PHOENIX -- America West Holdings Corp., parent of No. 9 U.S. carrier America West Airlines, and its flight attendants began federally mediated talks yesterday in an effort to reach a contract agreement before a potential strike Saturday.

The talks between the airline and the Association of Flight Attendants before the National Mediation Board are the first since last month's impasse triggered a 30-day countdown to a possible strike.

America West has eight arrivals and departures daily at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

America West's 2,300 flight attendants are threatening to stage sporadic walkouts, which disrupt flight schedules and prompt passengers to book on other carriers, unless an agreement is reached by 12: 01 a.m. EST Saturday. The two sides are about $16.5 million apart on a combination of pay, work rules and a settlement for an outstanding lawsuit related to bonus pay.

"If I was CEO, I wouldn't let that airline shut down for one day," said Standard & Poor's analyst Steve Klein.

"The airline will lose $2 million in revenue the first day. Why go through all that?"

The attendants' strategy -- called "Chaos," or Create Havoc Around Our System -- is designed to disrupt operations randomly, without triggering efforts to fire or replace the workers. A full strike is still an option, AFA spokeswoman Cynthia Kain said, though "management has the option of permanently replacing us if there's a mass walkout."

The Phoenix-based airline was optimistic a settlement could be reached.

"My hope is that we get an agreement this week," said Stephen Johnson, spokesman at America West. If a job action is taken, however, America West is "prepared to start putting passengers on other airlines," Johnson said.

Pub Date: 3/18/99