Fitch rates America West senior debt CCC

Fitch Ratings said it has initiated coverage of America West Airlines Inc., a subsidiary of America West Holdings Corp., and has assigned a rating of CCC to the company's senior unsecured debt.

The outlook for America West is stable.

Fitch said the CCC rating reflects considerable caution regarding the airline's highly leveraged capital structure and its dependence upon stable operating cash flow levels to meet heavy fixed financing commitments over the next few years.

At the same time, however, the stable outlook reflects growing confidence in the company's ability to maintain current liquidity levels and meet cash obligations in the 2004-2005 period.

As the industry revenue environment has improved steadily since May, American West Airlines has continued to out-perform the rest of the industry in terms of revenue per available seat mile. The carrier has reduced unit operating expenses through good cost discipline, a management reduction-in-force initiative and the shutdown of its Columbus, Ohio, hub operation.

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