USAir Taps Former United Airlines Chief

Stephen M. Wolf, a longtime airline executive who specializes in turning around troubled carriers, was hired Tuesday to do just that at USAir, the nation’s fifth-largest airline.

Wolf was named chairman and chief executive of Arlington, Va.-based USAir Inc., with the immediate task of trimming more than $1 billion in labor costs from the airline. He will take over Monday from Seth Schofield, who tried and failed to persuade the airline’s unions to make contract concessions.

Wolf, 54, took over at United Airlines Inc. in 1987 and was immediately faced with the task of stripping away hotels, rental car companies and other non-core businesses.

USAir said Wolf will not make any public statement until Monday, when he will preside over the release of the company’s year-end earnings report. USAir is expected to report a profit for 1995 after six years of losses.

The stakes are high for the airline: It is showing a profit, but its operational expenses are among the highest in the industry, and it has failed to win the labor concessions most of its competitors have. USAir has 42,000 employees.

Wolf’s appointment also revives speculation that the airline’s future might include a merger with another carrier.

“The other option is to run the company, and there’s something to work with there, but Steve is a deal guy,” said one industry analyst who asked not to be identified.

United announced last fall that it was considering a bid to purchase USAir in an effort to become the dominant airline in the East. United failed to make an offer, but United sources acknowledged Tuesday that they are still interested in USAir.

Mathias J. DeVito, a USAir director and chairman of the committee that selected Wolf, said Wolf has “clearly demonstrated his ability to lead a major carrier and to add shareholder value in past executive positions. We look forward to his doing the same thing here at USAir.”

USAir spokesman Richard M. Weintraub said one of Wolf’s priorities will be to meet with the leaders of the airline’s three unions “at the earliest possible date.” Weintraub said Wolf wants to “create an atmosphere of complete cooperation.”