Roddey: US Airways must give flight, job assurances for aid IMPERIAL, Pa. (AP) =97 If US Airways wants hundreds of millions of dollars= in=20 rent relief and airport improvements in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, it=20 will have to commit to maintaining a certain number of flights and jobs at= =20 Pittsburgh International Airport, Allegheny County Executive Jim Roddey=20 said. Roddey made the comments during Friday's taping of KD/PG Sunday, a=20 public affairs show in Pittsburgh aired on KDKA-TV, which produces the show= =20 in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Gov. Ed Rendell and=20 regional leaders want the job and flight assurances as proof of US Airways'= =20 commitment to the area. The state's proposal will be delivered to US=20 Airways officials on Wednesday at a meeting brokered by U.S. Sen. Arlen=20 Specter, R-Pa. "It will be a test for US Airways, whether or not they=20 really have any intention at all of staying here because we're going to=20 give them an incentive to do that," Roddey said, referring to the=20 Pittsburgh airport. "If they walk away from that, then probably we will=20 learn that they probably had no intention of staying here." Roddey said Pennsylvania officials want US Airways to commit to keeping=20 nearly all of its current jobs in Pittsburgh, and to increase its daily=20 flights from 400 now to about 500 in exchange for concessions the airline=20 wants at both airports. About half of US Airways 29,000 employees are based= =20 in Pennsylvania, including nearly 9,000 near Pittsburgh. The airline has=20 said it wants to drastically cut its $62 million in yearly costs at=20 Pittsburgh International =97 about $50 million of which is debt payments on= =20 the 11-year-old airport. It also wants $140 million in rent relief at=20 Philadelphia International Airport over the next five years and about $250= =20 million in improvements to both airports. US Airways is expected to remain= =20 a major player in Philadelphia, but it could drastically cut service or=20 pull out of Pittsburgh altogether if it doesn't get the concessions. The=20 airline canceled its leases at the Pittsburgh airport shortly before=20 emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, but kept its=20 Philadelphia leases. US Airways spokesman David Castelveter would not say whether the airline=20 would consider making the commitments Roddey and state officials are=20 seeking. Roddey did not say how officials planned to cut the airport's=20 remaining $673 million debt =97 or US Airways' share of paying for it. US=20 Airways chief executive officer David Siegel has said the debt needs to be= =20 cut by about $500 million for the airline's Pittsburgh costs to drop to=20 acceptable levels. Michael Boyd, a nationally known aviation consultant=20 from Colorado, said he is not sure that an airline can make the type of=20 commitments Roddey wants, given the industry's uncertainty since the Sept.= =20 11 terrorist attacks. "It's very hard to ask an airline to make a=20 commitment regarding routes, passenger levels and employees," Boyd said.=20 "It's just a tough thing to do." U.S. Airways serves several West Virginia= =20 airports with regional airlines flying as US Airways Express. *************************************************** 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/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************