Question for USAir Veterans??

[Bill From PA]

I've actually used them several times and have come to expect slight adjustments in the flight times or even the cancellation of a flight which plops us on another with a similar time, but for our March flight from PHL to MCO direct, they dropped our 6:30 am flight and put us on one at 7:55. That's the new 'early' flight. I'm wondering if it's common for USAir to reinstate flights if demand calls for it and if so, would they automatically shift me back to the earlier flight? If not, since what I actually chose was the earliest flight they had, could I demand an earlier flight at the same price if they schedule something before 7:55? It's not going to ruin our trip, but I chose to drive 2 hrs to PHL to get the 6:30 flight so as to capture the whole first day at WDW and now it seems that I could be at MCO at the same time if we flew out of a local airport and conected in PHL. Any thoughts?

Bill From PA

 

[helenk]

I've flown Us Air several times and when you book far in advance you can expect the flight times to change...a few times.
I have never had an instance though where they reinstated the flight. Our flight down went the opposite of yours, originally they had flights for 7:00am, 7:40 and 7:55am, I booked the 7:55 flight and they eliminated that flight and put us on the 7:40 so no big deal.
I do not think that they will automatically put you back on another flight if they add an earlier one. They may change the flight you are on to an earlier time though.
My advice is to periodically check the website, specifically on Sundays, that is when they make their changes

 

[safetymom]

If they put back the earlier flight they would not move you unless you called and demanded it.

Just keep checking and if they had an earlier flight call and request the new earlier one.

 

[bicker]

Since you're talking about March, it is probable that they either just released the March flight schedule. (You booked against a forecast, not the actual flight schedule. That's common practice with all major airlines, the ones that allow you to book flights 11 months prior to flight time.) If so, then you probably won't see any more significant changes.

 

[snowbunny]

Yes I agree, it is unlikely they will reinstate the earlier flight and if they do for any reason, you would have to insist they rebook you.

As someone who flies USAir through PHL from a regional airport, in your case I'd probably still drive to PHL unless you ascertain that your early connecting flight originates in your city (i.e., the plane arrives the night before and is sitting on the tarmac until 6 am).
I've missed more early-morning PHL connections than I have made because the plane isn't here in my place of departure. In fact I'm driving to BOS on my next trip instead of flying and connecting, for the same reason.

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

Unlikely they would switch you back. But since they canceled the earlier flight or just moved time to 755 they probably will keep that way but there is a possibility of little minute to minute changes. Now that US Airways has merged, america west is changing flights, moving aircraft so changes will be expected.

Matt

 

[Bill From PA]

Thanks for all the info. Unless an earlier flight is offered I'll probably just accept what I've got. I already have a Park and Fly reservation for a nearby hotel that gives me 14 days of parking and I'll need 10 of those, so we'll drive to there, kick back in the hotel lounge for a Happy Hour (or two), and get an extra 1 1/2 hrs. of sleep before our 7:55 flight. Since it's just the 2 of us this trip down and we're using a TownCar, we should be able to drop our luggage at Swan and be in WS by noon.

Bill From PA

 

[LAH]

FYI,

This past April my husband and I flew on USAir out of Phila on the 6:30 am flight. We noticed over 50% of the seats we empty. they ended up letting us sit anywhere we wanted. My husband slept over a row of seats, and I laid down on another row of seats.

We are heading back to Disney next month and were looking for the same flight but noticed it was gone. I thought it was just a "glitch" on the website but I guess not.

Have a great trip!

 

[jennypenny]

We were really disapointed when they dropped the 6:30 am flight (it actually used to be 6:15 but they moved it last year). I called them about something weird when I tried to use FF miles (hubby is like super-platinum or something) and they inferred that they were still playing with the schedule and things might "free up" later on. I guess they're still working out the merger.

I hope they bring it back. I like PHL when it's not crowded.
Jenny