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Piedmont Airlines is losing money on routes within Florida it flies for US Airways.
By STEVE HUETTEL, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 9, 2002
TAMPA -- The US Airways Group subsidiary that flies between Florida cities as US Airways Express is pulling out of the Sunshine State in November.
Piedmont Airlines is losing money on routes within Florida and doesn't think that will change "due to the inherent risk in flying in this volatile marketplace," Piedmont president John Leonard wrote in a letter to employees Wednesday.
Mesa Air Group, a commuter airline operator based in Phoenix, will take over some of the Piedmont routes within Florida, which include flights with 38-seat turboprop aircraft from Tampa to Tallahassee, Miami, Jacksonville, Pensacola and West Palm Beach. It will fly in Florida as US Airways Express.
The change won't have a big impact on local travelers because only Pensacola isn't served from Tampa International Airport by another airline, said Louis Miller, the airport's executive director.
But the future of 122 local Piedmont employees is uncertain. Piedmont is moving its Florida operation to Charlotte, N.C., where US Airways has a major hub.
The airline's 348 Florida employees can try to transfer to Piedmont jobs elsewhere or apply to Mesa, which also operates US Express carriers Air Midwest Airlines and CCAir, US Airways spokesman David Castelveter said.
Mesa doesn't have final deal with US Airways to take over Piedmont's Florida system, Mesa spokeswoman Benet Wilson said. Until then, she said, Mesa won't know the routes it will fly, aircraft it will use or whether the company will hire former Piedmont workers.
Air Midwest flies 19-seat turboprop aircraft as US Express between nine Florida cities, including flights from Tampa to Key West and Fort Walton Beach.
Air Midwest has a good track record of making money flying between low-fare markets in the Midwest by keeping a tight rein on costs, said David Field, Americas editor for the monthly newsletter Airline Business.
"This is a way for US Airways to keep some (commuter) presence in Florida without losing money on every takeoff and every passenger," he said.
Piedmont has faced increased competition within Florida from low-fare carriers Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways, which fly jets against the commuter airline's turboprops.
Mesa will fly into every Florida city now served by Piedmont, Castelveter said, although the new carrier may not have as many flights. Customers flying Mesa will earn US Airways frequent flier miles as they do now on Piedmont.
-- Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3384.