US Airways Pilots to Vote on AMR Link

US Airways Group Inc.’s pilots’ union will vote in January on whether to let the sixth-largest U.S. airline sell tickets for AMR Corp.’s American Eagle commuter flights out of Los Angeles and elsewhere in California. The union’s top council will vote on the issue as soon as Jan. 4, said Air Line Pilots Assn. spokesman Roy Freundlich. The pilots’ contract prohibits US Airways from placing its computer code on American Eagle flights in reservations systems. US Airways must replace service previously provided by Trans States Airlines Inc., a St. Louis-based regional airline that said this month it will end California service because it’s not profitable. US Airways passengers previously connected to Trans States flights in California; now US Airways is seeking to accommodate those passengers on other airlines. US Airways, based in Arlington, Va., proposed forming a broader partnership with American Eagle when it teamed up with American Airlines in April 1998, though pilots’ objections had hampered that. In NYSE trading, US Airways rose 69 cents to close at $31.31, while AMR climbed 44 cents to close at $66.81.