USAirways leaves bankruptcy court today. Good news for the airline industry, I'd say. I won't post a link to the story but you can find it all over the web!

Good for them! Maybe United and American can learn something from Usair by eliminating non-profitable routes and decreasing the frequency of flights, thus increasing demand.

xxx16,
Both UA and AA did just that in the last year. All the majors cut their capacity by about 25%, but the airline industry still has overcapacity, so it will still be some time before the ones that are left standing become totally healthy.

This is a good psychological boost, maybe. But fact is, they HAD to energe from Chapter 11 today to secure a $900 million loan from the Feds to keep flying. Their business plan in the short term depends on maintaining current consumer demand and changing their fleet to depend more on regional jets (less turboprops, less full-size jetliners). Unfortunately, consumer demand is dropping right now-- just when USAir needs people flying. This airline is still losing money, and if they can't return to profitability soon, another bankruptcy filing is practically guaranteed-- with actual liquidation a strong possibility.

I haven't flown USAir since the bankruptcy filing, and it's not a favorite of mine (chilly service, cramped planes, etc.). Still, I feel for the employees, so I hope it manages somehow.

I hope UAL and USAir both survive.

I have a ton of miles with them and (with fewer flights) it's going to be harder to redeem them even if they both survive.