: From Ticker To Tail, US Airways Reborn Monday September 26, 5:02 PM EDT SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- When US Airways Group shares start trading on Tuesday as "LCC" on the New York Stock Exchange, the combined US Airways and America West will make its Wall Street debut. The choice of the stock ticker is a nod toward the company's ambition to become a low-cost carrier, industry parlance for the few airlines that can make money in a low-airfare and high-fuel-price environment. The merger is expected to officially close at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning after a 10-day period following the bankruptcy court's clearance of a Chapter 11 exit. After the two companies inked a deal May 19 deal, the two airlines set out to remake US Airways as the dominant name in the deal, though America West executives will steer the company from their Arizona offices. US Airways, twice bankrupt since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, has been able to cut expenses and debt while under Chapter 11 protection. America West was already operating as a low-cost airline. "They were able to reduce their cost structure in bankruptcy ... and by doing the merger with AWA they were able to attract outside equity capital as well," said Ray Neidl, an airline analyst with Calyon Securities. Listen to the interview with Neidl. "It means they're given a new lease on life, and they've got to make the most use of it." The new airline will have some 38,000 workers and be the No. 5 domestic carrier, according to the company. The company is already drawing on different outside equity investors such as ACE Aviation Holdings, Par Investment Partners, Peninsula Investment Partners, Wellington Management Co. and Tudor Proprietary Trading and Eastshore Aviation, which have invested $565 million; they will receive about 36.5 million shares, or 46% of shares outstanding. America West (AWA) shareholders have voted to approve the deal. Operationally, there is still work to be done even if investors have already lined up. Planes from both US Airways and America West are being repainted. At hub airports in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Las Vegas and Phoenix, attention will be focused on the little details like parking that still are being worked out. "Execute, execute, execute. You can't say it enough," said company spokeswoman Elise Eberwein. Cultural integration is a big issue, too, she noted. There are different groups of organized workers that have to be blended together. Thinning out the fleet of planes is one thing; deciding who flies what planes, when and how is another. Blending the operations of both companies will take two to three years, the company has said. "There's so many different layers to this thing," said Eberwein. Customers shouldn't expect any dramatic changes right away at the airline, travel experts said. In the wider airline industry, it is a tumultuous time. Record jet-fuel prices at the end of the summer are ratcheting up the financial pressure on all carriers, even low-cost operators. Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Northwest Airlines (NWACQ) are currently restructuring under bankruptcy protection. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 09-26-05 1702ET Roger EWROPS