Court gives US Airways more time to file plan ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) =97 A federal judge Thursday extended until Jan.= 31=20 the deadline for US Airways to file its own bankruptcy reorganization,=20 although the airline said it expects to do so sooner. At a hearing, Judge=20 Stephen Mitchell of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of=20 Virginia granted the motion giving US Airways more time to develop its plan= =20 without interference from other parties. "We believe that the January=20 period is simply a buffer period," Jack Butler, a US Airways lawyer, told=20 Mitchell. While Butler said the company expects to file its reorganization= =20 plan by Dec. 31, company officials set Dec. 20 as a target date. The=20 Retirement Systems of Alabama, which has agreed to support US Airways with= =20 a package of bankruptcy and investment financing of at least $740 million,= =20 did not object to the extension. The extension gives US Airways additional time, if necessary, to reach a=20 deal with its unions for $400 million more in cost cuts. The company has=20 already secured $1.3 billion in annual savings but sought more after it=20 began falling short of revenue targets in September. The airline must meet= =20 the new savings targets in order to win final approval of a $900 million=20 federal loan guarantee, which is a cornerstone of its restructuring. Also=20 on Thursday, US Airways won approval from the court to begin financing its= =20 service using Midway Airlines, which closed down the day after the Sept.=20 11, 2001, attacks. Some big airlines have expanded their use of smaller,=20 cheaper regional jets as a way to save on costs and reach less-populated=20 markets that rarely fill bigger aircraft. Under a tentative deal inked=20 between US Airways and Midway in July, Midway agreed to operate regional=20 jets under the US Airways Express moniker. US Airways would sell tickets for the flights and handle reservations and=20 ground support. It hopes to have the service up and running by Jan. 1 with= =20 18 jets by the end of the second quarter. Separately, US Airways asked=20 Mitchell to require computer services company Electronic Data Systems Corp.= =20 to turn over information about its contracts with other airlines. US=20 Airways asserted that EDS, which has contracts with US Airways for=20 reservations, baggage handling and other systems, has overcharged it by $30= =20 million to $50 million annually. The airline said EDS may not be adhering=20 to the terms of their deal. Attorneys for EDS said in court that it has met its contract with US=20 Airways, and that it only recently heard the claim that it might not have.= =20 Additionally, the data firm said turning over documents would harm its=20 bargaining position with other airlines. Mitchell did not rule immediately on the request by US Airways regarding= EDS. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (TnT News) http://www.tntmirror.com/ (TnT News) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************