CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- US Airways Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker yesterday said Pittsburgh International Airport was now "marginally profitable" for the carrier because of cutbacks made since last year's US Airways-America West merger and that he does not expect any more dramatic reductions in local flights or employees.

The region's largest carrier now has fewer than 200 flights and about 3,000 employees at the airport, down from more than 500 flights and 12,000 employees at the beginning of the decade.

"We feel good about where it is now,'' Mr. Parker said, adding that before the changes, the airline "lost lots and lots of money in Pittsburgh over the last five years.''

His comments came in an interview following US Airways' annual shareholders meeting at the Charlotte Convention Center.

It was only a year ago that the boyish-looking airline CEO announced the US Airways-America West merger from Tempe, Ariz. At the time, US Airways was in the midst of its second bankruptcy in just over two years and America West was almost out of cash and contemplating a bankruptcy filing, too.

Now, thanks to rising ticket prices and a reduction in money-losing flights and despite record-high fuel prices, the new US Airways is profitable -- it was one of three U.S. airlines to make money in this year's first quarter -- and its stock is up 150 percent since the merger closed in September. Its shares closed yesterday at $46.63, off $5.00 and down 9.7 percent from a 52-week high of $51.63 set a week ago Tuesday.

Mr. Parker still expects US Airways to make a profit for all of 2006, which if it holds would mark its first year in the black since 1999. "The theme of this year is what a difference a year makes," Mr. Parker said yesterday.

But it was also clear yesterday that all is not perfect as Mr. Parker works to complete the merger by 2007.

One sign of trouble was a showing by 75 to 100 US Airways pilots, all of whom walked single file through the streets of downtown Charlotte and into the convention center, before taking the first four rows in a banquet room to face Mr. Parker.

When US Airways pilots chairman Jack Stephan got up to speak, he told Mr. Parker that he hopes the pilots, who along with other employees as a whole gave up billions of dollars in concessions during two US Airways bankruptcies, can now get back some of what they lost. "We expect to share in the good times, as well," Mr. Stephan said.

US Airways still has to reach a new contract with the pilots and several other employee groups, and Mr. Parker does not want the new contracts to increase the airline's overall costs and threaten its path to profitability.

When US Airways merged with PSA Airlines and Piedmont Airlines in the late 1980s, US Airways boss Ed Colodny raised wages to buy labor peace -- a move that made it more difficult to compete with low-cost carriers following the collapse of the industry following 9/11. Now pilots, Mr. Parker told reporters yesterday, would "like to see costs increase."

Mr. Stephan, asked later about Mr. Parker's comments, cited bonuses recently taken by top managers at the new US Airways -- Mr. Parker rejected a $770,000 bonus for 2005 but three other executives did collect bonuses ranging from $135,000 to $382,500 -- and noted that pilots "should be at the head of the line" for profit-oriented handouts.

"We don't expect just to be poor-weather friends," he said. "One thing about pilots is that they don't forget."

In the coming months, he said, "it's going to be fun [talking about how] to split the pie." And Mr. Parker "needs to know wherever he goes, we will be there."