Connecting Flight; US Airways climbed out of its second bankruptcy by merging with america west. Can the new company combine its information systems?

The new US Airways, formed from the combination of low-cost carrier America West Airlines and the twice-bankrupt US Airways, officially took flight on Sept. 27. The company will announce its collective financial results Nov. 9.

But while the airline looks like one entity, its information systems remain separate and distinct. For the coming months, the company will keep two Web sites, handle reservations on two systems, and run its business applications separately.

US Airways chief information officer Joe Beery, however, is working to meld these disparate systems. Over the next two to three years, he'll try to bring the systems together into a single information …