America West Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2002 Financial Results

[BillLumbergh]

[SPAN class=headline][A href=http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030123/lath040_1.html]America West Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2002 Financial Results[/A][BR][BR][SPAN class=headline][A href=http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/030123/airlines_americawest_earns_3.html]America West Posts Loss[/A][BR][BR][SPAN class=headline][A href=http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/030123/airlines_americawest_burnrate_1.html]America West CEO says bankruptcy not imminent[/A][/SPAN][/SPAN][/SPAN]

 

[N905AW]

Overall the news looks very encouraging and while the 4th quarter loss is disappointing, it wasn't unexpected. However, revenue did rise over 30% compared to last year, the airline beat estimates, growth is planned through 2003 of 3-5%, operating performace continues to improve, and the new pricing structure continues to be an asset to the company, as competitor retaliation continues to disapate.

The webcast of the conference call is very interesting, including information on aircraft deliveries. An interesting note is that 4 aircraft will be taken out of the fleet, 2 A320s and 2 737-300s, and 2 A320s will be added to the fleet, for a total of 143 aircraft. But while the fleet is expected to decrease slightly, the airline plans to increase utilization.

Hopefully the trend of operational and fiscal improvement continues through 2003.