Pa. Governor wants US Airways to move headquarters from Virginia to Keystone State By The Associated Press With US Airways seeking $390 million in government aid for its operations in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said he will ask the airline to move its headquarters to his state. Nearly half of the airline's approximately 29,000 employees are based in Pennsylvania. US Airways has 780 employees at its headquarters Arlington, Va. "We've got to develop a strategy. We have to develop what our wish list is. And then we have to develop a negotiating position," Rendell said this week. "We are going to put a lot of things on the table." Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are two of US Airways' three biggest hubs, behind only Charlotte, N.C. US Airways employs more than 7,700 workers in Pittsburgh and nearly 5,600 in Philadelphia. The governor hopes to schedule a meeting this month with airline officials and officials from the two cities, spokeswoman Kate Philips said. "He's going to talk to them about their role as a corporate citizen in Pennsylvania," Philips said. A spokesman for US Airways, which emerged from bankruptcy protection two weeks ago, declined to comment on the proposed headquarters move. US Airways wants $140 million in rent relief at Philadelphia's airport and $95 million in facilities and runway improvements, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. "We are reviewing and considering US Airways' request for Philadelphia, but no decisions have been made to date," Philadelphia airport spokesman Mark Pesce said in a statement. Since 1998, Philadelphia International Airport has invested more than $1 billion in improvements that mainly benefit US Airways, including a $550 million international terminal that is scheduled to open on May 2. In Pittsburgh, the airline also wants $155 million dollars in improvements and savings. Without them, the airline said it might not base its new regional jet carrier, Mid-Atlantic Airways, in Pittsburgh. Authority officials in Pittsburgh said they likely will try to make up any lost revenue from US Airways by charging higher parking rates and increasing passenger ticket fees. The airport tacks on a $3-per-ticket fee for every passenger at the airport, but a study showed the airport collects less from that fee than seven other benchmark airports. Authority officials said major non-airline revenues, including parking fees and investment income, dropped from $81 million in 2001 to $73 million last year. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.carstt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************