US
Airways (NYSE: LCC) has filed a supplement to its March
4 application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
for the rights to operate daily, year-round service between Sao
Paulo, Brazil and the airline's hubs in Charlotte,
N.C. and Philadelphia.
US
Airways' application injects important new competition into a highly
regulated market," said Senior Vice President, Marketing and
Planning Andrew Nocella. "Thanks to our new service
from Charlotte, more than 85 cities in the United
States will have easy one-stop access to South America's
most important business market. Our proposed new service
from Philadelphia would provide 65 communities in the
country with one-stop access."The airline will begin service between Charlotte, its largest hub, and Sao Paulo on June 8 using frequencies leased from another carrier. An award of rights forCharlotte - Sao Paulo flights will ensure US Airways avoids a service interruption due to the frequency lease terminating prior to Open Skies between the United States and Brazil commencing in 2015. Each year more than 36 million US Airways customers fly through Charlotte Douglas International Airport, which is the third-largest U.S. airline hub, on more than 640 daily flights to 136 destinations in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Mexico and Latin America.
US Airways' proposed service between Philadelphia and Sao Paulo would link the largest city and airline hub in the U.S. without nonstop service to Brazil with the country's largest city. Each year more than 21 million US Airways customers fly through Philadelphia International Airport, which is the airline's second largest hub and international gateway, on more than 450 daily flights to 117 communities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean andCentral America.
To see a copy of US Airways' filing with the DOT, visit www.regulations.gov.