US Airways has asked a bankruptcy judge to approve temporary wage and other cost cuts from its unions, saying it only has enough cash to survive through January 2005.
The No 7 airline said in a filing late on Friday with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that the forced givebacks from labour would be worth about $38 million a month, and, combined with other savings, would help the company realize an extra $200 million in cash.
That gain would probably enable US Airways to keep flying through March, if revenues during the typically slower winter travel season did not slip below projections and fuel prices did not rise further, the company said.
"This is truly stop-gap relief that will only address the debtors' immediate cash crisis," US Airways said in the court papers that detailed a 23 percent wage cut as well as reduced pension payments and work-rule changes.
"The debtors must immediately begin to transform or they will almost certainly fail," the company added.
US Airways entered bankruptcy for the second time in two years on September 12th, severely pressured by low-cost competitors, soaring fuel costs and an inability to borrow or attract new investors.
The carrier, based in Arlington, Virginia, is trying to cut its way to health and operate more like its low-cost rivals.
The company is in talks with its big labour groups for longer-term relief, but no agreements are close at hand, union and other officials have said.
Also pressuring the company's finances are roughly $260 million in aircraft lease payments in early 2005.