US Airways insisted the decision to place a new Embraer 170 flight simulator at its Charlotte, N.C., base didn’t necessarily signal an intention to move MidAtlantic Airways out of Pittsburgh International Airport. But employees and airport officials remained unconvinced–yet another reflection of a persistent distrust new US Airways CEO Bruce Lakefield hopes to assuage as he attempts to save the company from financial ruin.
So rather than celebrating MidAtlantic’s April 4 launch of revenue service after a series of extended delays, many of the airline’s 244 employees spent the day contemplating a future obscured by uncertainty. For not only has US Airways failed to negotiate permanent leaseholds in Pittsburgh, most of the planned Embraer 170 deliveries remain subject to a financing deal with Brazilian export bank BNDES.
Unwilling to comment on funding arrangements, a US Airways spokesman told AIN that the airline stands “positioned to take the full order.” Nevertheless, after agreeing to finance leases on 30 of the 85 Embraer 170s US Airways has ordered, GECAS too said it might withdraw from its deal if US Airways’ Standard & Poor’s credit rating drops below its present position.
