This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ THE DREAMERS - IN SELECT CITIES FEBRUARY 6 Set against the turbulent political backdrop of 1968 France when the voice of youth was reverberating around Europe, THE DREAMERS is a story of self-discovery as three students test each other to see just how far they will go. "Pure Bertolucci," proclaims The New Yorker. THE DREAMERS makes its North American premiere at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. http://www.foxsearchlight.com/thedreamers/index_nyt.html \----------------------------------------------------------/ Offers Are Said to Flow In for Assets of US Airways January 28, 2004 By MICHELINE MAYNARD and ANDREW ROSS SORKIN Several airlines, large and small, have made offers for the major assets of US Airways, including its East Coast shuttle and gates at several airports, people briefed on the negotiations said last night. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways and AirTran made preliminary bids last week in a process led by Morgan Stanley, these people said. Mesa Air Lines, a regional carrier serving the West Coast, has also said it is interested in bidding on US Airways' assets. The board of US Airways is set to consider the offers at a meeting early next month. The airline, a unit of the US Airways Group, based in Arlington Va., emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection less than a year ago. But US Airways, the nation's seventh-largest carrier, has been struggling since. It is pressing its unions for further concessions as it tries to cut more than the $200 million to $300 million it had planned to trim from its operations this year. Late last year, it said that it had to revise its business plan to meet stiffened competition from low-fare carriers including Southwest Airlines, which plans to start service in May to Philadelphia, one of US Airways' three hubs. US Airways operations in Philadelphia are among the operations the airline put up for sale, as well as its other hubs in Charlotte, N.C., and Pittsburgh; gates at La Guardia Airport and Logan Airport in Boston; its US Airways Express regional carrier; and its East Coast shuttle. The shuttle was thought to have attracted the most interest among a group of carriers that made offers for the airline's assets, people briefed on the bids said. US Airways has never said definitively what it would sell. And, earlier this month, David G. Bronner, the airline's chairman, said that US Airways had retained Morgan Stanley "to help us see if anything makes sense." Indeed, the bids may not necessarily be to US Airways' liking. For instance, the US Airways Shuttle was only expected to bring $100 million to $150 million, people briefed on the offers said, versus the $300 million bid that American made to purchase the shuttle in 1997. US Airways has operated the shuttle since 1992, as part of a joint venture that ran the carrier, and took control of it in 1998. Moreover, some of the airlines involved may encounter obstacles to completing the deals. For instance, while American, a unit of AMR, has been interested in buying the shuttle for years, it may have trouble winning the backing of its labor unions, which granted the airline deep cuts in wages and benefits last year when American said it was on the verge of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. American or any other airline that purchases the shuttle would have to absorb US Airways' union members, who have vowed that a new buyer must honor their labor contracts. That could lead to sticky situations involving the seniority of pilots, flight attendants and other employees. Robert W. Mann Jr., an industry consultant based in Port Washington, N.Y., saw two strategies in US Airways' efforts to find buyers for its assets. First, Mr. Mann said, the airline most likely wanted to put pressure on its labor unions, which granted the airline two sets of contract concessions in bankruptcy, but thus far have resisted any further cuts. Since the assets were put up for sale in early January, US Airways' pilots agreed to hold discussions with the airline on its financial problems, although the pilots' union said the meetings were not formal contract talks. Mr. Mann also said the company was most likely curious to see what its assets might bring in the industry's difficult economic climate. "It's almost as if they were dribbling out a little bit of honey to see whether any bees would arrive," Mr. Mann said. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/28/business/28air.html?ex=1076301780&ei=1&en=317745d267cf81be --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. 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