US Airways plans cuts and new charges

The US Airways Group Inc. ha announced sweeping cuts in services and increases in fees to offset the sky-high costs of jet fuel that are plaguing the industry.

The carrier has said that it will cut domestic flights, reduce the size of its fleet, eliminate 1700 jobs, and charge passengers for their first checked bag as well as charging for non-alcoholic drinks served during flights.

“We must write a new playbook for running a profitable airline in this new and challenging environment,” Chairman and Chief Executive Doug Parker said.

It will cost fliers $15 to check a single bag for travel that is booked from July 9, 2008. US Airways is the third major airline company to impose such charges.

Free drinks in the coach cabin are about to be a thing of the past. Passengers will soon be charged $2 for each non-alcoholic drink, beginning on August 1.

In addition, the airline intends to cut domestic capacity by 6-8 percent during the fourth quarter and a further 7-9 percent in 2009. The US Airways Las Vegas operation will be reduced by nearly 50 percent by the end of 2008, reducing the number of daily flights to 74 from a high in 2007 of 141 flights per day.

The carrier is also returning 10 planes from its fleet, cancelling leases on another two planes and keeping even more on the ground through 2010.