US Airways Looking to Expand Fleet, Add New Flights to Europe
After years of cutbacks, US Airways now says it's looking to expand its fleet and hopes to add a few planes to allow new flights to Europe.In a newsletter sent to employees over the weekend, the airline confirmed it is trying to acquire three Boeing 757s from ATA Airlines. That acquisition could allow it to add three new European cities to the 13 currently served. The 757s would not fly to Europe, but would free up other aircraft for trans-Atlantic service.
"We're not only looking at ATA's aircraft, but we're looking at a variety of ways to expand our Europe flying," said Andrew Nocella, the airline's senior vice president of scheduling and planning, in the newsletter.
Spokesman Philip Gee said the airline could find out this week if it gets the three planes. Service to new European cities would be from the airline's Philadelphia hub, not Charlotte, he said.
After last fall's merger with America West, US Airways now operates 373 mainline aircraft -- fewer than US Airways did before the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
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