March
21, 2003 Friday National Edition
HEADLINE:
US Airways gets approval for claims
negotiations
WASHINGTON
- US Airways Group Inc. has received
permission from a bankruptcy court to start an alternative dispute resolution
program for claims pending before the company filed for Chapter 11 protection.
The ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Alexandria, Va., allows the air carrier
to resolve claims by negotiation or mediation in an expedited fashion. US
Airways said negotiation would provide a cost-effective way to resolve
claims through the exchange of written offers between the parties. Mediation is
also advantageous because the two parties can submit their differences to a
neutral third party to help achieve settlement. If the parties reach a
settlement, the agreement would be binding and subject to the court's approval,
the company said.
March
21, 2003
HEADLINE:
US AIRWAYS SIGNS ACQUIRER
Bankrupt
US Airways Inc. has signed an
agreement with an unnamed merchant acquirer that it will transition to if it
emerges from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy March 31, a spokesperson tells CardLine today
national Processing Inc.'s National Processing Co. currently processes card
transactions for US Airways, but NPC
announced in May that it planned to stop processing cards for airlines PC,
however, has given US Airways several
extensions to find a new processor, a search complicated by the airline's
bankruptcy PC said it will process cards for US
Airways until March 31, but if the airline finds a new processor, NPC will
grant a four-week extension for the transition. In 2002, ticket purchases made
by Visa and MasterCard accounted for 50% of US Airways' $5.8 billion in passenger revenues (CardLine 2-26). U.S.
Bankruptcy Court Judge Stephen S. Mitchell will begin holding confirmation
hearings tomorrow in the Eastern District of Virginia to hear any outstanding
issues concerning US Airways'
emergence from bankruptcy.