US Airways Tentatively Awarded Permanent Authority To Operate Service Between Charlotte Hub And Sao Paulo

TEMPE, Ariz., June 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — US Airways (NYSE: LCC) applauds the order announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on Thursday, June 20, tentatively awarding the airline with permanent rights to operate daily, year-round service between Sao Paulo, Brazil and the airline’s largest hub in Charlotte, N.C. The awarded rights, when finalized, ensure that US Airways can maintain Charlotte to Sao Paulo service on a permanent basis. The airline’s service between Charlotte and Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport, which began June 8, uses temporary frequencies leased from another carrier.

“US Airways expresses its gratitude to Secretary LaHood, Assistant Secretary Kurland and their staffs at the DOT for their recognition of the benefits of the new service for consumers and shippers throughout the Carolinas and beyond,” said Vice President, Legal and Government Affairs Howard Kass. “US Airways is delighted to have the new Charlotte-Sao Paulo service made permanent and underscores how important Charlotte is to the US Airways network. Our new service from Charlotte, the U.S.’ second largest financial center, provides our customers in more than 85 communities with easy one-stop access to South America’s most important business market.”

Each year more than 36 million US Airways customers fly through Charlotte Douglas International Airport, which is the third-largest U.S. airline hub with more than 640 daily departures to 136 destinations in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Mexico and Latin America. The airline’s new service to Sao Paulo complements its existing service between Charlotte and Rio de Janeiro.