US Airways solidifies hub strategy with new Washington National flights

US Airways has embarked on the last phase of a strategy to ensure the majority of its flights are operated in profitable markets and 99% of flights touch the carrier's hubs or its eastern shuttle routes. The first roll-out of service to 22 new markets from Washington National Airport culminates a two-year effort by Delta Air Lines and US Airways to engineer a slot swap that resulted in US Airways gaining 42 slot pairs at National and Delta gaining 132 pairs at New York LaGuardia from US Airways. Once all the phases of new flights from National are complete, US Airways is banking on an annual USD75 million contribution to its revenue as it further cements its position as the leading carrier at the airport closest to the US capital.