
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 10, 1994                   TAG: 9409120073
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TROUBLES OBSCURE USAIR STRENGTHS

USAir was in trouble even before its fifth deadly crash in five years, and any airline can expect to lose business for at least a week after a fatal crash. But airlines historically have been been able to bounce back from the bad publicity of a crash.

``In terms of this being a nail in the coffin, that's just not in the cards,'' said Michael Boyd, an industry consultant in Golden, Colo.

How quickly USAir recovers depends partly on whether passengers blame the airline or just bad luck. A reputation for questionable safety and nicknames such as ``U.S. Scare'' can quickly foil years of effort to build confidence among travelers.

The possibility that passengers will avoid USAir certainly played a role in its stock price drop of more than10 percent Friday, to $6, half the value of a year ago and about one-third of 18 months ago.

Still, USAir has some deep-seated strength. It holds what other airlines consider an enviable grip on one of the busiest regions in the country - the heavily populated Northeast.

``It's not easy to avoid USAir in many markets,'' said Daniel Kasper, transportation consultant at Coopers & Lybrand in Boston. ``They're a major carrier in the Northeast. In important markets they have a schedule far superior to others. That gives them some insulation.''

In an indirect way, the crash could actually help USAir's long-term financial prognosis, some analysts said.

``This may speed the progress of negotiations between USAir and its unions,'' Kasper said. ``This makes the urgency of restoring financial health more apparent.''

That doesn't mean the crash can't do some serious financial damage. Although USAir is insured for such disasters, the crash could divert the attention of top executives for some time. It came just as the airline was undertaking an aggressive effort to attract more business travelers.

At the airline's Arlington headquarters, the mood was gloomy on Thursday. ``Life has to go on. The business has to go on,'' said spokesman Mike Clark. ``But in the back of your mind you know something unpleasant has happened.''

by CNB