US Airways yesterday sought bankruptcy for the second time in two years, hit by low-cost rivals, soaring fuel prices and a failure of talks on cost-cutting measures with unions.
The seventh largest US airline filed in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, only 18 months after emerging from Chapter 11 as a leaner carrier with new financing and a fresh focus on regional operations.
The company said in court documents that flights would operate normally and Bruce Lakefield, the company's chief executive, said the probability of shutting down was low.
The bankruptcy filing came one day after the third anniversary of the September 11 hijack attacks, which accelerated a cyclical softening of business into the aviation industry's worst financial crisis.
US Airways was the first big US carrier to enter bankruptcy during the downturn, filing in August 2002. It was followed by number two airline United Airlines, which continues to operate under protection from creditors.
American Airlines, the world's largest airline, restructured out of court and barely escaped Chapter 11 protection, while Delta Air Lines, the third largest US carrier, is currently struggling to avert a filing.
