Today, in light of the recent merger between US Airways and American Airlines, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer urged incoming new American Airlines CEO Doug Parker to honor the commitments given to Schumer over the past two years to uphold Upstate New York regional service and preserve jobs in all 13 of the cities served by the merged airlines, including those in Upstate New York: Buffalo, Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, Newburgh, Watertown, Westchester, Elmira and Ithaca. Earlier this year, at the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights hearing -- "The American Airlines/US Airways Merger: Consolidation, Competition, and Consumers" -- US Airways CEO Doug Parker's committed to Schumer that the merger would not put New York jobs and service at risk. Now that the merger is set to proceed after the U.S. Dept. of Justice (DOJ) has settled their legal challenge, Schumer pressed the new American Airlines to honor their commitment to maintain their current regional air service in Upstate New York.
"Now that the merger between US Airways and American is taking off, they must honor their commitment to me to maintain service and employment at Upstate New York regional airports," said Schumer. "Regional airports in Buffalo, Albany, Rochester, Binghamton, Watertown and Westchester are hubs of their local economies, so regular, affordable and reliable air service to and from those airports must not be sacrificed as a part of this merger. Residents, businesses and tourists alike rely on this service to get to and from popular destinations in Upstate; taking away routes to these airports would directly pull money out of the Upstate economy. That's why I pressed for a commitment during the merger process, and I intend to hold their feet to the fire as this merger is implemented."
Earlier this month, the two airlines reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice -- who was challenging the merger -- that would allow the merger to move forward. According to the Associated Press report, the proposed agreement calls for the merged airline to divest some of its slots at major airports, including Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C. and LaGuardia Airport in New York City. In addition, under the terms of the DOJ settlement, the new American Airlines will cede gates at some other major airports, including Boston and Los Angeles. Schumer argued that the terms of the settlement should not affect commitments made to Upstate New York, whose businesses and residents rely on reliable and affordable service to their regional airports.
US Airways and American Airlines are major carriers in Upstate New York, and have had significant presences at most upstate airports for decades. Several markets throughout New York are serviced largely by both US Airways and American Airlines. For instance, US Airways flies from Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany to Boston, Charlotte, LaGuardia, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. US Airways also flies from Ithaca to LaGuardia and Philadelphia, Elmira, Binghamton, Newburgh and Westchester to Philadelphia, and from Islip to Philadelphia and Washington D.C. American Airlines has a hub at JFK and a so-called "Focus City' at LaGuardia, and flies from Chicago to Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Watertown, and Westchester. American Airlines also flies from JFK Airport and LaGuardia to many other destinations.
In April of 2012, US Airways filed an 8-K form with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to begin the process of a takeover of American Airlines, which is currently in bankruptcy, and hopes to emerge from bankruptcy as a stand-alone carrier. In addition, US Airways made an agreement with American's three labor unions. In response to the news of this potential merger, Schumer questioned US Airways CEO Douglas Parker at a Judiciary Subcommittee hearing and laid out his concerns that the merger could adversely affect air fares and service upstate. Schumer also noted that the airline industry is a large employer in New York and any merger should maintain the tens of thousands of workers that the two airlines employ.
During the hearing, Schumer spelled out specific questions for Parker that relate to upstate air service including:
* Will you commit to maintaining the New York jobs of both US Air and American Airlines?
* Will you commit to maintaining service at all the locations across the state which are currently serviced by your two airlines?
Parker responded "yes" to both of these questions, and again responded "yes" in writing. On May 23, CEO Doug Parker responded to Schumer's second question by saying: "We have committed to maintaining service to all 13 New York cities served by US Airways and American, including the eight in upstate New York." With the merger having cleared its final hurdle, Schumer penned a letter to the CEO of the new American Airlines to once again put these commitments in writing and to remind the company of its promise to maintain affordable service and employment at Upstate regional airports.
Schumer has long led the effort -- which has utterly transformed upstate air travel for businesses, tourists and local residents alike -- to bring new, low-cost carriers like Jet Blue and Southwest to Upstate New York. In 2001, Schumer led the fight to block the merger of US Airways and United Airlines citing the deleterious effect it would have on competition in the upstate air service market. In 2003, Schumer helped to pave the way for new low-fare service to Upstate New York by convincing the Justice Department to block a hostile takeover of Independence Airline by Mesa Airlines.