Several hundred employees of financially-troubled air carrier U.S. Airways have responded to the airline's appeal for volunteer labor over the New Year's holiday weekend.
The airline hopes to avoid a repeat of its Christmas weekend fiasco, when it was forced to cancel nearly 400 flights and misplaced about 10,000 pieces of luggage.
U.S. Airways says the volunteer workers will greet and guide passengers at its Philadelphia airport hub in a bid to earn back lost goodwill. The employees will not be paid if they are working on their day off.
The airline blamed its Christmas problems on an unusually high number of flight attendants and baggage handlers calling in sick. Leaders of the flight attendants union say the number of sick calls was comparable to last year.
U.S. Airways filed for bankruptcy in September.
