Spring issue US Airways Retirees LAS Chapter Newsletter

February 2013

Everything you need to know

Who: You. And Erik Olund, LAS station chief since July. He wants to meet us and give us the latest news on developments at the company we helped build into one of the largest airlines in North America. What: First quarterly meeting of 2013 Where: Enterprise Library, Enterprise Library, 25 E. Shelbourne Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89123. (Thats the intersection of Shelbourne and Las Vegas Boulevard South.) When: Wednesday, Feb. 27, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Why: This is a time of perhaps great changes in US Airways history. (Can you say merger?) We need you at the meeting to get the latest news on what the developments could mean for retirees. Among other things, your US Airways Retirees organization is a strong lobbyist to make sure US Airways travel benefits remain among the best in the business. Come to the meeting and lend your support to our efforts. For the Homer Simpsons among you, therell probably be doughnuts.

Why is this man smiling?

John
Jaworek is all smiles because he is helping with raffle tickets at a chapter meeting. The winner of the raffle, though, was smiling even more. That lucky person won an SA1P pass, a prize that not even gold can buy. Attend the next chapter meeting and you could be the lucky winner of an SA1P pass. As you know, that vaults you to the top of the pecking list when you are standing by for a flight. Thats highly valuable in these days of fewer flights from Las Vegas and more crowded planes everywhere. The meeting is scheduled Wednesday, Feb. 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Enterprise Library, 25 E. Shelbourne Ave., Las Vegas. The building is at the intersection of Las Vergas South and Shelbourne Avenue. Theres plenty of parking. Erik Olund, who took up his post as LAS station manager in July 2012, has graciously consented to speak to us. He says hed like to meet us. And wed like to get the latest news on doings at US Airways in LAS from the guy whos most likely to know. Well also be talking about plans and activities to get more people involved in the chapter as well as voting for a local charity that we can support. Treasurer Georgia Latimer is a great backer of Three-Square Food Bank, the only one in southern Nevada. It helps make sure that underprivileged people in our area dont

Gleeful John Jaworek inspects raffle tickets at a 2010 LAS retirees meeting.

go without. Other organizations we might consider are the Shade Tree shelter for abused women and children, and Opportunity Village, the estimable organization that helps intellectually disabled individuals live productive lives.

QUICK
Erik Olund was ap-

PROFILE/Erik
ager of a charter operation in North Carolina. He has held various management positions with Air Tran where responsibilities included oversight of fleet service, customer service, and launching an air cargo operation in Chicago.

Olund

pointed Las Vegas station manager in July 2012. He joined US Airways as a duty manager in Tampa in May of 2009. Olund began his aviation career in 2004 as man-

He also worked at various department at United Airlines headquarters. Olund holds a bachelors degree in aviation management and a commercial pilot multi-engine instrument license.

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And now a word from our sponsor

Dues for membership in the
LAS chapter of US Airways Retirees are a minimal $15 for the calendar year. Thats the money we use to plan activities, pay for meeting rooms and refreshments, and organize the activities of the most active chapter in the nationwide group. What can you get for 15 bucks these days? Not much. Five gallons of gas if youre lucky. A couple of trips to McDonalds. A paperback book. Or a delivery pizza. But for the same 15 bucks you get membership in the fellowship of old colleagues and friends who are looking out for you. As we know, our US Airways flight benefits are among the best in the business. Our chapter is prominent in lobbying to make sure things stay that way in a time of turbulent change in the industry. Stand with us. Pay your 2013 calendar-year dues and help keep our retirees non-revving here, there and everywhere. Bring your check to our Feb. 27 meeting or mail it to treasurer Georgia Latimer. Her address is: 6437 White Tiger Court,, Las Vegas, NV 89130

Money doesnt really grow on trees, you know

Important dates

Meeting schedule for 2013

Gentlemen and ladies, mark your calendars.
Well have four meetings in 2013 . The first, as you already know if you are reading this far, is on Wed., Feb. 27. The location is our usual haunt at the Enterprise Library at the intersection of South Las Vegas Boulevard and Shelbourne Avenue. The meeting will start at 11 a.m. and well finish at 1 p.m. Our speaker, of course, is Erik Olund, LAS station manager. Youll want to be in attendance to hear about the career of this dynamic new manager and also to get the skinny on the latest developments at US Airways. If you are paying attention, you know there may be a big deal in the works. Later in the year we will meet on Wed., June 5; Wed., Sept. 4, and Wed. Dec. 4. Location for all this meetings is to be determined. It will be announced in newsletters a little closer to the dates. Make sure you join us on Wed. Feb. 27 to meet and greet Erik Olund, to renew acquaintance with old friends and colleagues, take care of retiree chapter business, and enjoy refreshments. See you there.

Wed. Feb 27
Location: Enterprise Library, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wed. June 5

Location to be determined

Wed, Sept 4 Wed. Dec. 4

Location to be determined Location to be determined

Flying ZED from your own computer

It is, perhaps with just a slight exaggeration, a dream come true. At last count more than 40 US and global airlines were on offer on the socalled MyID Travel site, accessed through Wings. Others are coming. retiree who fled to Florida on Southwest without having to stop at the ticket counter. The wife of another retiree made a round-trip to frosty Minneapolis and made her own arrangements from her laptop, with guidance from the old man.

Imagine booking and listing yourself as a ZED non-rev passenger on a world of OAL The system has been a roaring success without having to trek down to McCarran since the start and has been loudly apto buy paper tickets. plauded by employees and retirees.

An LAS retiree stranded in a European city popped into an Internet caf and That dream came true in November when Airlines on offer so far include Southwest, booked himself home on Lufthansa and the employee travel office instituted the Qantas, Finnair, Lufthansa, Delta and Virgin America. long-awaited ability to do just that. Canadas WestJet as well as the Panamanian carrier Copa. Applause to all at employee travel for this Since the system began then with about wonderful tool. 30 or so airlines, the roster has grown. Success stories include the husband of a

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Is it a marriage made in heaven?

Deadlines being what they are, this may
be old news even dead news by the time you read this. But at the time of writing, talk of a merger between US Airways and American Airlines was still, ahem, up in the air. Both the airline we worked for and its putative merger partner were sworn to a nondisclosure agreement until Feb. 15 about any developments involving a partnership. But that didnt inhibit the media from taking a keen interest in what might be happening when and to whom. At the time of writing, Reuters, one of the worlds premier news organizations, was reporting that a merger was imminent. (Incidentally, the editor of this newsletter worked at Reuters for a decade.) All that remained to be settled, said Reuters, was the price of the merger and who would be in charge at a merged airline. Although the merger seemed likely, the agency quoted four unnamed sources as saying those two points were significant enough to derail talks at the 11th hour. Reuters and other news organizations reporting the story all agreed that the corporate HQ would be in Dallas-Fort Worth, currently Americans home, instead of the Phoenix home base of US Airways. A merger between US Airways the nations fifth largest airline and American Airlines, the fourth, would create a huge new airline that would be, arguably, the largest in the world.

American Airlines was not obliged to honor travel benefits promised to TWA employees who retired under an early-out provision

As retirees from US Airways, we all of us should be watching these exciting developments closely. Weve all seen the closure of LAS as a mainline US Airways hub and the consequent difficulties of getting non-rev seats from here. If US Airways merges with the bankrupt American Airlines, as seems to be happening, this could mean increased opportunities for standby retiree travel, not only more easily from LAS, but to many more exciting destinations around the globe. On the downside and its a big one there may be room for concern about the effect of the merger on retirees. When American Airlines bought the assets of troubled TWA in 2001, some observers believed that retirees of the once mighty rival airline were not treated fairly in the matter of their flight benefits. In July 2007, a New York appeals court upheld a lower courts ruling that American Airlines was not obliged to honor travel benefits promised to TWA employees who retired under an early-out provision before TWA was acquired by American . US Airways retirees ought to be paying close attention.

Doubled profit for U.S. Airways

US Airways Group announced its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled on stronger demand, fuller planes, and higher revenue. Excluding onetime items, earnings more than doubled to $46 million, or 26 cents a share, from $21 million, or 13 cents, a year earlier. Analysts' average estimate was 19 cents. Revenue rose 3.9 percent to a record $3.3 billion. "I've been in the airline business now for 26 years, and been the CEO for over 11 of those," Parker said on a conference call. "This is unquestionably the best all-around performance I've seen by an airline team. We're extremely well-prepared for whatever may lie ahead." He declined to take questions about a merger with American Airlines , citing a confidentiality agreement that binds the two carriers.

This and that ...

Going somewhere? Remember that US Airways gates are transferring to the D concourse at McCarran Airport on March 19. The ticket counter will remain at its current site. But youll be taking the tram to the D gates to board your aircraft. If you are arriving aboard US Airways after that date, dont forget to tell any greeters that they can meet you where the escalators come down from the train in the baggage area and not at the exits from the A and B gates.

...
The indefatigable Kathy Healey tells us that the VIP club for United Continental and US Airways is on the third level of the D concourse above Gate D33. She says it accepts club cards from any airline with a $35 all-day fee,

WWW.USAIRWAYSRETIREES.COM
C H A P T E R O F F I C E R S

This is the newsletter of the Las Vegas chapter of the US Airways Retirees organization. We are a group of active retirees who helped build US Airways and its associated companies into one of the largest airlines in North America. Find out more about us by visiting our website: www.usairwaysretirees.com

President: Bernard Hunt Email: las@usairwaysretirees.com Tel: (702) 363-3139 Treasurer: Georgia Latimer Email: lat2445ann@yahoo.com Tel: (702) 277-5446

Emails, please This will be the last mailed paper version of the U.S. Airways LAS chapter newsletter. Future editions will be electronic only, sent by email to all members who have registered their email addresses with the chapter. They also will be available on a special page at the LAS chapter section of the usairwaysretirees.com website. The reasons for this are many, not least being that of the cost of printing and mailing paper. It also is a more efficient way of reaching members. Please register your email address with the chapter if you have not done so. You can notify us by sending a note to las@usairwaysretirees.com. Please include your name, address, telephone number, email address, job at U.S. Airways/America West and the date you retired. Better yet, come to the chapter meeting at the Enterprise Library on Wed. Feb. 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and tell us all about it there and then. Many thanks for your courtesy and consideration. We are trying to build a better and more efficient chapter for you.

Insurance questions?
Long-time Delta flight attendant
Cathy Cone, now working in the insurance business, is offering what she says is a health insurance opportunity aimed at airline retirees. This newsletter makes no endorsement of the offer and this is not an advertisement for it. We simply pass along the information for the benefit of those who want to check it out. Cone says a trust has been established for all airline retirees between 55 and 65 that offers an excellent opportunity before they are eligible for Medicare She says the trust originally was established by Delta Air Lines pilots in 2010. Effective Jan. 1 of this year, it is open to all airline retirees. Her company, Cone Insurance, also offers group coverage for Medicare eligible retirees through a Medicare Supplemental plan F that offers a flat rate in most states of $159 .23 per month plus $8.75 for an admin fee as a standalone plan. She also offers a number of Medicare Advantage plans that include a medical and prescription drug benefit, as well as prescription plans. Details about Cones plans can be found on her website, www.conebenefits.com or by calling her call center, for the pre65 retirees. Cone says she would appreciate the opportunity to speak with any airline retirees who would like to discuss these programs with her. Her cell number is 832-541-8842; her email address is cathy.cone@coneinsurance.com . She worked for Delta for 36 years as a flight attendant and also served as representative to the Delta Air Lines board for 20,000 flight attendants. Cone retired after Sept. 11, 2001 and later served as chair of all work groups other than pilots on the 1114 Committee in Deltas bankruptcy in 2005-2007, establishing an insurance program for Medicare-eligible retirees .