US Airways hopes new COO can improve operations
CHICAGO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - US Airways Group Inc (LCC.N), which has the worst record for on-time arrivals of the major US carriers this year, hopes its new chief operating officer can correct the glitches that cause delays.
A spokesman for the No. 7 U.S. airline said on Friday that the appointment of Robert Isom to the newly created position will smooth out the carrier's operations and improve its performance.
"It will be nice to have someone here who has long experience in operations and who will be focused on making sure that the operation runs smoothly," said Philip Gee.
Isom, 43, previously was a senior vice president in charge of ground operations and airport customer service for Northwest Airlines NWA.N. At US Airways he will take over some of the duties currently performed by airline President Scott Kirby.
US Airways, formed in 2005 from a merger of America West Airlines and the former US Airways, has been plagued with operational troubles at airports on the East Coast.
The airline is routinely criticized for flight delays and lost luggage in Philadelphia. In March, about 500 US Airways passengers in Charlotte, North Carolina, missed flights because of a glitch in the airline's self-service reservation system.
The U.S. Transportation Department reported this week that only 63.8 percent of US Airways' flights were on time from January through July. That is the lowest percentage of the top 10 airlines for that period.
For the month of July, however, 66.3 percent of US Airways' flights arrived on time.
US Airways shares were down 3.66 percent at $30 at midday on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Kyle Peterso)
((Editing by Andre Grenon; Reuters Messaging: kyle.peterson.reuters.com@reuters.net; e-mail: kyle.peterson@reuters.com +1-312-408-8581)) Keywords: USAIR COO/
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