CHICAGO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Shares of America West Airlines and US Airways fell sharply on Monday after Barron's business magazine suggested major carriers may have suffered such serious damage from the weak economy and Sept. 11 attacks that they may not be around to benefit from an eventual recovery. Shares of America West Holdings (AWA), the parent of America West Airlines, fell 31 cents, or 7.73 percent, to $3.70 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of US Airways (U) fell 69 cents, or 9.87 percent, to $6.30. Barron's said in this week's edition a soft U.S. economy and the Sept. 11 attacks created serious stress fractures that will result in fewer U.S. carriers in two or three years, according to many airline executives and analysts interviewed. Government loan guarantees might put that off a year or so, Barron's said, but the damage to airline balance sheets has been so serious, carriers such as America West and US Airways may not be around to benefit from an air traffic rebound. "The Barron's article was negative on both (US Airways and America West)," said Glenn Engel, a Goldman Sachs analyst. "It also hit UAL a bit, but there is not enough of a difference to say it is more than daily (stock) volatility in these moves." Ray Neidl, airline analyst at ABN Amro, said an early oil price rise and some pullback after sharp gains last week could be as much, or more, a factor in the America West and US Airways share declines. Oil settled slightly lower. Most major U.S. airlines slashed schedules and laid off thousands of workers to cope with a drop in traffic following the attacks on the United States. Most have been losing millions of dollars a day. A government bailout gave the airlines a pool of $5 billion in cash to compensate for lost business due to the attacks and includes up to $10 billion in loan guarantees, provided that airlines pass a federal review. America West received conditional approval of federal loan guarantees for $380 million late last year, but would remain in a precarious state even if plans are completed, Barron's said. America West shares jumped nearly 75 percent in the days after the conditional approval, from $2.47 to $4.29, and were up nearly 50 percent since then at the close on Monday. US Airways could also face the possibility of bankruptcy in 2002 if traffic doesn't return quickly enough, Barron's said. America West's loan approval is still not final, but if it is finalized, the shares likely will rise quite a bit, Engel said. For US Airways, the key is finding a way to lower costs and get more regional jets through negotiations with their pilots, he said. Barron's said even UAL Corp. (UAL), parent of United Airlines, could "fall by the way." UAL has cut capacity 26 percent, the most in the industry. It also has among the highest costs and is losing the most cash daily, Barron's said. Shares of UAL Corp. fell 59 cents, or 3.77 percent, to $15.05 Monday. ©2001 Reuters Limited.