US Airways Group, Inc. Reports Record September Load Factor

TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE: LCC) today reported September, third quarter and year-to-date 2008 traffic results. Mainline revenue passenger miles (RPMs) for the month were 4.6 billion, down 1.0 percent from September 2007. Capacity was 5.8 billion available seat miles (ASMs), down 3.5 percent versus September 2007. Passenger load factor for the month of September was a record 80.1 percent, up 2.0 points versus September 2007.

US Airways President Scott Kirby said, “September consolidated (mainline and Express) passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) increased between eight and ten percent versus the same period last year. In addition, our ancillary revenue initiatives are exceeding our expectations and driving both financial and operational improvements.”

For the month of August, US Airways ranked in the top three in both on-time arrivals and baggage handling among the ten largest U.S. airlines as measured by the DOT’s Air Travel Consumer Report.

“Our top-three ranking in baggage handling is especially noteworthy when you consider that this is the highest the new US Airways or its pre-merger entities have ranked since 2005. We are extremely proud of our 35,000 employees for their enduring commitment to taking care of our customers. As part of our operational incentive plan, employees will receive payouts totaling $100, $50 for both the on-time arrivals and baggage handling top-three rankings,” continued Kirby.

For the month of September, US Airways’ preliminary on-time performance as measured by the DOT was 84.1 percent with a completion factor of 98.8 percent.

The following summarizes US Airways Group’s traffic results for the month, quarter and year-to-date ended September 30, 2008 and 2007, consisting of mainline operated flights as well as US Airways Express flights operated by wholly owned subsidiaries PSA Airlines and Piedmont Airlines.

US Airways Mainline
September
			2008		2007		% Change
Mainline Revenue Passenger Miles (000)
	Domestic		3,585,078		3,615,265		(0.8	)
	Atlantic		905,732		891,895		1.6
	Latin		151,183		179,775		(15.9	)
	Total Mainline Revenue Passenger Miles		4,641,993		4,686,935		(1.0	)
Mainline Available Seat Miles (000)
	Domestic		4,434,551		4,616,044		(3.9	)
	Atlantic		1,150,492		1,139,404		1.0
	Latin		207,889		245,737		(15.4	)
	Total Mainline Available Seat Miles		5,792,932		6,001,185		(3.5	)
Mainline Load Factor (%)
	Domestic		80.8		78.3		2.5			pts
	Atlantic		78.7		78.3		0.4			pts
	Latin		72.7		73.2		(0.5	)		pts
	Total Mainline Load Factor		80.1		78.1		2.0			pts
Mainline Enplanements
	Domestic		3,756,707		3,934,879		(4.5	)
	Atlantic		227,504		228,839		(0.6	)
	Latin		126,105		149,542		(15.7	)
	Total Mainline Enplanements		4,110,316		4,313,260		(4.7	)
QUARTER TO DATE
			2008		2007		% Change
Mainline Revenue Passenger Miles (000)
	Domestic		12,423,448		12,629,018		(1.6	)
	Atlantic		2,944,207		2,885,340		2.0
	Latin		902,575		880,321		2.5
	Total Mainline Revenue Passenger Miles		16,270,230		16,394,679		(0.8	)
Mainline Available Seat Miles (000)
	Domestic		14,736,533		15,028,848		(1.9	)
	Atlantic		3,570,134		3,544,290		0.7
	Latin		1,095,670		1,095,489		0.0
	Total Mainline Available Seat Miles		19,402,337		19,668,627		(1.4	)
Mainline Load Factor (%)
	Domestic		84.3		84.0		0.3			pts
	Atlantic		82.5		81.4		1.1			pts
	Latin		82.4		80.4		2.0			pts
	Total Mainline Load Factor		83.9		83.4		0.5			pts
Mainline Enplanements
	Domestic		12,563,676		13,484,925		(6.8	)
	Atlantic		750,572		741,870		1.2
	Latin		753,402		734,948		2.5
	Total Mainline Enplanements		14,067,650		14,961,743		(6.0	)
YEAR TO DATE
			2008		2007		% Change
Mainline Revenue Passenger Miles (000)
	Domestic		36,780,669		37,763,050		(2.6	)
	Atlantic		6,857,699		6,273,031		9.3
	Latin		3,313,933		3,070,391		7.9
	Total Mainline Revenue Passenger Miles		46,952,301		47,106,472		(0.3	)
Mainline Available Seat Miles (000)
	Domestic		44,411,571		45,796,870		(3.0	)
	Atlantic		8,710,260		8,016,827		8.6
	Latin		4,002,003		3,934,055		1.7
	Total Mainline Available Seat Miles		57,123,834		57,747,752		(1.1	)
Mainline Load Factor (%)
	Domestic		82.8		82.5		0.3			pts
	Atlantic		78.7		78.2		0.5			pts
	Latin		82.8		78.0		4.8			pts
	Total Mainline Load Factor		82.2		81.6		0.6			pts
Mainline Enplanements
	Domestic		37,562,363		40,212,015		(6.6	)
	Atlantic		1,753,210		1,608,160		9.0
	Latin		2,698,342		2,496,834		8.1
	Total Mainline Enplanements		42,013,915		44,317,009		(5.2	)
Notes:
1) Canada, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands are included in the domestic results.
2) Latin numbers include the Caribbean.

US Airways Express (Piedmont Airlines, PSA Airlines)
September
			2008		2007		% Change
Express Revenue Passenger Miles (000)
	Domestic		167,007		174,205		(4.1	)
Express Available Seat Miles (000)
	Domestic		260,194		264,209		(1.5	)
Express Load Factor (%)
	Domestic		64.2		65.9		(1.7	)		pts
Express Enplanements
	Domestic		617,237		644,442		(4.2	)
QUARTER TO DATE
			2008		2007		% Change
Express Revenue Passenger Miles (000)
	Domestic		576,124		554,810		3.8
Express Available Seat Miles (000)
	Domestic		842,215		795,133		5.9
Express Load Factor (%)
	Domestic		68.4		69.8		(1.4	)		pts
Express Enplanements
	Domestic		2,081,806		2,053,539		1.4
YEAR TO DATE
			2008		2007		% Change
Express Revenue Passenger Miles (000)
	Domestic		1,660,716		1,765,889		(6.0	)
Express Available Seat Miles (000)