SALISBURY, MD—- The Piedmont Airlines dispatchers, as represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), successfully ratified a restructuring agreement with their management on Feb. 20, 2003, making Piedmont the first of the US Airways Group’s wholly-owned subsidiaries to acquire contract relief from all of its labor groups.

All Piedmont employees, including members of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), and the Store Clerks and other employees who also are represented by the IAMAW, have now complied with the US Airways Group’s financial requests as a means of emerging from bankruptcy.

“US Airways’ senior management stressed that Piedmont’s growth and prominence in the Group’s express operation was dependent upon the containment of costs through the negotiation of concessions by each of Piedmont’s labor groups. The employees of Piedmont have now responded to this request with a pragmatic, team-oriented approach,” stated Capt. Olav Holm, chairman of Piedmont’s ALPA unit.

Joe Dykes, president of Local Lodge 2795 added, “The airline industry is experiencing turbulent times and the US Airways Group is no exception. Management and labor must work together to develop solutions that get us back on the right track.”

Betsy Tettelbach, AFA Piedmont Master Executive Council president, said, “Piedmont employees have lived up to their commitment to secure the future of the airline. We now look forward to US Airways emerging from bankruptcy in the near future and serving our parent company as a front-running component of its express operation.”

ALPA, the world’s oldest and largest pilot union, represents 66,000 airline pilots at 42 carriers in the U.S. and Canada. Visit the ALPA website at http://www.alpa.org.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers represents more than 730,000 active and retired members. For more information about the IAM, visit the website at www.goiam.org.

Piedmont Airlines, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of US Airways Group, Inc., and operates as a US Airways Express carrier. Headquartered in Salisbury, MD, Piedmont carries over 3 million passengers a year to 49 destinations throughout the Eastern United States, Canada, and the Bahamas.

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