US Airways announced today that it will suspend its service between its Pittsburgh hub and both London Gatwick airport and Frankfurt, Germany for the month of May 2003, due to the airline’s commitment to provide aircraft to the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) for the movement of troops to and from the Middle East.

The temporary schedule suspension will affect the one daily nonstop roundtrip flight on each route. US Airways first suspended its Pittsburgh-London service on April 1, 2003. Service on both routes is scheduled to resume on June 1, 2003.

“These May adjustments in Pittsburgh are a result of our commitment of widebody aircraft to the CRAF program activated due to the war in Iraq, which has lasted longer than anticipated,” said B. Ben Baldanza, US Airways senior vice president of marketing and planning. “We intend to return this service to our schedule as soon as the economic conditions and CRAF commitments allow.

“Through our transatlantic service at both Philadelphia and Charlotte, N.C., our customers will be able to connect conveniently to London and Frankfurt.”
Currently, two of US Airways’ widebody aircraft are dedicated to the CRAF program.

US Airways is the nation`s seventh-largest airline, serving nearly 200 communities in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Europe. Most of its route network is concentrated in the eastern U.S., where it is the largest air carrier east of the Mississippi. US Airways, US Airways Shuttle, and the US Airways Express partner carriers operate over 3,300 flights per day. For more information on US Airways flight schedules and fares, contact US Airways online at usairways.com, or call US Airways Reservations at 1-800-428-4322.
Reporters needing additional information should contact US Airways Corporate Communications at (703) 872-5100.

——-