$1.1 billion fuel bill pushes US Airways to $567M loss

A huge spike in fuel costs pushed US Airways Group Inc. to a major second quarter loss.

For the three months ended June 30, US Airways reported a net loss of $567 million, or $6.16 per share. That compares with a profit of $263 million, or $2.77 per share, for the same period last year. Revenue rose 3 percent to $3.26 billion.

The Tempe-based carrier says it spent nearly $1.1 billion on aircraft fuel and related taxes in the latest quarter, up from $658 million in second-quarter 2007.

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"Our second-quarter results reflect the unprecedented rise in fuel prices that are impacting our industry," said CEO Doug Parker. "We are working diligently to reduce capacity and costs and execute on the new revenue programs recently announced by US Airways and other airlines."

Excluding special charges that included a $640 million noncash impairment charge related to the writedown of goodwill and spare parts, US Airways said it would have lost $101 million or $1.11 per share.

Analysts, who typically exclude charges from their forecasts, expected a loss of $1.30 per share during the second quarter on revenue of $3.27 billion.

US Airways (NYSE:LCC) operates 3,500 flights per day to more than 230 destinations in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America.