US Airways Appeals to Workers

US Airways Group Inc. appealed to its employees to come to Philadelphia International Airport on their days off this weekend to help boost staffing, hoping to avoid the type of Christmas fiasco that left the airline with too few workers to fly all its planes and process luggage.

Separately, the airline also warned employees that it would review the attendance records of those who called in sick and discipline any healthy workers who abused the sick-time system.

US Airways canceled hundreds of flights in the days around Christmas when an unusually large number of flight attendants and baggage handlers didn’t show up for work, crippling a flying operation hampered by days of bad weather.

The debacle left about 10,000 undelivered bags at Philadelphia’s airport and stranded travelers along the East Coast. Many vowed to never again fly the airline, which is trying to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

In a message to its employees Tuesday, US Airways sought volunteers willing to give up their New Year’s Eve plans and work for free in Philadelphia. It said they could expect to be used as customer greeters, ramp agents or baggage sorters.

In a separate note, the company said it would conduct an “enhanced review” of each worker’s attendance record from Dec. 23 to Jan. 3 to determine whether anyone should be disciplined or denied pay because of unwarranted sick calls.

Also Tuesday, the president of the airline’s unit of the Assn. of Flight Attendants posted a message on the union’s website chastising workers who failed to report to work over the holidays.

US Airways is struggling to stay afloat and has asked its major unions to accept large pay cuts if the airline is to survive. A Bankruptcy Court judge temporarily slashed the pay of all workers by 21% in October.