Exhibit 23.1
Consent of Independent Auditors
The Board of Directors
US Airways Group, Inc.:
We consent to the incorporation by reference in the registration statement nos. 333-109316 on Form S-3 and 333-107534 on
Form S-8 of US Airways Group, Inc. of our report dated March 12, 2004, relating to the consolidated balance sheets of US Airways Group, Inc. and subsidiaries (“Company”) as of December 31, 2003 (Successor Company) and 2002 (Predecessor Company), and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for the nine months ended December 31, 2003 (Successor Company), the three months ended March 31, 2003 and each of the years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2002 (Predecessor Company) which appear in the December 31, 2003 Annual Report on Form 10-K of the Company.
Our report dated March 12, 2004 includes an explanatory paragraph that states that the consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern, and as discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s significant recurring losses and other matters regarding, among other things, the Company’s ability to maintain compliance with covenants contained in various financing agreements as well as its ability to finance and operate regional jet aircraft and reduce its operating costs in order to successfully compete with low cost airlines, raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Our report dated March 12, 2004 also includes an explanatory paragraph that states that, on March 18, 2003, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Virginia confirmed the Company’s Plan of Reorganization (the Plan). The Plan became effective on March 31, 2003 and the Company emerged from Chapter 11. In connection with its emergence from Chapter 11, the Company adopted fresh-start reporting pursuant to Statement of Position 90-7, “Financial Reporting by Entities in Reorganization Under the Bankruptcy Code” as of March 31, 2003 as further described in Notes 1, 2 and 3 to the consolidated financial statements. As a result, the consolidated financial statements of the Successor Company are presented on a different basis than those of the Predecessor Company and, therefore, are not comparable in all respects. Furthermore, as discussed in Notes 2 and 11 to the consolidated financial statements; effective April 1, 2003, the Company changed its method of accounting for stock-based compensation as described by Statement of Financial Standards No. 148, “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation-Transition and Disclosure”; and effective January 1, 2002, the Company changed its method of accounting for its goodwill and other intangible assets as required by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142 “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” and the Company changed its method of accounting for engine maintenance at PSA Airlines, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.
/s/ KPMG LLP
McLean, Virginia
March 12, 2004