The article below from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\ THE CLEARING - IN THEATERS JULY 2 - WATCH THE TRAILER NOW An official selection of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, THE CLEARING stars ROBERT REDFORD and HELEN MIRREN as Wayne and Eileen Hayes - a husband and wife living the American Dream. Together they've raised two children and struggled to build a successful business from the ground up. But there have been sacrifices along the way. When Wayne is kidnapped by an ordinary man, Arnold Mack (WILLEM DAFOE), and held for ransom in a remote forest, the couple's world is turned inside out. Watch the trailer at: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/theclearing/index_nyt.html \----------------------------------------------------------/ Chief Executive of US Airways Quits Amid Strife April 20, 2004 By MICHELINE MAYNARD The chief executive of US Airways, David N. Siegel, who vowed last month that he would not run from the airline's deepening financial problems but had reached a logjam with its unions, resigned yesterday. Bruce Lakefield, a former Lehman Brothers executive who is a member of the board at US Airways Group, the airline's parent, will succeed him. Mr. Siegel's resignation was apparently sought by the airline's chairman, David G. Bronner, according to people briefed on the conversation. The request came at the beginning of a three-day meeting by the US Airways board in Montgomery, Ala., where Mr. Bronner runs Alabama's pension fund. Mr. Lakefield, the former chief executive of the international operations of Lehman Brothers, joined the board last year as one of eight members chosen by Mr. Bronner, whose Retirement Systems of Alabama became the airline's biggest shareholder in 2002. Mr. Lakefield, a graduate of the Naval Academy who served on submarines during his military career, has worked closely with Mr. Bronner during his months on the board and has been chairman of two key committees, helping him to forge ties with the airline's unions. He retired from Lehman Brothers in 1999; he had led its international operations in London for four years. In a statement, Mr. Siegel said he took advantage of an escape clause in his contract with US Airways, which he joined in 2002. Under it, Mr. Siegel had the option to leave during a 30-day window, which began on March 31, and keep a bonus of about $5 million. "I have great affection for the airline and its outstanding employees, and I want to see the company succeed," Mr. Siegel said in a statement that the airline released late yesterday afternoon. "Unfortunately, the past two years have been difficult for all of us, and I believe our ability to move forward and make additional changes require a change in leadership." He said he hoped his departure would be "a first step in a healing process that will enable the company to complete its restructuring." As recently as March 23, Mr. Siegel vowed that he would stay to help the struggling airline avert another brush with bankruptcy, telling employees on a telecast he would stay and fight for the airline's survival. "I'm not going to cut and run," he said. In fact, he said he had met recently with Mr. Bronner to discuss a new, presumably lower pay package similar to those received by chief executives at low-fare airlines. Mr. Siegel's short tenure was tumultuous. Only four months after his arrival, US Airways filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2002. The move came less than a year after the Sept. 11 attacks in Washington and New York that devastated its traffic, which is overwhelmingly concentrated on the East Coast. But Mr. Siegel led a swift overhaul of the airline, cutting costs by $1.9 billion a year and reducing its total debt by $2 billion. Backed by Mr. Bronner's $500 million investment, US Airways emerged from bankruptcy in April 2003 after obtaining $900 million in loan guarantees from a federal board. In hindsight, analysts have criticized the airline for coming out of bankruptcy too quickly and not taking steps to fend off competition from low-fare carriers like Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways. That threat became evident last October, when Southwest announced plans to begin service from Philadelphia, one of US Airways' three hubs. The others are Pittsburgh and Charlotte, N.C. Mr. Siegel, on the employee telecast, declared that Southwest was "coming to kill us" and pressed unions to grant a third round of contract concessions on top of two sets of wage and benefit cuts they gave while the airline was in bankruptcy protection. Indeed, Mr. Siegel had been scheduled to present a business plan to the US Airways board today that was to have outlined steps the airline would take to reduce its costs to the level of low-fare carriers, particularly Southwest. It was not clear whether that plan would be considered. Indeed, some analysts have raised the question of whether the airline will have to again seek bankruptcy protection, a fate Mr. Siegel had vowed to avoid with further cuts. Yet US Airways' unions, who would have contributed roughly half the cost cuts Mr. Siegel said were necessary to make the airline as lean as its low-fare rivals, resisted loudly. Only its pilots union agreed to negotiate, and even the pilots called for Mr. Siegel's resignation last year. However, its mechanics, flight attendants, and ground personnel refused to open talks, even though Mr. Siegel wanted to have the negotiations completed by summer. Leaders of the unions, which hold four seats on US Airways' board, had met with Mr. Bronner in recent months to voice their dismay and appeared to have forged a bond with him, although his state is noted for its right-to-work laws. Their refusal to discuss further concessions led to Mr. Bronner's request on behalf of the board that Mr. Siegel step aside, the people briefed on the conversation said. In a statement, Mr. Bronner said Mr. Siegel had "done an admirable job leading the company through a critical period." Mr. Bronner and Mr. Lakefield declined to comment last night through a US Airways spokesman. Union officials said Mr. Siegel's departure was the right move. Even as Mr. Siegel clashed with unions, US Airways' financial position deteriorated, putting in default of the covenants of its federal loan guarantees, prompting it to renegotiate those terms earlier this year. Should it seek another round of bankruptcy protection, it would be in default once more. A complicating factor is that the federal government holds 10 percent of the airline under terms of the loan package. Analysts said the airline needed to take steps to shore up relations with its corporate customers, some of whom have defected from US Airways in recent months as low-fare carriers have expanded their East coast service. Peter Buchheit, director of travel services for the Black & Decker Corporation, based in Towson, Md., said he wanted to see US Airways remain a "viable entity." But long term, Mr. Buchheit said, the airline needed to be run by an experienced airline executive. Kevin P. Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, which represents corporate travel departments and business travelers, added the airline required "someone known and respected, who can put a complete and viable plan on the table quickly and who has the leadership skills to execute," Mr. Mitchell said. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/20/business/20air.html?ex=1083467032&ei=1&en=d8d56073b97d2c3f --------------------------------- 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. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! 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