Rivals may muscle in on US Airways

Along with two other airlines, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. stands to briefly score a bonanza from a possible US Airways strike on Saturday, industry analysts said Thursday.<br><br>US Airways'

Friday, March 24th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Along with two other airlines, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. stands to briefly score a bonanza from a possible US Airways strike on Saturday, industry analysts said Thursday.

US Airways' 10,000 flight attendants plan to strike the nation's sixth-largest carrier if they don't reach a new labor agreement with the airline by 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday (11:01 p.m. Dallas time on Friday).

A US Airways strike is not expected to severely hobble operations at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, where the airline operates just 10 flights a day. Most US Airways flights are in the eastern half of the United States.

The two sides have been at odds over wage increases and work rules but have been negotiating since March 17 to try to reach an agreement.

The three carriers likely to pick up the greatest number of US Airways passengers in the event of a strike are Delta Air Lines Inc. and Continental Airlines Inc., followed by Southwest, airline analysts said. These airlines offer a large number of flights near or at many of US Airways' busiest airports.

Southwest stands to gain additional passengers at Baltimore Washington International Airport as well as at airports in Raleigh, N.C.; Providence, R.I.; and Hartford, Conn.

"Three years ago, it would have been different," said Michael Linenberg, an industry analyst at Merrill Lynch Inc. in New York. "But now, Southwest has made inroads into the East Coast."

Any benefit is likely to be tempered by a fare sale that analysts expect US Airways to launch after it reaches a settlement with the Association of Flight Attendants. Such tactics are commonly used after a strike to lure customers back to an airline.

US Airways, which is based in Arlington, Va., flies about 150,000 passengers each day in 38 states and 12 foreign countries. Its busiest airports are in Pittsburgh; Charlotte, N.C.; Philadelphia; New York; Boston; and Washington, D.C.

US Airways carried 631,646 passengers to and from D/FW last year compared with 37.6 million passengers for Fort Worth-based American Airlines Inc.

Should a strike occur, several of the nation's major airlines, including American, Delta, and Northwest Airlines Inc., said Thursday that they will accept paper tickets from US Airways passengers. Customers with electronic tickets can get their tickets transferred only through US Airways or a travel agent.

Southwest will accept US Airways paper tickets issued on or before March 24 on a standby basis only, a Southwest spokeswoman said. Passengers can also book a Southwest flight and get a refund on their US Airways flight.

After Delta, Continental and Southwest, the other carriers likely to benefit the most from a US Airways strike are AirTran Airways, JetBlue and Midway Express, said Raymond Neidl, an airline analyst at ING Barings Inc. in New York.

"If it's a long strike, these airlines are going to gain a lot of passengers that might never come back to US Airways," he said. Instead of a mass walkout, the flight attendants plan to target 49 of the airline's busiest routes in a random strike strategy it calls Chaos. US Airways has said it will shut down the entire airline if that occurs.

The flight attendants have been without a new contract for more than three years.

US Airways flight attendants have rejected the airline's offer to pay parity, or the average of what flight attendants earn at the nation's four largest carriers, plus 1 percent. Besides pay, other unresolved issues include vacation, sick leave, scheduling and benefits.

But after securing this "parity plus 1 percent" formula in contracts with six other labor unions, US Airways shows no signs of backing down.

It is struggling to reduce its costs, among the highest in the industry. The airline's net income plunged 63 percent to $197 million last year from $538 million in 1998.