I know there are not any concrete answers - but lets hypothetically say I book a flight on the new PHL-VCE (Philly to Venice) route for late September - and USAIR stops flying after the June deadline.

Do I get my money back and then still have 2.5 months to book another flight? Would one of the Star alliance partners pick up the flight? If so, how would that work? Am I just out my money (I'm assuming my CC could somehow cover it)?

Any help is greatly appreciated! The best times and prices are currently on this flight, and I'm sick of searching. However, I don't want to get stuck... -Trav

If you used a credit card to purchase, you may try to get a refund through your credit card company. Keep in mind that the airline must be listed as the seller on your credit card receipt/statement. Any tickets purchased through a consolidator or travel agency will be much harder to get a refund through your credit card company if they are listed as the seller instead of the airline.

You will NOT get a refund from the airline itself. Passengers are unsecured creditors and are at the end of the line for refunds. Any repayment will be, at best, pennies on the dollar and months delayed.

If USAirways goes under, you will need to choose between getting a refund or rebooking your flight. If you get a refund, you will need to PAY for any new travel arrangements. Your refunded ticket will not be honored and rebooking rules no longer apply (sorry no free travel!)
If you choose to rebook, no refund. You must rebook within 60 days of the unsolvency announcement (not 2.5 months). You can rebook on any US-based airline that is traveling the EXACT same route of the original ticket (must be PHL-VNE, no arrival or departure airport changes allowed). The new airline may not charge more than $25 each way for the rebooked ticket. And you will be traveling stand-by.
Keep in mind that, even if you are booked on a partner airline if USAirways goes out of business, they may choose not to honor the ticket since they are not the ISSUING airline. The other members of the Alliance may not pick up your ticket (they have no obligations).

You can look into getting travel insurance that will cover your situation. Read the fine print carefully, some won't cover all bankrupt airlines (guess it depends if the TI company thinks some are more likely to pull out than others).

I would seriously think twice about using USAir after their loan guarantee period. Unless they pull out of bankruptcy or if additional funding comes through to extend the guarantee period, you are taking a gamble. It is still very early to buy tickets for September. So unless the prices are absolutely fantastic, you can wait and check other airlines fall sales. Also you may want to wait for news about USair's solvency issue before giving them your money. They may have a sale as they get closer to June 30th as well.
If you want to take the chance, check if any other US airline flies the EXACT same route as possible rebooking options. If no one else does, then you would only have the refund option (and you will have to purchase new tickets home if USAir goes under while you're in Italy).
Good luck with your decision.

travelphile, I have the same worry about usair. We booked a travel package through expedia and our airline is usair. Our trip is not until the first week in October.We did buy the trip insurance but after reading this thread it looks as though it may not do us any good at all. The only hope we have is another airline will honor our tickets. What will they charge us? Does anyone have a guess. Luckily Vegas is a popular destination with many daily flights. On my credit card Expedia ia listed for the travel package, but usair had their own separate charges for the flight. But is there a time limit on refunds?
Mary

Mary,
If you rebook, the other airline cannot charge you more than a $25 rebooking fee each way (must be EXACT same start and finish airports, anything else will be a completely NEW purchase). But you can only go stand-by.
Remember, if you rebook, no refund. If you ask for a refund, you can't rebook using the USAir ticket. New tickets must be purchased from the other airline.

If USAir has a separate charge on your credit card, you have a stronger (and easier) case if you want a refund. Most credit card companies will only dispute charges 60-90 days after the date of the statement containing the charge. In the case of airline bankruptcy, I think the credit card company will still help you beyond their usual time limits.

What will happen with ff tickets booked with other airlines -- I'm booking tickets on Thai using US Air miles for next Dec/Jan. Will the ticket be honored ?

Sorry, small correction for rebooking. If you wish to rebook the tickets, you must do it within 60 days of USAir shutting down (not within 60 days of announcing insolvency/closing).

Thank you so much for the information nibblette, its exactly what I was hoping for.

May I ask how you're so knowledgeable? Even if you don't want to answer - thanks again! I have the time to wait, so although I would like to have the details taken care if, I know it's a wiser decision to wait.

As I said in another thread, CSA is insuring USAirways paid, not FF, tickets. I would insure. I have done so recently.

Also, there seems to be much better news for USAirways, with the recent deal with two small regional airlines. As I understand it, they are about to emerge from bankruptcy.

I hope they are around next March, when I plan to open jaw PIT>Venice, and Rome>PIT. Wouldn't it be nice???