American LCC, US Airways, mulls nonstop flights to India

Philadelphia, USA: India, Israel, Russia and Turkey are on the list of countries, which may soon be connected with non-stop flights by US Airways from its hub at Philadelphia International Airport, over the next few years.

According to US Airways, senior vice president, CA Howlett, the airline planned to add two to four international routes a year from Philadelphia, provided it could lease enough gates and acquire more long-haul airplanes.

US Airways is a low-cost airline headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and is the sixth largest airline in the United States. It is also the largest low cost carrier in the United States, according to destinations.

According to Howlett, the list of cities, countries or airports around the globe, currently under consideration, include, Moscow, Tel Aviv, Istanbul, London Heathrow Airport, Birmingham, China, India and Japan.

To start these services, the airline would need to lease or buy more long-range jets, capable of flying nonstop to Asia.

In the last month, US Airways has started new routes to Athens, Brussels, and Zurich and resumed seasonal service to six other European cities. The airline now flies between Philadelphia and 19 European destinations in the summer, and keeps service to 10 of the cities going throughout the year.

As of February 2007, US Airways employs 37,675 people worldwide and operates 3,860 daily flights.