America West Airlines Inc. said its fourth-quarter...

America West Airlines Inc. said its fourth-quarter profit from operations doubled as efforts to make the company more productive and efficient paid off.

The Phoenix-based carrier said profit from operations was $12.5 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with net income of $6.63 million, 16 cents, in the year-earlier quarter.

A $10.5-million pretax charge for turning over heavy-maintenance operations to an outside supplier reduced earnings by about $6.5 million, or 14 cents a share. The airline reported net income of $6 million, 13 cents a share, in the most recent quarter.

The airline matched the average estimate of 26 cents a share by analysts.

Separately, the company said some shareholders plan to sell 6.1 million Class B common shares to the public.