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History
The early years
The airline was established in February 1981 and began operations August 1, 1983, using three leased Boeing 737 aircraft flying out of its base in Phoenix, Arizona, with Ed Beauvais, a well-known airline industry consultant, as its CEO. In the early years, passengers could purchase their tickets on board the aircraft.
The airline quickly expanded, with eleven 737s operating flights to 13 cities, and, by late 1983 developed a secondary hub in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1984, America West's fleet grew to 21 aircraft operating flights into 23 cities.
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 being 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 those of their competitors. Pilot salary history, MIT Study.
By 1985 America West had outgrown its gate space at Sky Harbor International Airport, and during the construction of Terminal 4, approved in 1986, a temporary concourse was added to the southwest corner of Terminal 3 to give it six more gates (growing to eleven by 1990).
The airline's rapid growth continued in 1986, and the airline greatly expanded its fleet, primarily with Boeing 757s purchased from Northwest Airlines after Northwest bought out Republic Airlines, as well as 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.
America West's rapid growth resulted in large operating losses, and by 1986 the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Originally slated to occupy the vast majority of the gates in Terminal 4, the airline 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., an Australian airline company and at the time 50% owned by News Corporation, purchased a 21.6 percent stake in America West.
In 1988, Patrick Thurston, Vice-President of Operations, Bob Russell, Chief of Pilots, and Carl Wobser, a captain, all pleaded guilty to multiple counts of narcotics trafficking. THE PHOENIX-BANGKOK HEROIN CONNECTION
In 1989, Ansett Transport Ltd. used its 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.
As it 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. The proposal was rejected, however, 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 expanded service to many Mexican destinations.
In 1990, the airline moved into the new Terminal 4 and also took delivery of several Airbus A320 aircraft destined for the now-defunct Braniff Airways. Braniff had itself purchased the original aircraft order rights from Pan Am, another troubled carrier, and the A320s were sold to America West at a steep discount. The U.S. Department of Transportation started classifying America West Airlines as a major airline.
Despite these developments, the airline continued to lose money. Operating expenses at Terminal 4 were far higher than in the temporary Terminal 3 concourse. The Nagoya route experienced extremely low ticket sales, and planes there were flying with almost no passengers. In addition, tensions in the lead-up to the Gulf War were causing fuel costs to rise. The combined impact forced America West to file for bankruptcy in June 1991.
In June 1995, W. Douglas Parker joined America West Airlines as senior vice president and chief financial officer. He was elected chairman, president and CEO in September 2001.
July 1998 America West Airline Fined $2.5 Million for Violations.
August 2000 FAA May Ground America West.
Bankruptcy
America West operated under bankruptcy from 1991 to 1994. As part of its restructuring, employee stock became worthless, the airline's 747s and Dash 8s sold, and the rest of the fleet heavily pared down to 87 aircraft. Hawaii and Nagoya routes were scrapped and America West service to local markets was contracted to Mesa Airlines, which began conducting operations as America West Express.
On the management side, Founder Ed Beauvais was removed as CEO, remaining on the board of directors, and was replaced with Mike Conway, who had been with the airline since its start. Conway left the airline in 1994, replaced as CEO by A. Maurice Myers.
America West's flight attendants unionized in 1993, ending cross-utilization between customer service agents, flight attendants, and ground agents. Several maintenance and training functions previously operated in-house by America West were outsourced during the bankruptcy.
Reorganization
In 1994, America West was finally able to secure a reorganization allowing it to come out of bankruptcy, with a large portion of the airline owned by a partnership including Mesa Airlines and Continental Airlines, resulting 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-tickets, and online ticket purchasing in 1996. The airline continued ordering Airbus A320 aircraft and began gradually retiring its older Boeing 737-200s.
In the 1990s, America West opened an east coast hub at Port Columbus International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, using Chautauqua Airlines to provide commuter and regional flights. An America West Club was provided for the hub in the space previously used as a TWA Ambassadors' Club.
In late 2001, America West was the first airline to apply for and receive a loan from the Air Transportation Stabilization Board. 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 and the debt refinanced by other lenders during the merger.
In February 2003, America West Airlines announced plans to close its Port Columbus hub, and completed the move later that year, reducing the number of scheduled daily flights from almost 50 to 4.
US Airways
America West merger with US Airways
In the second quarter of 2005, America West entered into merger negotiations with then-bankrupt US Airways. It was structured as a purchase of America West by a new holding company formed by US Airways; however, the internal structure was a reverse merger, with legacy America West operations taking over those of US Airways.
As the holding companies merged, brand conversion began. The America West Club was renamed the US Airways Club in October 2005. All new America West aircraft were delivered in the new US Airways livery, and older aircraft repainted (while retaining America West interiors). Gates and ticket counters were consolidated at airports where both airlines had operated, aided by the March 2007 transfer of all US Airways reservations to the QIK computer system used by America West (US Airways had previously used a very different Sabre system).
All express flights were branded as US Airways Express, and aircraft were no longer confined to operations out of their pre-merger hubs (America West aircraft could fly from Philadelphia to destinations other than Phoenix and Las Vegas, for example). The two airlines' operating certificates were merged in September 2007. After initially using the "CACTUS" callsign for the west fleet and "USAIR" for the east fleet, all aircraft began flying under a single "CACTUS" callsign and ICAO code "AWE" in September 2008.
