US Air labor wary, pilots to weigh revenue problem = = = = Thursday November 14, 3:14 PM EST = By Julie MacIntosh NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) - US Airways Group (UAWGQ) will seek further c= oncessions from its workers to help slash costs and salvage its business,= and the airline's pilots say they now plan to look at the company's fina= nces themselves to measure the extent of its problems. US Airways said last month it may need to cut as much as $1.6 billion in = yearly costs to emerge from bankruptcy protection, $300 million more than= it has already secured through widespread wage cuts and other measures. The Arlington, Virginia-based carrier initially said it would try to meet= the goal by negotiating with its lenders. But sources close to the airli= ne say it now plans to ask labor unions to approve changes in worker rule= s and productivity that could significantly reduce expenses. = The No. 6 U.S. air carrier says its revenue growth is coming in below tar= get, forcing it to slash more costs. The entire airline industry has stru= ggled for more than a year with persistently low air fares and reduced de= mand. US Airways met with mechanics and pilots recently to express its concerns= over the anemic revenue environment, labor group spokesmen said on Thurs= day. US Airways officials had no comment on talks with the carrier's labor gro= ups. But workers bristled at word that the airline may request changes in= work rules. It could ask, for example, that certain jobs be staffed by l= ower-paid employees, one source said. The airline's pilots, who ratified $465 million in annual wage cuts and o= ther concessions in August, have watched their wages drop by a quarter or= more. Their numbers will have dropped by about 30 percent when the most = recent round of announced furloughs is finished in April. "Both sides agreed it was enough, and for them to come back for more at t= his point in time has everybody very concerned," said Roy Freundlich, spo= kesman for the Air Line Pilots Association. Joseph Tiberi, spokesman for International Association of Machinists' 12,= 200 members at the airline, said the group had been told when they ratifi= ed earlier proposals that US Airways would not come back and ask for addi= tional cuts. "It's odd that now they're coming back and maybe asking for more, when ou= r members gave them exactly what they wanted two months ago," he said. SCROUNGING FOR REVENUE Freundlich said no talks have yet taken place over reducing costs through= worker productivity changes. But pilots' representatives met with US Air= ways management in closed session recently to address revenue concerns, h= e said. The pilots agreed to let their negotiating team look at US Airways' finan= ces and other relevant data to determine the gravity of the airline's lat= est problems, Freundlich said. "We're going to take a look and see what the real problems are," he said.= "If we determine that we can help the company in any way, we will. If we= can't, we won't." The representatives also authorized talks over a proposal that could let = affiliates of US Airways fly some 70-seat regional jets instead of its ne= w wholly owned subsidiary MidAtlantic Airways. Regional jets are smaller than jets used to carry passengers on longer ro= utes and can be operated more cheaply than larger planes. They can also h= elp airlines realize profits in small markets where big jets would offer = too much capacity. But because pilots are paid less to fly the smaller aircraft, labor contr= acts require US Airways to seek approval from its pilots for plans relate= d to the jets. Regional jets could be in the air at US Airways affiliates, like Mesa Air= Group (MESA), more quickly because they have less trouble getting airlin= e financing than bankrupt US Airways and its subsidiaries, sources said. "One of the options here is allowing them to increase revenue by getting = small jets quicker," he said. If something similar to the proposal were approved, pilots might sacrific= e potential jobs for some of their furloughed members. All pilot position= s on planes going to MidAtlantic will be filled by US Airways pilots unde= r a current agreement. But if the planes go to affiliate carriers, opportunities for US Airways = pilots to return to work could drop. Only 50 percent of the vacancies at = some affiliate carriers now go to furloughed US Airways pilots. Freundlic= h expected that percentage could be modified during negotiations. = =A92002 Reuters Limited. = Roger EWROPS