US Airways Organizational Structure, IT, and Budgeting
This paper examines US Airways as a case study in organizational structure, IT infrastructure, and budgeting practices. It traces the airline's history from a small airmail carrier in 1939 to a global carrier operating under US Airways Group, outlining the corporate hierarchy of its subsidiaries and senior officers. The paper discusses the airline's IT infrastructure, most of which was outsourced to EDS, and explains the internal IT functions that remained in-house. It also reviews the company's annual budgeting cycle and its significant net losses in 2003–2004, its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, and the equity financing agreement with Republic Airways Holdings and Wexford Capital that shaped the airline's management outlook.
- Introduction to US Airways: Overview of US Airways history and operations
- Corporate Structure and Subsidiaries: US Airways Group subsidiaries and corporate hierarchy
- Senior Management and Leadership: Key officers across US Airways Group and Inc.
- Financing, Bankruptcy, and Equity Agreements: Chapter 11 restructuring and Wexford Capital deal
- IT Infrastructure and Outsourcing: EDS outsourcing and internal IT department functions
- Budgeting Cycle and Financial Performance: Annual budget cycle and 2004 net loss figures
- Conclusion: Rationale for studying US Airways as a struggling airline
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What makes this paper effective
- Provides a clear, focused snapshot of a real organization across three distinct dimensions — structure, IT, and finance — without conflating the categories.
- Uses specific figures (e.g., the $125 million investment, $236 million net loss) to ground abstract organizational concepts in concrete data.
- Honestly acknowledges limitations, such as the absence of a senior IT officer in the management hierarchy, which demonstrates analytical observation rather than surface-level description.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied organizational analysis: taking publicly available company information and interpreting it through a structural lens. Rather than simply listing facts, it connects financial distress to management decisions and IT outsourcing choices, showing how one aspect of an organization's situation (bankruptcy) cascades into other areas (IT vendor relationships, management composition, and board changes).
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief company overview, then moves sequentially through corporate structure, management hierarchy, financing arrangements, IT infrastructure, and the budgeting cycle. It closes with a brief rationale for choosing the organization. This logical progression — from broad organizational identity to increasingly specific operational and financial details — makes the content easy to follow and reflects a standard organizational analysis format appropriate for an undergraduate business course.
Introduction to US Airways
US Airways is a global air carrier based in Arlington, Virginia. The company began as a small local airmail carrier in 1939 and expanded into a global airline through acquisitions and organic development. US Airways also operates US Airways Express and US Airways Shuttle. Combined, the company serves 179 airports with 3,474 departures each day across the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. The airline is a non-governmental, for-profit organization.
Corporate Structure and Subsidiaries
The main company, US Airways, Inc., is one arm of the US Airways Group. Other companies under the Group include US Airways Shuttle, which is a wholly owned subsidiary. Two regional airlines acquired by US Airways in the 1980s now operate as wholly owned subsidiaries of the Group: Piedmont Airlines, Inc., headquartered in Salisbury, Maryland, and PSA Airlines, Inc., headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. The Group also wholly owns US Airways Leasing & Sales, Inc.
Senior Management and Leadership
The management structures of US Airways Group and US Airways, Inc. are formally separate, though there is significant overlap in senior leadership. The Group's officers include: CEO and President Bruce Lakefield; Executive VP of Corporate Affairs, General Counsel and Secretary Elizabeth K. Lanier; Chief Financial Officer Ronald Stanley; Senior VP of Finance and Controller Anita P. Beier; and Treasurer Stephen L. Morrell.
Interestingly, all of these senior Group officers also hold officer positions at US Airways, Inc. The full officer list at the Inc. level additionally includes: Executive VP of Operations Alan W. Crellin; Executive VP of Marketing & Planning N. Bruce Ashby; Senior VP of Corporate Affairs Christopher L. Chiames; Senior VP of Employee Relations Jerrold A. Glass; Senior VP of Maintenance John Prestifilippo; Senior VP of Planning Andrew P. Nocella; and VP of Finance and Treasurer Stephen L. Morrell, among several other officers.
Conclusion
This organization was selected because it appears to be in continual turmoil due to monetary losses and poor management decisions. The airline has had several contract disputes with employees — including pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics — and has reduced pay, benefits, and pensions for a majority of its employees and retirees. It seemed an interesting company through which to understand more of an organization's internal workings, and to explore whether there were identifiable internal reasons for the company's persistent lack of success. Having filed for bankruptcy twice within two years and still struggling to survive, US Airways represented a timely and instructive case study — one worth examining before the airline ceased to exist entirely.
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