant government agencies regarding a possible
resolution that would allow a slot transaction with Delta to proceed. However, we cannot predict the outcome of these discussions or the
related judicial proceeding, or whether a slot transaction with Delta will be completed.
For information regarding US Airways Group's and US Airways' operating segments and operating revenue in principal geographic
areas, see Notes 13 and 12, respectively, to their respective consolidated financial statements included in Items 8A and 8B of this Annual
Report on Form 10-K.
Express Operations
Certain air carriers have code share arrangements with us to operate under the trade name "US Airways Express." Typically, under a
code share arrangement, one air carrier places its designator code and sells tickets on the flights of another air carrier, which is referred to
generically as its code share partner. US Airways Express carriers are an integral component of our operating network. We rely heavily
on feeder traffic from our US Airways Express partners, which carry passengers to our hubs from low-density markets that are
uneconomical for us to serve with
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