US Airways to hire baggage handlers US Airways says it wants to hire hundreds of additional baggage handlers at Philadelphia International Airport. US Airways spokesman David Castelveter said Wednesday the ailing airline increased the pay rate for baggage handlers at the airport from $7.40 per hour to $9.59 per hour in hopes that US Airways can hire "several hundred" new baggage handlers. US Airways, which is in the middle of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization and is the dominant airline at Philadelphia International, employs 870 full-time and part-time baggage handlers at Philadelphia International, Castelveter said. But it needs to add hundreds more due to attrition. US Airways had trouble with baggage backlogs during the Christmas holiday at the airport due to bad weather, a larger-than-expected number of baggage handlers who called in sick, and a shortage of baggage handlers in general, Castelveter said. "There's attrition in Philadelphia," he said. "We really are working hard to recruit." US Airways employs 5,500 people at the airport in total, according to the US Airways Web site. Roger EWROPS