The new US Airways, if it merges successfully with America West Airlines this fall, will scroll across the bottom of every financial TV-news program and Times Square ticker as LCC.

		Attention grabbing? A sampling of some unique ticker symbols: LCC The 'new' US Airways LUV Southwest Airlines BUD Anheuser-Busch YUM Tricon Global Restaurants HOT Starwood Lodging

LCC? America West admits the odd stock symbol raises an obvious question: "What the heck???"

As a New York Stock Exchange ticker designation, L-C-C doesn't sound all that sexy (unlike Southwest Airlines' LUV), nor does it have any visible connection to US Airways (unlike the old UAIR symbol) or an obvious meaning for the average flier.

The symbol, as it turns out, stands for "low-cost carrier" -- an industry term for airlines that are able to keep expenses down and operate more efficiently than the larger, old-line carriers. So, LCC is perhaps an appropriate aspiration for the executives in charge of the merged US Airways-America West, who hope to keep costs and ticket prices low.

But in a country where stock ticker symbols are used as marketing gimmicks, does LCC work? Does it set US Airways apart? Or is it too obscure?

"Hmmmm," said longtime stock listings adviser Patrick Healy, based in Chevy Chase, Md. "I want to think about that one. It doesn't strike me right away as something that comes immediately to mind."

But, "with the right campaign around it, it may be successful."

There is a long history of companies using unusual ticker symbols to set themselves apart.

	US Airways Watch A U.S. bankruptcy judge yesterday passed along US Airways' reorganization plan to creditors for a vote. The judge will consider the plan at a hearing on Sept. 15. The plan needs the approval of the judge and US Airways' creditors before the airline can reemerge from bankruptcy and complete a merger with America West Airlines. Separately, America West Airlines has scheduled a shareholder vote on the merger for Sept. 13. Delaware-based Juniper Bank is replacing Bank of America as exclusive marketer of a US Airways credit card, in a deal that will provide US Airways with $455 million to be used in the proposed merger with America West. Current card holders will not lose any of their frequent-flier miles as a result of the switch, the company said in a regulatory filing. -- Dan Fitzpatrick Related coverage Airmall seeking to hire 100

The practice began in 1844 as a way to send stock prices over the telegraph system easily and efficiently. To save room, stocks with the highest volume got one-letter names -- many companies continue that practice today, such as the F used by Ford Motor Co or the C used by Citigroup, which grabbed the letter after Chrysler dropped it as part of a 1998 merger with German automaker Daimler-Benz.

Symbols of three letters or less trade on the New York Stock Exchange; four letters indicate a Nasdaq listing. Most of the one-letter codes are taken (Gilette has G, Kellogg has K, AT&T has T). H, I and M, however, still remain available.

The use of ticker symbols spans from the pragmatic to the bizarre. ML Macadamia Orchards L.P., which grows macadamia nuts, went with NUT. Anheuser-Busch, maker of Budweiser beer, went with BUD. The Cheesecake Factory Inc? CAKE. The Boston Beer Co. Inc., maker of Sam Adams beer, chose SAM.

Cedar Fair, the Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park operator whose holdings include Cedar Point, uses FUN.

"Fun is what we are about, which is why it was picked," said a company spokesman.

Southwest went with LUV for several reasons. One, the airline is based at Dallas' Love Field. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, LUV is a many-layered motif at a company that used a string of double entendres and racy advertising to sell seats early in its history.

But there is risk in being too edgy, Healy said.

Computer maker Gateway Inc. considered the ticker MOO when going public, a reference to the company's cow-themed advertising campaign. But Healy advised the company against it and "common sense prevailed," he said. The company went instead with the more prosaic GTW. Healy thought it was the better choice, melding the "G" in Gateway with the initials of Gateway's founder, Ted Waitt.

But a symbol that resonates with people inside the company may not always work, either.

Seattle retailer Nordstrom, for example, chose JWN, the initials of the founder -- a fact probably lost on the average stock picker or shopper. Denver beer maker Coors went with RKY, a reference to the company's origins near the Rocky Mountains. "That's a little bit of a stretch, don't you think?" Healy said.

In going with LCC, America West and US Airways rejected more conservative options such as USR, FLY and AIR.

In a message to employees this week, America West acknowledged the many questions people may have about the choice.

"Some may think we should have gone the standard (boring) route of choosing a less edgy ticker symbol while others may think LCC is just goofy," it said. "But all will agree selecting something out of the ordinary is a bold statement of how the new US Airways will operate."

The airline admitted that LCC may not "mean squat" to people unfamiliar with the airline business. But, "if we do our jobs right, it will have a lot of meaning inside and outside of the industry."

Choosing LCC "says we are serious about making the new US Airways successful. It serves to remind us that in order to achieve that success, operating as a low cost carrier must be our blueprint."