But after Doug Parker rang the Nasdaq bell Monday from Fort Worth, Texas, signaling the completion of the $17 billion US Airways-American Airlines merger, US Airways started its gradual fade into the history books.
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The combined airline is the largest in the world by number of passengers and is call American — employee celebrations around the world are heralding the debut of the "new" American. Texas is its home. The title on Parker's business cards changes from chief executive of US Airways to chief executive of American; his permanent home address from Paradise Valley, Ariz., to Dallas.
For the first time since upstart America West Airlines bounded onto the scene in the 1980s, This area no longer boasts a major airline in its backyard.
The Phoenix metropolitan area also loses one of its few Fortune 500 headquarters — an indicator of corporate vitality — and many of the 750 well-paying jobs that go with it.
A longtime Phoenix lawyer and community leader, Richard Mallery, played a role in the high-profile public-private restructuring of bankrupt America West in the early 1990s and watched the airline go on to acquire US Airways, then make the run for American. He wishes the headquarters of the combined airline were here but isn't wistful.
"It just depends upon how you look at this moment," said Mallery, a partner at Snell & Wilmer. "I prefer to see it as something that is good for Phoenix. For us to become a major hub for the largest airline in the world, that's great."
An American Airlines jet and US Airways jet taxi for takeoff Nov. 12, 2013, at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix.(Photo: Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic)
Parker and other top US Airways executives, who began pursuing the merger with larger American more than two years ago and today started running the combined airline, have acknowledged the sting of losing the headquarters but have promised a strong corporate presence in Arizona and more flight options as US Airways and American join their route networks.
"The customer that lives in Phoenix now has far more options to go to destinations that they don't have on US Airways today," Scott Kirby, the longtime US Airways president who assumes the same title at American, said before the merger was official. "Asia and South America are the two easiest examples."
The benefits and inevitable fallout from the third industry megamerger in five years will unfold as the airlines combine their operations during the next two years.
Very little will change overnight. US Airways' stock ceased trading Friday, and beginning Monday, investors hold shares of the new American. Unlike US Airways and the old American, whose shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the new American's stock is being traded on Nasdaq. The symbol is AAL.
Travelers still will book US Airways flights on US Airways' website and American flights on American's website. US Airways travelers will check in at US Airways ticket counters, American passengers at American's ticket counters, even if they are in different terminals.
The first wave of changes for travelers will start after the holiday travel crush. On Jan. 7, some reciprocal benefits will kick in for members of the airlines' frequent-flier programs.
The first change most travelers will notice, in Phoenix at least, happens in mid-February, when the airlines will combine their operations at Sky Harbor Inte! rnational! Airport.. American Airlines, which has fewer than two dozen daily flights out of Phoenix compared with more than 250 for US Airways, will move to Terminal 4, US Airways' longtime home.
“There literally are hundreds of issues, down to things like what kind of coffee you're going to have and Coke or Pepsi.”
— President Scott Kirby, American AirlinesIt will be one of the first airports to have joint US Airways-American operations.
Also in February, travelers will be able to book US Airways and American Airlines flights on American's website, aa.com.
"That will be significant from a customer's perspective," Kirby said. "That's the first time we'll be able to start connecting customers."
Sometime early next year, the airlines plan to sync their fee policies, in-flight meal and drink service, seating layout and more, so that they appear more like one airline to passengers despite different names on the planes.
"There literally are hundreds of issues, down to things like what kind of coffee you're going to have and Coke or Pepsi," Kirby said. "There are those kinds of things we'll do pretty quickly."
The airlines have been working on such merger minutiae since the deal was announced in February. They got a couple of unexpected extra months when the federal government filed a lawsuit to block the merger in August. The companies had been hoping to close the deal at the end of September.
What will take longer: fully combining the airline's frequent-flier programs, switching to a single reservations system and website and painting US Airways planes with American's paint scheme. American's planes will need repainting, too, if the new executives running the airline decide on a fresh start. American introduced a new paint scheme and logo in January that drew mixed reactions, and Parker has not committed to keeping it.
"That's still to be determined," Kirby said in an interview last week.
US Airways last week sent a letter to charities in P! hoenix abo! ut the pending merger and said it means "great things for all of our non-profit partners."
Kelly Balthazor, director of community relations, told the groups that the company plans to keep 2014 charitable contributions and programs at the same level as 2013. She said airline officials will meet with each non-profit partner beginning this month to talk about future programs under the combined airline.
"As we work through our transition, we promise to be open and communicative about any potential changes," Balthazor said.
David Rousseau, chairman of the Super Bowl Host Committee, said Arizona stands to benefit from the close ties the executive team has to the state. Parker and Kirby have each lived in Arizona since 1995, when they joined America West Airlines here and raised families.
"The personal and professional contacts that reside here, the family contacts that reside here," he said. "I like our chances in the long run with those types of organic ties or links … Had it been the other way, had American's senior staff took over, Doug and his group exited stage right, that would have been the worst of all scenarios."
US Airways executives said moving to Texas won't cause them to forget Arizona and the mega-airline they developed here. They have pledged to keep a strong corporate presence here though such promises in other mergers have fallen short of expectations. Executives also note that they extended the lease on the corporate headquarters building for five years last fall and have a five-year renewal option.
"I will miss Phoenix," Kirby said. "I love the mountains. I love being able to go up to Flagstaff. ... It's a great place to live. But this is a fantastic opportunity."
Despite all of the merger work in the past two years, much of it done this year at American's headquarters in Fort Worth, Kirby concedes it might take time to get used to saying American Airlines instead of US Airways.
"I haven't been practicing, but I still occasionally say Americ! a West, s! o I'm sure I'll screw up plenty," Kirby said.
Merger timeline
• Nov. 29, 2011: American Airlines files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
• Jan. 25, 2012: US Airways discloses it has hired advisers to explore a merger with American.
• Feb. 14, 2013: US Airways and American announce merger.
• Aug. 13, 2013: U.S. Department of Justice files a federal lawsuit to block the merger, saying it is not good for consumers. A trial is set for Nov. 25 in Washington.
• Nov. 12, 2013: The airlines and the DOJ announce a settlement with American and US Airways agreeing to sell takeoff and landing rights and gates in select cities, including Washington and New York. The airlines also agree to keep their existing hubs at current levels for three years.
• Dec. 9, 2013: American Airlines emerges from bankruptcy and joins with US Airways, forming the new American Airlines, the world's largest carrier by passenger boardings.
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