Airways Merger to be a Boost to Boston

Travelers across New England can hope for better days ahead with America West and US Airways about to be merged to form ’US Airways’

The deal, still subject to what could be lengthy regulatory and Bankruptcy Court approvals, would create the nation’s fifth largest airline by combining the seventh (US Airways) and eighth (America West) largest carriers.

The two airlines say the merged carrier, which will be called US Airways and headquartered in Tempe, Ariz., would have $ 10 billion in annual revenues, about $ 2 billion in total cash, and debt levels among the lowest of the major airlines.

Once the merger is completed, officials say the airline’s primary hubs will be Charlotte, N.C., Phoenix, and Philadelphia, while secondary hubs will be Las Vegas and Pittsburgh. Boston will be a ’’focus city," meaning it will be important enough to have direct flights to many destinations, and travelers won’t always have to head to one of the hubs to make connections to other cities.

Thomas Kinton Jr., aviation director for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Logan, said the merger is good for both travelers using the airport and the airline industry overall.

He said the merger should put the airport’s third-largest carrier on more solid footing and give travelers access to an expanded route network and possibly lower fares. He noted the airline has said it plans to continue flying internationally with Airbus planes. He said the merger is part of a shakeout that is badly needed in the airline industry.

’’There’s got to be some consolidation here to help the industry turn out of its nose dive," he said. ’’This breathes new life into US Airways and it’s a great match-up."

At T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, R.I., and Manchester Airport in New Hampshire, US Airways is currently the number two carrier behind the nation’s leading discount airline, Southwest Airlines.

Kevin Dillon, Manchester’s airport director, said the merger will help stabilize US Airways and over time should give travelers more options. ’’It helps our second-largest carrier remain a viable entity," he said.

Dillon said the merger doesn’t change the grim realities of the airline business, particularly the high cost of jet fuel and labor.

’’It doesn’t mean success is guaranteed, but if you look at where they are today and where they will be with America West, that’s a giant step ahead."

Marc-David Seidel, an assistant professor of business at the University of British Columbia who has done research on the airline industry, said he is not optimistic that the merged airline can transform itself into a true discount airline. He noted the merged airline will operate on a hub-and-spoke model that has not been particularly effective at keeping costs down.

’’They’re at a distinct disadvantage," Seidel said of the two airlines. ’’They’re trying to mimic a way of doing business they were not set up to do."

Dan Kasper, the head of the aviation practice at LECG LLC, a consulting company with offices in Cambridge, said US Airways is not going to try to duplicate Southwest’s point-to-point flying approach but engineer something in between.

’’The potential -- and there’s no guarantees here -- is that this would be a national low-cost carrier," he said.