Report: US Airways may merge again

With the new US Airways, a merger between America West and the old US Airways, proving successful thus far, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting speculation that the nation’s fifth-largest airline may be looking to merge again.

In an interview last week, Doug Parker, US Airways’ CEO, said that as bankrupt airlines Delta and Northwest seek to emerge from bankruptcy, they may go the way of US Airways and consider merging. Parker said, “We will be there to talk to them. It’s not like something is certainly going on or we are actively working on anything right now … We can’t ignore it. It is too big a deal, and it may not come around again.”

Industry reports say that either airline would give US Airways a boost internationally, since the carrier focuses on domestic routes now.

For now, Parker says the main focus is the completion of the America West/US Airways merger, which should be finalized in 2007. But for the future, Parker comments, “We want to be the nation’s best air carrier and that doesn’t necessarily mean the biggest.”