A discussion about the airline industry, airline employees, and all things related

The combined airline is five months into its integration, focusing on such key issues as blending labor forces and reservation systems. The process has gone smoothly so far and may inspire other carriers to follow suit, said Doug Parker in an interview.

Parker, long a proponent of airline consolidation, said the industry still aches for consolidation to alleviate excess capacity -- the number of airline seats for sale. In recent months, however, airlines have managed to eliminate flights on less profitable routes, enabling them to raise fares and increase revenue.

"Our consolidation was largely driven by crisis. US Airways needed it to survive," Parker said. "And as the industry improves, there will be fewer crises."

"The flip-side of that though is if you create value, you create value. And I think we're showing that you can create a lot of value -- much more than I think people thought -- by putting two airlines together."

The new US Air was formed last year when America West joined with several outside investors to buy a then-bankrupt US Airways. At the time Parker said the two businesses, including their routes complimented one another. But to the extent that there were redundancies on the routes, the new US Air was able to cut capacity.

It plans to continue to trim capacity in 2006, mostly on domestic and Caribbean routes, while adding capacity on transatlantic routes that see less competition.

Parker said he expects other major airlines to merge and continue capacity reductions in the industry. He said investors increasingly are looking for potential airline mergers.

The best merger prospects are seen among the top six carriers, especially those that are restructuring in bankruptcy, such as No. 3 Delta Air Lines. and No. 4 Northwest Airlines

Those carriers filed for bankruptcy on the same day in September, battered, along with the rest of the industry, by soaring fuel costs and low-fare competition.