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| Founded | February 1981[1] | |||
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| Commenced operations | August 1, 1983[1] | |||
| Ceased operations | 2005 (Merged with US Airways) | |||
| Hubs | ||||
| Frequent-flyer program | FlightFund | |||
| Airport lounge | Formerly America West Club now US Airways Club | |||
| Alliance | None until merger, but now Star Alliance | |||
| Fleet size | 140 | |||
| Destinations | 95 | |||
| Parent company | America West Holdings | |||
| Headquarters | Tempe, Arizona | |||
| Key people | Doug Parker (CEO) Derek Kerr (CFO) |
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| Website | americawest.com | |||
America West Airlines was a U.S. airline headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. It's main hub was at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The airline became part of the US Airways Group after a merger in 2005.[2]
Prior to the merger, America West operated two hubs; its base location at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, Arizona and a secondary hub (now defunct) at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. America West was the second largest low-cost carrier in the US and it provided approximately 100 destinations in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Service to Europe was provided through codeshare partners.
As of March, 2005, the airline operated a fleet of 140 aircraft with one maintenance base at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix.
Beginning January 2006, all America West flights were branded as US Airways, along with most signage at airports and any other printed material, though many flights were described as "operated by America West." Apart from two heritage aircraft, the only America West branding present on aircraft are on some seat covers, bulkheads, and flight attendant uniforms. However, the merged airline retained America West's callsign, "CACTUS" and ICAO code "AWE". The company retained the US Airways name, because, according to a study, the US Airways name was more popular than the America West name.
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The airline was established in February 1981 and started on August 1, 1983 using three leased Boeing 737 aircraft flying out of its base in Phoenix, Arizona with Ed Beauvais as CEO.[3] At the start, passengers could buy tickets on board the aircraft.
The airline quickly expanded, with eleven 737's operating flights to 13 cities, and, by the end of 1983, developed a secondary hub in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1984 America West grew to 21 aircraft operating flights into 23 cities. [2] has timetable maps showing the routes in 1983, 1984 and 1991.
America West was one of the first airlines to use extensive "cross-utilization", in which employees were trained in a variety of airline jobs, such as pilots trained in dispatch, and both baggage handlers and flight attendants being trained as gate agents. America West also started as a "full service" airline, in contrast with Southwest Airlines, the discount air carrier competing in many of the same markets. America West also used an aggressive employee stock ownership program, in which new employees were required to invest 20% of their salary in company stock, providing a steady flow of cash as the company grew. America West pilots and other employees were paid wages far below their competitors. Pilot salary history, MIT Study.
In 1985 America West had grown to the point that no more gate space was available at Sky Harbor International Airport. While the new Terminal 4 at Sky Harbor was approved in 1986, it became apparent that additional gates would be needed before Terminal 4 was completed, and a temporary concourse was added to the southwest corner of the Airport's Terminal 3, adding six gates (eventually a total of 11 gates by 1990) for America West.
The airline's rapid growth continued in 1986, with the airline greatly expanding its fleet, primarily with Boeing 757s purchased from Northwest Airlines after Northwest bought out Republic Airlines, as well as the acquisition of a number of De Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft for local service from Phoenix and Las Vegas. The airline started running red-eye flights from Las Vegas to increase aircraft utilization.
The rapid growth of America West resulted in large operating losses for the airline, and by 1986 the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Originally slated to occupy the vast majority of the gates in the under-construction Terminal 4, America West had to reduce its commitment to the city of Phoenix to just 28 gates, with the growing Southwest Airlines agreeing to lease the remainder of Terminal 4.
In August 1987 a unit of Ansett Transport Industries Ltd.,[4] an Australian airline company and at the time 50% owned by News Corporation, purchased a 21.6 percent stake in America West. Twenty one percent of the stock of AMERICA WEST AIRLINES was owned by ANSETT AIRLINES of Australia and 55% of ANSETT AIRLINES was held by Sir Peter Ables and Rupert Murdock.
1988, Patrick Thurston, Vice President of Operations, America West, Bob Russell, Chief of Pilots, and Carl Wobser, a captain, all pleaded guilty to multiple counts of narcotics trafficking. THE PHOENIX-BANGKOK HEROIN CONNECTION
1989, Ansett Transport LTD used their influence and investment money in America West Airlines, to try to break a pilots strike in Australia. 1989 Australian pilots' dispute. The following article is from an America West pilot that crossed the Australian pilots picket line. The Down UnderWare Chronicles America West Pilot article.
The airline explored destinations beyond the United States, America West filed with Department of Transportation for a Phoenix to Sydney route, to connect with now defunct Ansett Airlines. However the proposal was rejected and the Reagan Administration awarded the route to another airline. America West Airline leased four Boeing 747 aircraft (formerly operated by KLM), offering service to Hawaii and Nagoya, Japan, as well as an expansion of service to many Mexican destinations.
In 1990, the airline moved into the new Terminal 4 and also took the delivery of several Airbus A320 aircraft that were destined for the now-defunct Braniff Airways. The A320s were sold to America West at a steep discount. Braniff had assumed the Airbus A320 order after purchasing the original order rights from Pan Am, another troubled carrier. The United States Department of Transportation classified America West Airlines a major airline.[3]
Despite these developments, the airline continued to lose money. The operating expenses at the new Terminal 4 were much higher than previous expenses in Terminal 3's temporary concourse. The Nagoya route was essentially a bust (the planes were flying with almost no passengers), with extremely low ticket sales. Finally, concerns about stability in the Gulf States in the lead-up to the Gulf War lead to increasing fuel costs. The combined impact forced America West to file for bankruptcy in June 1991.
June, 1995 W. Douglas Parker joins America West Airlines as senior vice president and chief financial officer and was elected chairman, president and chief executive officer in September 2001.[3]
July, 1998 America West Airline Fined $2.5 Million for Violations.
August 2000 FAA May Ground America West.
America West operated in bankruptcy from 1991 to 1994. As part of its restructuring, the employee stock became worthless, the Hawaii and Nagoya routes were scrapped (and the 747s sold), and the airline's fleet was heavily pared down to 87 aircraft. All of the Dash 8 aircraft were sold, and America West's service to local markets was contracted to Mesa Airlines, which began conducting operations as America West Express.
The bankruptcy forced a number of changes on the management side as well. Founder and CEO Ed Beauvais was removed as CEO, but remained on the board of directors, while Mike Conway, who had been with the airline since its start, was appointed as the new CEO, although he in turn would leave the airline in 1994, replaced by A. Maurice Myers. America West's flight attendants also unionized in 1993, a move which ended the cross-utilization between customer service agents, flight attendants, and ground agents. Many maintenance and training functions that were previously operated by America West in-house were also outsourced during the bankruptcy.
Finally, in 1994 America West managed to secure a reorganization that allowed it to come out of bankruptcy, with a large portion of the airline owned by a partnership including Mesa Airlines and Continental Airlines, which resulted in code-sharing agreements with these airlines.
To help reinvigorate the airline as it emerged from bankruptcy, a number of consumer-visible changes occurred, including a new color scheme and logo (used until the merger with US Airways), new livery, E-ticket, and online ticket purchasing (in 1996). The airline continued ordering Airbus A320 aircraft, and gradually started retiring its older Boeing 737-200 aircraft.
In the 1990s, America West Airlines opened an east coast hub at Port Columbus International Airport in Columbus, Ohio. Chautauqua Airlines was used to provide commuter and regional flights. An America West Club was provided for the hub, in the space previously having served as a TWA Ambassadors Club.
At the end of 2001, America West Airlines was the first airline that applied and receive a loan from the Air Transportation Stabilization Board.[5] As of April 2005, the remaining balance on the loan was $300 million. The ATSB loan and its guarantees were paid back by US Airways, the loan was repaid when the debt was refinanced with other lenders involved with the US Airways merger.[6]
In February 2003, America West Airlines announced plans to close the Port Columbus hub. The closure was completed later that year reducing the number of scheduled flights from near 50 a day to only 4.
With the merger of the holding companies, described above, major changes happened at America West as the brand conversion began. Changes that occurred include:
All outstanding America West orders have been transferred to the merged entity, US Airways.
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (First/Economy) |
|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 39 | 124 (12/112) |
| Airbus A320-200 | 55 | 150 (12/138) |
| Boeing 737-300 | 27 | 134 (8/126) |
| Boeing 757-200 | 12 | 190 (14/176) |
Aircraft counts accurate as of December 2006[update], according to FAA records.
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (First/Economy) |
|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-100 | 8 | 124 (12/112) |
| Boeing 737-200 | 64 | 136 (12/124) |
| Bombardier Dash 8-100 | 12 | 37-39 (None/37-39) |
| Boeing 747-200 | 3 | 452 (21/431) |
The airline had a frequent flyer program called FlightFund.[8] In 2006, FlightFund was merged into the US Airways Dividend Miles program.
Partner airlines or programs for Dividend Miles (formerly FlightFund) include:
The airline's airport lounge is called the US Airways Club and includes 18 lounges in 13 major airports around the world. Club membership has several levels, including:
America West had codeshare agreements with the following airlines in January 2007:
America West had its headquarters in Tempe, Arizona from the airline's start in 1983 to its merger with US Airways.[11] The airline used a nine story,[12] 225,000 square feet (20,900 m2) building as its final headquarters before purchasing and merging with US Airways,[13] which began using the building as its headquarters. Jahna Berry of the Arizona Business Gazette said in 2005 that the building "is one of the dominant buildings in downtown Tempe."[11] The City of Tempe gave America West $11 million in incentives and tax breaks so it could occupy what is now the US Airways headquarters, which had a cost of $37 million to construct.[14] The construction of the building began in January 1998; the groundbreaking ceremony was held on February 19 of that year.[15] The previous headquarters that America West had occupied was demolished.[16]
America West has promotional partnerships with the Phoenix Suns NBA team, the 2001 World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team and the Arizona Cardinals NFL team.
In 1992, America West paid $26 million for the 30-year naming rights of the Phoenix Suns home court, which it named America West Arena. As part of the merger with US Airways, the arena is now called US Airways Center. This is not to be confused with the USAir Arena in Prince George's County, Maryland, which was home to the Washington Wizards and Capitals from 1973-1997. The arena was formerly the Capital Centre and was razed in 2002.
America West had four in-flight incidents on its aircraft, but never had an accident resulting in a fatality. Two accidents resulted in hull losses (aircraft written off).
| Flight | Date | Aircraft | Location | Descriptions | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| America West Flight 450 | December 30, 1989 | 737-200 | Tucson, Arizona | A fire in the wheel well burned through hydraulic cabling. During landing braking was ineffective and the aircraft overran the end of the runway. After colliding with a concrete structure the plane came to a stop. Aircraft was written off. NTSB brief | 10 minor |
| America West Flight 727 | January 16, 1990 | 737-300 | Houston, Texas | On January 16, 1990, America West flight 727 was hijacked en route to Las Vegas from Houston. The hijacker forced the pilot to land the aircraft in Austin, Texas, so that it could be refueled and flown to Cuba. At the Austin airport, police overpowered the hijacker and placed him under arrest. | none |
| America West Flight 556 | July 1, 2002 | A319-100 | Miami, Florida | Flight halted by Transportation Security Administration and local police after a tip that the pilots appeared to be drunk. Sobriety tests showed pilots were legally intoxicated. Pilots were eventually sentenced to prison for operating an aircraft while intoxicated. | none |
| America West Flight 794 | August 28, 2002 | A320-231 | Phoenix, Arizona | Pilot failed to maintain directional control during landing, causing the aircraft to veer off the side of the runway onto the dirt infield, and the nose gear strut to collapse. Aircraft was written off. NTSB brief | 1 serious, 9 minor |
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