In what was then the ultimate East Coast-meets-West Coast merger, 2005 saw America West Airlines and US Airways merge in a $1.5 billion deal to create a nationwide airline under the US Airways name.
US Airways had, at the time, filed for bankruptcy for the second time of the century and was ripe for acquisition, especially as previous mergers with United Airlines had failed due to antitrust concerns, The New York Times reported in 2005.
The two airlines, one based in Tempe, Arizona, and the other in Crystal City, Virginia, were among the top ten largest airlines in the country at the time of the merger, according to the Times. The combined network would give the East Coast-based US Airways a hub in the west that it never had, with Arizona positioned squarely in the American Southwest — and a quick hop to most major cities on the West Coast without the congestion of Los Angeles or San Francisco.