9/24/2001: US Airways Moves to Close MetroJet

By September 24, 2001, US Airways had told employees it would shut down MetroJet, its low-fare operation based at Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), by December. Contemporary reporting published September 22 placed the employee announcement on September 21. The airline's formal release followed on September 25.

The decision formed part of a 23% reduction in US Airways' system capacity after the September 11 attacks. MetroJet then served 19 cities with 182 daily flights, 49 of them from BWI.

Built to Compete at Baltimore

MetroJet began flying on June 1, 1998. On its first day, five Boeing 737-200s operated 34 flights linking Baltimore with Cleveland, Providence, Fort Lauderdale and Manchester, New Hampshire.

US Airways created the operation to compete for low-fare traffic, particularly against Southwest Airlines at Baltimore. MetroJet used a single-class cabin, assigned seats on the day of departure and offered travelers a choice between its own free-flight awards and mileage in US Airways' Dividend Miles program.

The red-and-gray aircraft remained a US Airways operation rather than a separate airline. MetroJet gave the parent carrier a distinct low-fare product while using the older 737-200 on short-haul routes.

Fleet Retirement Ends MetroJet

US Airways' September 25 release filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission tied MetroJet's closure directly to fleet retirement. The airline said it would remove its Boeing 737-200s, McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and Fokker 100s by April 2002. Because the 737-200 was MetroJet's primary aircraft, its retirement would end the operation by December 2001.

The accelerated program covered 111 aircraft. US Airways said the remaining fleet would consist of newer Airbus and Boeing aircraft with better fuel efficiency and greater cockpit and maintenance commonality. Its annual filing later recorded that the Boeing 737-200 fleet had been retired by year-end and MetroJet eliminated.

Featured image: MetroJet Boeing 737-200 N282AU at Washington Dulles International Airport on June 13, 2001. Photo: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt/GFDL 1.2.