S&P: US Airways on negative watch

Standard & Poor's ratings on US Airways Group Inc. and its US Airways Inc. subsidiary (both B-/Watch negative/--), which were lowered to current levels Jan. 9, remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, where they were placed on Dec. 10, 2003. S&P said it plans to conclude its review of the company over the next several weeks.

On April 19, the president and CEO of US Airways Group Inc. (B-/Watch negative/--), David Siegel, resigned and was succeeded by a member of the company's board of directors, Bruce Lakefield.

S&P said Siegel's resignation was not unexpected and was apparently due to unwillingness of the airline's unions to consider further labor cost concessions without a change in senior management, a situation that has become common in the airline industry over the past year. In addition, Siegel's employment contract allowed him to receive a substantial termination payment if he resigned during April 2004.

Lakefield, a retired Lehman Brothers executive, has been chairman of the board's finance and strategy, and human resources committees and actively involved in the company's efforts to restore its financial health, S&P noted. David Bronner, head of the investment fund that owns a controlling interest in US Airways Group, remains chairman of the company.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.