Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 12, 1991 TAG: 9102120152
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES BUSINESS WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A spokesman for the Arlington-based carrier said late Monday that company officials "won't know for another couple of weeks" whether the job cutbacks will affect the airline's more than 200 employees in Roanoke.
But effective May 2, USAir will discontinue a 6:30 a.m. daily flight to New York's LaGuardia Airport through Richmond and its 10:20 a.m. daily service to Charlottesville. That will leave the carrier with 10 daily departures from Roanoke. The airline's affiliated commuters, flying as USAir Express, will not be affected by the changes.
Still, Roanoke and Western Virginia can ill afford to lose service as they seek to attract new business investment - and new air carriers. Travelers originating in Roanoke have consistently ranked New York as their top destination, according to government surveys, and business leaders have clamored for efficient service to the East Coast business center. Currently USAir operates two through flights between Roanoke and New York. Its other flights require connections in Pittsburgh or Charlotte, N.C.
The routes were discontinued because "they were not profitable or marginal at best," said David Shipley, a USAir spokesman. The carrier posted a $221 million loss in the fourth quarter of 1990, capping a dismal year for an industry battered by skyrocketing fuel prices and travelers fearful of Iraqi-sponsored terrorism.
Seth E. Schofield, USAir's president and chief operating officer, told employees in a series of meetings that cutbacks were necessary because of the severe impact of the recession.
"Today's airline environment is marked by slumping traffic and sharply higher operating costs, particularly in the price of jet fuel," he said. "USAir is being restructured to survive and be in a position to rebuild for the future."
The carrier said it would furlough 660 pilots, 540 flight attendants, 505 maintenance and utility employees, 1,300 customer service agents, 305 reservations agents and 275 managers and staff workers. The airline laid off 3,600 workers last summer, when it had a total of 55,000 employees. The latest layoffs will reduce the work force to 46,500.
Monday, The airline said it would close flight-crew bases in Miami; Greensboro, N.C.; Syracuse, N.Y., and San Diego. A crew base is an airport facility where flight crews begin and end their tours. The closings will cut administrative expenses, Shipley said.
A maintenance facility at Utica, N.Y., and a reservation office at Reston also will be closed. In May, the total number of USAir's daily departures will be reduced from 2,894 to 2,626 as it eliminates unprofitable flights.
Even as it trims departures in California, Cleveland and at its Baltimore hub, USAir will expand service at hubs in Pittsburgh, Charlotte, N.C., and Philadelphia. Pittsburgh's daily departures will increase from 290 to 301, Charlotte's from 321 to 337, and Philadelphia's from 141 to 160.
Jacqueline Shuck, the Roanoke airport's executive director, said the plans to increase service at Charlotte - Roanoke's closest hub - likely would ensure steady service to Western Virgina.
But the outlook remains uncertain.
"They're nervous because there's been no formal announcement," said a USAir employee in Roanoke who did not want to be identified. "There's a feeling of uncertainty."
by CNB