Airline says it may liquidate

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — US Airways Group Inc. warned in a bankruptcy court filing that it may have to liquidate by February if a judge does not impose a temporary 23 percent pay cut on its union workers.

The airline asked a judge on Friday to impose the pay cuts by Oct. 14 at the latest. Yesterday, US Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Mitchell scheduled an Oct. 7 hearing.

Without the reductions, the airline’s cash reserves will dip so low by February that its lenders will likely withdraw the financing that has allowed the company to operate while in bankruptcy. The filing also indicates in a footnote that the airline will now seek $950 million in permanent annual cost reductions from its unions. Before it filed for bankruptcy, the company had sought $800 million a year in cost cuts. Average pilot pay would drop from $155,000 a year to $119,000 a year, while flight attendants’ average salary would drop from $36,975 to $27,701, according to the motion.