August 20, 2004
By Kathleen Vereen Dayton
The Sun News
US Airways, which flew 203,000 people in and out of Myrtle Beach in 2003, is poised to file for bankruptcy a second time after emerging from its first Chapter 11 filing last year.
The airline is the No. 1 carrier in Myrtle Beach.
Stephen Greene, director of communications for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, said the potential loss of service could be devastating to tourism on the Grand Strand.
"We've been spending so much time trying to get additional airlines to come into the market. We've been working real hard in trying to get back the level of loss we experienced since [Sept. 11, 2001]," Greene said.
Those efforts have been paying off, resulting in Myrtle Beach International Airport having the largest percentage of growth in boarding passengers in the state last year.
But a consultant's report for US Airways' pilots union and distributed last week said bankruptcy is near certain for the carrier by mid-September and the airline could fold by spring.
"The potential of losing our No. 1 carrier would impact a lot of areas, not just our area," Greene said. "If something does happen, is there anyone else who can come in and fill those flights for us?"
How quickly another large carrier might step up to US Airways' gates in Charlotte, N.C., could be the critical issue for the Grand Strand.
Bob Kemp, director of Myrtle Beach International Airport, thinks existing airlines at the airport might be able to take up the slack if US Airways shuts.
"Frankly, if it happens, this is a good time of year for us because we're coming into our slower season," Kemp said. "It perhaps would give some of our other carriers time to adapt. I think passengers would be able to divert to all of our existing carriers that we're blessed to have and can still rely on. Some other airports, like Florence, are going to take a bigger hit, I think."
Kemp said the loss of US Airways might even provide the catalyst for a new airline to look at Myrtle Beach. "US Airways' traffic into Myrtle Beach was always strong, and I think that will catch the attention of other airlines," he said.
The airport and tourism proponents have courted airlines such as Southwest and JetBlue in the past.
Mickey McCamish, president of the golf marketing organization Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, spoke with JetBlue officials less than a month ago.
The low-fare carrier has strong finances and has its hub in New York, the No. 1 golf market for Myrtle Beach.
McCamish said US Airways' problems are one reason he has stayed in touch with JetBlue.
"Those 200,000 people are going to have to find another way to get here," McCamish said. "The air service we've been able to build here has been so critical to our industry, to the golf industry and our tourism industry. It always pays to make these contingency plans."
US Airways has five daily departures from Myrtle Beach during the week and seven flights in and out on weekends.
The airline's chairman and key shareholder, David Bronner, said US Airways might not emerge from bankruptcy unless its four major unions give in to labor concessions within 30 days. Bronner has said he will not reinvest again.
Union leaders, however, think Bronner's remarks are only typical of the rhetoric that flies during labor negotiations.
The airline has a Sept. 15 deadline to pay about $130 million to its pension plans and is supposed to meet requirements of a $720 million federal loan guarantee by Sept. 30.
Even if it wins concessions from its unions, US Airways is still mired in enough financial woe to sink the airline for good.
Its chairman said the airline has little cash and would have to ask the Air Transportation Stabilization Board to allow it to keep flying even if it defaults on loan agreements.
Local travel agent John Vrooman, owner of Atlas Travel Agency in Conway, isn't sure what's going to happen but believes losing US Airways would have an effect.
"Whether they're posturing for their negotiations with the unions or whether it's cause for a heightened level of concern over what may actually happen, that's an unknown right now," he said. "I'm sure most people are hoping this doesn't happen. Charlotte is certainly easier to negotiate changing planes than going through Atlanta."
Vrooman said the effect of US Airways' loss in Myrtle Beach would depend on what other carriers are willing to do.
"United may be in even greater trouble than US Air, and Delta may be in almost as much trouble as US Air," Vrooman said. "It's hard to say who might fill the void if US Air goes belly up."
Knight Ridder contributed to this report.
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