A Sight No More: Farewell to US Airways

In February 2013, American Airlines and US Airways announced plans to merge, creating the largest airline in the world. The merged airline will retain the American Airlines name while being managed by mostly executives of US Airways. On April 8, 2015, the FAA granted both carriers a single operating certificate, which meant they were technically one airline with two different identities as the merger progressed. That also meant that US Airways' 'Cactus' callsign (originally inherited from America West Airlines when it merged with a troubled US Airways between 2005 and 2007) was changed to 'American.' And today, October 16, 2015, the last official day of the US Airways brand as it is to be discontinued on October 17, 2015, thus ending another era in commercial aviation with another legacy carrier in the United States flying off into the sunset.

Here's a brief history of the airline:

Early Years

• US Airways was founded in 1937 as All American Aviation for airmail (later changed in 1949 to All American Airways as a passenger carrier) and commenced operations in 1939. The airline was based in Pittsburgh, PA and provided service in the Ohio River Valley. 
• In 1953, it became known as Allegheny Airlines. 
• Allegheny's first jet was the Douglas DC-9, which was delivered in 1966.
• Allegheny became the largest carrier in the northeastern United States after absorbing Lake Central Airlines in 1968 and Mohawk Airlines in 1972. Also became known as "Agony Air" due to customer dissatisfaction during 1970s expansion.
• Allegheny also pioneered the concept of code-sharing flights when it made an agreement with Henson Airlines (forerunner to US Airways Express carrier Piedmont Airlines) to operate "Allegheny Commuter" flights.

As USAir

• Following the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act in 1979, Allegheny changed its name to USAir and expanded into the southeastern United States.
• USAir became the launch customer for the Boeing 737-300 (first delivered November 28, 1984) after the DC-9's successor proposed by McDonnell Douglas did not meet the airline's requirements. USAir was the world's largest operator of the DC-9 at the time.
• USAir expanded once again in the late 1980s when it purchased San Diego-based Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) in 1986 (giving the airline a significant presence on the West Coast) and Winston-Salem, NC-based Piedmont Airlines in 1987 (which of course strengthened the airline's presence on the East Coast).
• Early 1990s saw USAir expansion across the pond when flights to Europe (London, Paris, and Frankfurt) commenced. Partnerships also began, which included Donald Trump (marketed as USAir Shuttle, pioneering business-oriented shuttle flights between Washington D.C., New York, and Boston) and British Airways, one of the first transatlantic alliances. The British Airways partnership ended in 1996 in a court battle when BA partnered with American Airlines.

As US Airways

• USAir changed to US Airways in 1997 to introduce a new corporate identity with the stylized U.S. flag as the logo we know today. That same year, the airline introduced the first of several short-lived single-class subsidiary service known as MetroJet, which competed with low-cost carriers that were expanding on the East Coast at the time. MetroJet used the Boeing 737-200, which were the oldest aircraft type in the US Airways fleet at the time.
• A year prior to the corporate identity change, the airline ordered 400 Airbus A320-series aircraft on November 6, 1996 and ordered from Airbus again in 1998 by ordering 30 A330 wide-bodies (the first of which, and A330-300 was delivered on March 30, 2000). These new Airbus orders helped US Airways in replacing its older aircraft with newer, more efficient aircraft, and it helped with the re-branding and re-positioning efforts of the airline brand.
• The airline announced on May 24, 2000 that it would be acquired by United Airlines, which ultimately failed when it drew immediate objections from labor unions, consumer advocates and antitrust regulators.
• At the time, US Airways was the largest carrier at Washington National Airport (DCA) and was adversely affected when following the closure of this airport as a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The financial loss from the prolonged closure of DCA ultimately doomed the MetroJet subsidiary.
• The beginning of many troubles in a post-9/11 world when the airline entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 11, 2002, exiting a year later. Despite major cost reductions following bankruptcy, the airline still encountered higher-than-average per-seat-mile costs. The airline again entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004 after exploring the availability of financing and merger partners, but no financing was available.
• In 2005, US Airways merged with America West Airlines. The merged airline was run mostly by America West employees and thus, the airline inherited the 'Cactus' callsign but retained the US Airways name. The airline headquarters also moved from Washington D.C. to Phoenix, AZ.

Post-America West Merger

• Merger consolidation was a rather slow and painful one as it was not completed until October 2008, three years after the merger began.
• July 2006: the merged airline placed an order for the new Airbus A350XWB.
• December 2006: US Airways became the the first American "legacy" carrier to add the Embraer 190 to its mainline fleet, one of two American air carriers to operate the type (the other being JetBlue).
• Pittsburgh International Airport is also de-hubbed and relegated to focus city due to strained relationships between 2003 and 2004 and again post-merger, this time no longer as a focus city.
• In April 2008 the airline was once again looking to merge in response to the Delta-Northwest merger. United Airline was once again chosen but merger talks formally ended with no result in May 2008.
• In late 2008, the Las Vegas hub inherited from America West was also closed.
• January 15, 2009: The 'Miracle on the Hudson River' when US Airways Flight 1549 departing from New York-LaGuardia to Charlotte successfully ditched with no loss of life following dual-engine failure when a flock of Canadian geese were ingested. The pilot in command, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was hailed as a hero.
• June 2009: The airline received its first Airbus A330-200.
• April 2010: Merger talks again with United Airlines. Again, no results and United instead announced plans to merge with Continental soon after.

Merger with American Airlines

• 2012: US Airways expressed interest in a merger with American Airlines; at the time, American's CEO was open to the idea. The merger was made official on February 14, 2013.
• August 13, 2013: Attempts were made to block the merger for a variety reasons. A deal was made on November 12, 2013 between the two airlines and the U.S. Department of Justice. The merger was completed and formalized December 9, 2013.
• April 8, 2015: FAA grants the merged airline a single operating certificate, which means all US Airways-branded flights switched from the 'Cactus' callsign to 'American.'
• July 13, 2015: American Airlines announces the US Airways brand would be discontinued on October 17, 2015, where US Airways Flight 1939 (originally Flight 434 but changed in order to pay homage to the year when the airline commenced services) is to be the last official US Airways-branded flight flying from Philadelphia to San Francisco with stops at Charlotte and Phoenix before returning to Philadelphia, marking the official end of another legacy US carrier.

And now as a final tribute to the US Airways name, here are all my photos of US Airways aircraft:

July 2013: US Airways Airbus A320-232 (N652AW) departing PDX.

July 2013: US Airways Airbus A321-211 (N161UW) taxiing for departure from PDX. This airframe has since been painted into the new American Airlines livery.

September 2013: US Airways Airbus A319-132 (N834AW) parked at gate C9 in RNO. This airframe has since been painted into the new American Airlines livery.

September 2013: US Airways Airbus A319-132 (N826AW) in "Arizona" special livery just after push-back prior to departure from RNO to PHX.

April 2015: US Airways Airbus A321-211 (N162UW) taxiing for departure from PDX.

May 2015: Former US Airways turned-American Airlines Airbus A320-232 (N653AW) arriving in PDX after operating a US Airways route. This is what most US Airways aircraft will look like as they're all repainted.

July 2015: US Airways Airbus A320-232 (N677AW) arriving in PDX.

September 2015: US Airways Airbus A320-232 (N601AW) departing PDX. This would be the last time I'd see the US Airways brand technically in operation, despite the fact that some planes will probably still be around in this livery as they wait their turn to be painted into the new American Airlines livery.

Farewell US Airways! Be sure to keep an eye out for the US Airways heritage livery adorned on an Airbus A321, for it will be the only remnant of the final US Airways livery minus the 'US Airways' title.