US Airways Struggles

Three years ago US Airways Inc. officially merged with America West Airlines to create a new US Airways. This move was in conjunction with management’s turnaround and retrenchment plan designed to help US Airways compete with other airlines, which offered lower ticket prices and better service according to customer surveys.

However, after three years, US Airways management has failed to successfully incorporate America West Airlines and has failed to place the already-struggling US Airways in a better position in the airline market. At the top of the list of managerial failures is the failure to successfully combine the airline pilot groups from the two airlines in to a single piloting group. Specific complaints by the former America West pilots include a failure to promote America West pilots to captain positions. Pilots also claim that management has failed to embrace any sort of long-term strategic objective, instead relying on ineffective short-term operational planning that has failed to give the company a coherent strategy for survival in the airline environment.

Management also failed to successfully analyze the internal environment factors that would arise from this merger. America West pilots and US Airways pilots still serve under different piloting unions and different Collective Bargaining Agreements. This leads to dramatic differences in treatment, compensation, and promotion levels between employees of the two former airlines.

Other inefficiencies have arisen from management’s failure to successfully integrate the two former airlines. Crews are unable to mix for flights, and crews are unable to fly aircraft maintained by the other. This leads to delays and moral problems among employees, and in turn costs the airline more money.

US Airways continues to be unable to compete with other low-cost airlines and management is unable or unwilling to adapt its failing corporate strategies to remedy the problems. The failure to successfully integrate the two airlines from the merger is yet another example of dramatic failures on the part of management to save the airline. Its strategy of turnaround and retrenchment is ill-conceived and its failure to plan effectively has become blatantly obvious.

US Airways management has clearly failed in its responsibilities to its employees from both US Airways and America West Airlines. In turn, the airline is failing its dwindling customer base by raising prices and charging for items such as beverages and checked luggage, which other airlines provide for free. Under the current strategies employed by US Airways management, the airline will remain unable to compete in the modern airline community.

US Airways management must admit to its failures and pursue a new strategy, beginning with reorganizing its divided pilot and employee base into a single, integrated airline. Only then can US Airways begin to compete in the airline industry once again.