By: Staff Writer

May 23, 2005, Associated Press

NEW YORK US Airways and America West look to merge into a more profitable carrier, but analysts say they'll need to transform the company into a more consumer-friendly business.

David Melancon (meh-LAH'-sahn), president of FutureBrand North America, a consulting firm, says such large companies "have trouble making drastic change, but they occasionally do it".

Executives said after the merger announcement last week, that the new airline will take the U-S Airways name. They also said full integration of the operations could take up to three years.

Will it work? Airline expert Aaron Gellman, a professor at the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University thinks it just might. He says the deal is a salvation for Arlington-based U-S Airways.

He says America West might have fared well even without the merger, calling the carrier "well-managed."