US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE: LCC) reported March and year-to-date results for 2007. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs) for the month were 5.6 billion, up 0.2 percent from March 2006.
TEMPE, Ariz.– Capacity was 6.9 billion available seat miles (ASMs), down 0.9 percent from March 2006. The passenger load factor for March was 82.0 percent versus 81.0 percent in March 2006.
US Airways President Scott Kirby said, „From an operational standpoint, we are happy to have the first quarter of 2007 behind us. Two significant ice storms around Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day led to major disruptions in our Philadelphia hub and we created our own problems with a difficult reservation system migration in early March.
„As a result, for the second straight month we experienced a negative impact on revenue, passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) and cost per available seat mile (CASM). However, our March year-over-year consolidated (mainline and Express) PRASM was up over the same period last year. Despite the disruption, we still project a slight profit (excluding special items) for the first quarter.
„Even with all the operational challenges we’ve faced, our employees have done an excellent job taking care of our customers during this difficult period, and, thankfully, we began to see improvements as the quarter came to a close. Our on-time performance in the last week of March, while still not up to our standards, improved significantly compared to the previous weeks of the month. We look forward to carrying this trend into the second quarter and reestablishing our operational reliability to the standards our customers expect and most importantly deserve.“
America West and US Airways report combined operational performance to the Department of Transportation. For the month of March 2007, the combined domestic on-time performance was 55.5 percent with a completion factor of 97.1 percent.
US Airways has updated its guidance in its latest Investor Relations Update which is also filed on Form 8-K. To access the report, go to www.usairways.com and navigate to About US >> Investor Relations >> Webcasts, Presentations and Updates >> Investor Relations Guidance.
The following summarizes US Airways Group’s traffic results for March 2007 and 2006 consisting of America West and US Airways mainline operated flights as well as US Airways Express operated flights consisting of wholly owned subsidiaries PSA Airlines and Piedmont Airlines.
Consolidated US Airways Group, Inc. MARCH 2007 2006 % Change Consolidated Revenue Passenger Miles (000) Domestic 4,711,633 4,689,851 0.5 Atlantic 481,397 471,977 2.0 Latin 425,811 443,402 (4.0) Total Consolidated Revenue Passenger Miles 5,618,841 5,605,230 0.2 Consolidated Available Seat Miles (000) Domestic 5,676,228 5,763,654 (1.5) Atlantic 636,800 584,344 9.0 Latin 540,439 569,955 (5.2) Total Consolidated Available Seat Miles 6,853,467 6,917,953 (0.9) Consolidated Load Factor (%) Domestic 83.0 81.4 1.6 (pts) Atlantic 75.6 80.8 (5.2)(pts) Latin 78.8 77.8 1.0 (pts) Total Consolidated Load Factor 82.0 81.0 1.0 (pts) Consolidated Enplanements Domestic 5,505,811 5,524,172 (0.3) Atlantic 120,812 120,667 0.1 Latin 333,144 353,446 (5.7) Total Consolidated Enplanements 5,959,767 5,998,285 (0.6) YEAR TO DATE 2007 2006 % Change Consolidated Revenue Passenger Miles (000) Domestic 12,694,394 12,359,676 2.7 Atlantic 1,196,488 1,191,443 0.4 Latin 1,111,827 1,140,323 (2.5) Total Consolidated Revenue Passenger Miles 15,002,709 14,691,442 2.1 Consolidated Available Seat Miles (000) Domestic 16,168,927 16,101,054 0.4 Atlantic 1,760,607 1,696,033 3.8 Latin 1,489,124 1,580,303 (5.8) Total Consolidated Available Seat Miles 19,418,658 19,377,390 0.2 Consolidated Load Factor (%) Domestic 78.5 76.8 1.7 (pts) Atlantic 68.0 70.2 (2.2)(pts) Latin 74.7 72.2 2.5 (pts) Total Consolidated Load Factor 77.3 75.8 1.5 (pts) Consolidated Enplanements Domestic 14,805,369 14,575,478 1.6 Atlantic 303,043 304,276 (0.4) Latin 869,085 907,702 (4.3) Total Consolidated Enplanements 15,977,497 15,787,456 1.2 Notes: 1) Canada, Puerto Rico and U.S Virgin Islands are included in the domestic results. 2) Latin numbers include the Caribbean. US Airways Mainline (US Airways and America West combined) MARCH 2007 2006 % Change Mainline Revenue Passenger Miles (000) Domestic 4,494,024 4,411,731 1.9 Atlantic 481,397 471,977 2.0 Latin 425,811 443,402 (4.0) Total Mainline Revenue Passenger Miles 5,401,232 5,327,110 1.4 Mainline Available Seat Miles (000) Domestic 5,379,485 5,380,471 (0.0) Atlantic 636,800 584,344 9.0 Latin 540,439 569,955 (5.2) Total Mainline Available Seat Miles 6,556,724 6,534,770 0.3 Mainline Load Factor (%) Domestic 83.5 82.0 1.5 (pts) Atlantic 75.6 80.8 (5.2)(pts) Latin 78.8 77.8 1.0 (pts) Total Mainline Load Factor 82.4 81.5 0.9 (pts) Mainline Enplanements Domestic 4,761,738 4,687,876 1.6 Atlantic 120,812 120,667 0.1 Latin 333,144 353,446 (5.7) Total Mainline Enplanements 5,215,694 5,161,989 1.0 YEAR TO DATE 2007 2006 % Change Mainline Revenue Passenger Miles (000) Domestic 12,106,756 11,624,955 4.1 Atlantic 1,196,488 1,191,443 0.4 Latin 1,111,827 1,140,323 (2.5) Total Mainline Revenue Passenger Miles 14,415,071 13,956,721 3.3 Mainline Available Seat Miles (000) Domestic 15,303,452 14,953,696 2.3 Atlantic 1,760,607 1,696,033 3.8 Latin 1,489,124 1,580,303 (5.8) Total Mainline Available Seat Miles 18,553,183 18,230,032 1.8 Mainline Load Factor (%) Domestic 79.1 77.7 1.4 (pts) Atlantic 68.0 70.2 (2.2)(pts) Latin 74.7 72.2 2.5 (pts) Total Mainline Load Factor 77.7 76.6 1.1 (pts) Mainline Enplanements Domestic 12,807,241 12,379,812 3.5 Atlantic 303,043 304,276 (0.4) Latin 869,085 907,702 (4.3) Total Mainline Enplanements 13,979,369 13,591,790 2.9 Notes: 1) Canada, Puerto Rico and U.S Virgin Islands are included in the domestic results. 2) Latin numbers include the Caribbean. US Airways Express (Piedmont Airlines, PSA Airlines, US Airways MidAtlantic Division) MARCH 2007 2006 % Change Express Revenue Passenger Miles (000) Domestic 217,609 278,120 (21.8) Express Available Seat Miles (000) Domestic 296,743 383,183 (22.6) Express Load Factor (%) Domestic 73.3 72.6 0.7 (pts) Express Enplanements Domestic 744,073 836,296 (11.0) YEAR TO DATE 2007 2006 % Change Express Revenue Passenger Miles (000) Domestic 587,638 734,721 (20.0) Express Available Seat Miles (000) Domestic 865,475 1,147,358 (24.6) Express Load Factor (%) Domestic 67.9 64.0 3.9 (pts) Express Enplanements Domestic 1,998,128 2,195,666 (9.0) Notes: 1) US Airways Express includes data for US Airways' MidAtlantic division through May 27, 2006. 2) Canada is included in domestic results. Integration Update
US Airways is also providing a brief update on the integration process between US Airways and America West. Listed below are major accomplishments or announcements from the month of March:
* Combined the airline's maintenance inventory computer systems for both the Boeing 767 and Airbus A330 fleets. * Migrated two reservations systems onto one platform (Shares), which provides a single system for reservation and airport customer service agents. * Neared the halfway point of painting the US Airways fleet in the new livery, including the first Airbus A330.
US Airways is the fifth largest domestic airline employing nearly 36,000 aviation professionals worldwide. US Airways, US Airways Shuttle and US Airways Express operate approximately 3,800 flights per day and serve more than 230 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. The new US Airways — the product of a merger between America West and US Airways in September 2005 — is a member of the Star Alliance network, which offers our customers 16,000 daily flights to 855 destinations in 155 countries worldwide. This press release and additional information on US Airways can be found at www.usairways.com. (LCCT)
SOURCE US Airways Group, Inc.