W. Douglas Parker, the man in charge of the soon-to-be-merged US Airways and America West Airlines, rattled off numerous reasons yesterday that the combination should be good for customers, investors and employees.
But the success of the venture depends largely on how well the airlines blend two mostly unionized workforces, each with pride in their company's history, Parker said at a meeting attended by leaders of some Philadelphia media outlets.
"The biggest issue we're going to face is the cultural integration of the two companies," Parker, 43, said at a meeting hosted by Philadelphia Newspapers Inc., parent of The Inquirer and Daily News. "It shouldn't be the hard part," he said, "but it is."
Parker became chairman and chief executive officer of Tempe, Ariz.-based America West nine days before Sept. 11, 2001. He will retain the positions when the airline takes over US Airways as part of US Airways' emergence from U.S. Bankruptcy Court protection in late September or early October. The acquisition was announced May 19.
The enlarged airline, which will keep the US Airways name, will move most management functions from US Airways Group Inc.'s headquarters in Arlington, Va., to Arizona, but it will take at least two years to completely integrate workforces and operations, the companies have said.
Parker said representatives of two unions, the Air Line Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants, already were meeting to find ways to combine their ranks based on seniority lists - a task industry analysts say has traditionally been one of the most problematic in airline mergers.
In two days of meetings with US Airways employees and regional government and business leaders, Parker listened to concerns about improving the quality of service at Philadelphia International Airport and having ample flights, particularly to Europe and the Caribbean.
He indicated to them that they do not have to worry. "By far the most important part of the operation is the Philadelphia hub," he said.
The chief worries for employees, who are living through their second US Airways bankruptcy in three years, are having the tools needed to take care of customers, and being assured of steady employment, Parker said.
"These are the same things we heard at America West, 'Just give me the tools,' " he said. "Everybody just wants to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel."
In another development, America West's parent, America West Holdings Corp., said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was replacing Bank of America Corp. with a unit of Barclays P.L.C. as provider of the US Airways credit card.
The agreement with Barclays subsidiary Juniper Bank gives America West a signing bonus of $130 million and a $325 million prepurchase of air miles.
Bank of America currently provides America West and US Airways customers with credit cards that bear the US Airways name.
America West said its contract with Bank of America woul come due at the end of the year, and the Juniper card for the combined airline will be introduced in January.
Juniper, based in Wilmington, provides cobranded credit cards to about 40 organizations, including AirTran Airways, Carnival Cruise Lines, Frontier Airlines, and Orbitz.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press
