AFA US Airways MEC E-Line for February 12, 2003
"ATSB Loan Approved and More"

This information is also available on our Web Site http://www.afausairways.org

• Federal Government Approves US Airways Loan Guarantee
• CRAF & Military Air Charters
• NEW SICK PROVISIONS
• PREFERENTIAL BIDDING
• Help for National Airport Employees And Other Metro Area Flight Attendants
• AFA US Airways and Dell Computers bring you these SPECIALS for February

Federal Government Approves US Airways Loan Guarantee 

Feb 12, 2003 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- The Air Transportation Stabilization Board on Tuesday agreed unanimously to guarantee 90 percent of a $1 billion loan US Airways Inc. has said it needs to continue operating. 

The $900 million federal guarantee is a key part of the company's Chapter 11 reorganization plan that was accepted by a federal bankruptcy court judge last month. 

US Airways, the nation's seventh-largest airline, sought the loan guarantee last summer. 

The board said US Airways' "management has pursued a disciplined approach to executing its restructuring plan and reacting to changing economic conditions in the airline industry." 

Approval is subject to final bankruptcy court confirmation of US Airways' reorganization plan and regulatory approval of the company's plan to replace its pension plan with a defined-contribution plan. The airline plans to leave bankruptcy by March 31. 

The pension issue remains unresolved. A bankruptcy judge will hear arguments Feb. 20 on the airline's plan to terminate its pension plan with the pilots to close a multi-billion-dollar funding gap. 

The pilots' union has already filed a grievance with the National Labor Relations Board, and said it is considering all options, including a strike, to keep its pension plan intact. 

"The company does not have carte blanche to execute a plan that harms so many pilots in such a substantive way," said Roy Freundlich, a spokesman for the US Airways unit of the Air Line Pilots Association. "A strike is always in the picture when you have a mounting conflict." 

Freundlich said the union believes a strike would be legal under federal law if the union's contract with the airline is broken in court. 

US Airways said in April that it would seek federal loan guarantees under a $10 billion plan approved by Congress to shore up the transportation industry after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The company formally applied for the loan last June and received conditional approval soon after. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August. 

The company lost $2.1 billion in 2001, $852 million in the first three quarters of 2002 and has laid off about 30 percent of its work force of 46,000. 

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Mitchell in Alexandria, Va., gave preliminary approval to the company's reorganization plan last month. 

The Arlington, Va.-based airline has said it needs to cut costs by $1.6 billion to remain viable. The reorganization plan hinges on US Airways securing the loan guarantee as well as a $240 million investment from the Alabama state pension fund. 

The transportation board said Tuesday its approval also requires final approval of the Alabama investment. 

In return for the loan guarantee, the government will receive a 10 percent interest in the reorganized airline's stock. The board said it considers that stake "sufficient participation in the applicant's potential future gains." 

Not everyone considers the guarantee a wise investment by the government. 

Kenneth Button, a professor of public policy at George Mason University, said the need for a government guarantee indicates that private lenders may not believe US Airways represents a worthy financial risk. 

"There is a serious problem with the government getting involved in guaranteeing loans," he said. "Either the market would have done it anyway, or it shouldn't happen." 

Copyright 2003 Associated Press, All rights reserved 

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CRAF & Military Air Charters

AFA and the Company have some major disagreements regarding CRAF and Military Air Charters.  These are contractual disagreements.  First of all, the Company has no agreement with AFA to utilize the A330 aircraft in the CRAF Letter of Agreement.  The Company is required to negotiate the inclusion of that aircraft but for some reason does not seem to understand the need to do so expeditiously.  Since CRAF has been activated and since the Company's contract with the government is to use the A330 for troop movement, it would seem that even the Company would realize they need to negotiate with AFA in order to be able to utilize that aircraft.  We have notified the Company of our position on this issue and are waiting for their response.

There are also issues relating to extended duty periods, which, according to the CRAF Letter of Agreement, must also be negotiated with AFA.  Staffing of the A330, should it be negotiated into the Letter of Agreement, must also be negotiated. 

We will update you as soon as we have additional information.

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NEW SICK PROVISIONS

AFA and the Company met on January 28 & 29 to discuss the new sick provisions.  AFA and the Company have not agreed on how the new sick provisions should be implemented.  We have major disagreements with the Company on the sick provisions and will attempt to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.

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PREFERENTIAL BIDDING

AFA has participated in vendor presentations regarding the preferential bidding system that both AFA and ALPA agreed to in the last rounds of negotiations.  At this stage, a variety of vendors are trying to sell their product to the Company.  Both AFA and ALPA have input into the system that will ultimately be purchased and put in place here at USAirways.

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Help for National Airport Employees
And Other Metro Area Flight Attendants

National Airport workers who lost their jobs or saw their salaries reduced as a result of the September 11 attacks may be eligible for a range of services from a new union-sponsored program. The AFL-CIO and AFA are trying to identify and qualify AFA and non-AFA flight attendants that may be eligible for these September 11 fund resources.

Services provided may include financial assistance, as well as counseling, job training, and job placement services. Even if one is not eligible for financial assistance, job placement assistance and other community resources will be made available to all interested workers.

To find out more information, contact the appropriate AFA EAP representatives listed below:

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	Desktops From $542 with EPP discount

AFA US Airways and Dell Computers bring you these SPECIALS for February.

Starting February 13th and lasting until February 26th 

$50 mail-in rebate on any Dimension or Inspiron! - That's in addition to our standard discount
and other advertised specials!

Plus, shop with the Employee Purchase Program for special benefits:
- 5 - 10% discount on Dimension^TM and Inspiron^TM products
- All advertised Dimension and Inspiron consumer promotions
- Discounted shipping
- Special seasonal offers in addition to our standard discounts and promotions

Take advantage of this special deal at www.dellspringdeal.com Member ID: LS13398677 (Always use this member ID when communicating with DELL Online or over the phone)