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America West Airlines: Companies
built 626 days ago
America West Airlines, in conjunction with SkyMedia International, pioneered advertising space inside the cabin of the aircraft as an additional revenue source to help bring costs down. The companies developed FAA approved tray-table advertising.
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By 1987 America West had opened a second hub of operations in Las Vegas, with 102 daily departures, as the airline looked to double its size by the end of the year. In part, this rapid pace of expansion was designed to ward off unwanted consolidation with a larger airline, the fate of many other small carriers during the late 1980s. America West ventured outside the safe harbor of its Western base for the first time in May 1987, inaugurating service to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Six weeks later it extended its reach even further east, scheduling flights from Phoenix and Las Vegas to Baltimore and New York. In order to do this, the company added seven Boeing 757s to its fleet. These moves resulted in an unprofitable first half of 1987, as the airline racked up losses of nearly $15 million, and left America West vulnerable to competition from the powerful major airlines who dominated service from these areas.
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America West has followed in the footsteps of ValuJet and other startup airlines which have gained niches in the industry by outperforming their rivals in cost-cutting. In 1997, according to the company's annual report, it reduced its operating cost per available seat mile by 2.2 percent over 1996, to 7.27 cents, 23 percent less than the average for other domestic airlines.
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[T]he cost-cutting measures proved effective, and, benefiting from a strong economy, America West ended 1988 in the black, showing a profit of $9.4 million after a debt refinancing. Despite a disastrous first quarter, the company's operating profits had grown steadily throughout the last nine months of the year, as the percentage of seats filled on each plane improved and some ticket prices were raised. Rivals pronounced the turnaround 'extraordinary.'
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In September 2005, America West Holdings acquired US Airways Group and kept the latter company's name. Roughly one year later, CEO Parker said he was encouraged by how the process was progressing ... far.
With the merger of the holding companies, described above, changes will happen at America West. On October 5, 2005 the airport club changed names from the America West Club to the US Airways Club.
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