US Airways CEO sentenced to 1 day in jail for DUI arrest

<p>The chief executive of US Airways will spend one day in jail for a drunken driving charge he incurred shortly after his airline's $9.8 billion bid for Delta Air Lines was rejected.</p><p>Doug Parker, 45, pleaded guilty Tuesday morning in Scottsdale City Court to one DUI charge, according to the court clerk's office.</p><p>Prosecutors asked that a second DUI charge and a speeding charge be dismissed.</p><p>Municipal Court Judge Joseph Olcavage ordered Parker to spend 24 hours in jail on March 15. Olcavage also fined Parker $1,646.25 and ordered him to be screened by a doctor to determine if he has a problem with alcohol addiction.</p><p>Parker was pulled over at about 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 31 after leaving a party at the FBR Open golf tournament in Scottsdale. That morning, US Airways Group Inc. dropped its hostile bid for Delta after courting the Atlanta-based carrier for three months.</p><p>Delta's management and pilots union had been critical of the offer. And its official creditors committee supported Delta's plan to emerge from bankruptcy as a standalone carrier.</p><p>US Airways acknowledged Parker's sentence in a statement to employees Tuesday: "Doug knows he made a serious mistake and has apologized for his actions. He plans to adhere to all of the court-directed repercussions and restitutions that come about from this charge."</p><p>Police had spotted Parker driving 20 mph over the posted 45 mph speed limit in his black BMW.</p><p>According to a police report, officers noticed that Parker had bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech and alcohol on his breath. The CEO refused to take a breathalyzer test.</p><p>Police gave him roadside sobriety tests, then took Parker to a DUI task force post for booking and to have blood drawn for an alcohol-level test.</p><p>His blood-alcohol level was found to be 0.096. The legal limit in Arizona is 0.08.</p><p>Police called a taxi for him and had his car towed.</p>