Scared to use USAirways!

[Coconuts]

We usually fly on SW and got a decent price on our airfare down to MCO, so we booked a one way. The flight on SW back to PHL was too much so we have been checking out fares daily on all airlines.

USAirways has the flight home at the time we want for $79, which is the cheapest we have seen on any airline since we booked our trip.

It seems that SW is the only airline on the boards that gets any good press, so now I'm scared to use any other airline. And, the flight on USAirways website says that it only has a 60-70% chance of being on time. There is no way I want to sit in an airport with a cranky 18mos old for several hours.

One thing I would like about going with USAirways on the way back is baggage check in at our hotel/participating airline, which means we don't have to touch our luggage once we get on the DME bus, right? We usually fly SW so we don't have any experience with the whole participating airline/resort check in thing.

Can anyone make me feel any better about using USAirways?Has anyone had a good experience on the 3pm flight from MCO to PHL?

 

[gracie1]

I have always flown usairways. Never had a delay..actually usually arrived earlier to the destinations.

I don't think their comparable...I know you mentioned you only read good things about SW on the boards...but I have read many a bad things about SW on here, as well as Airtran, etc. It depends on who you want to fly with and your preferences.

I personally would never and will never fly on SW. They have had too many problems for me. I am trying Airtran this time around and hopefully it will be a good experience!

 

[DebbieB]

I would go for it. Here are the statistics for June. US and SW are very close in ontime arrivals. Mid-afternoon is a good time to fly, they usually backup more in the evening.

Hawaiian Airlines 93.3

Alaska Airlines 84.5

ExpressJet Airlines 82.0

Pinnacle Airlines 80.7

Continental Airlines 80.5

SkyWest Airlines 80.4

Southwest Airlines 78.1

US Airways 78.0

Delta Airlines 76.1

AirTran Airways 75.3

Northwest Airlines 75.3

American Eagle 74.4

Mesa Airline 74.2

Atlantic Southeast Airlines 73.2

United Airlines 72.6

JetBlue Airways 71.2

American Airlines 69.2

Frontier Airlines 68.0

Comair 59.8

 

[uva185]

I used to fly over 100k miles a year on US Airways. I have never stepped foot on a Southwest plane nor do I ever plan to. Their services do not suit my taste or needs. I was very happy flying US until they made changes to their frequent flyer program. Aside from those changes I was still very happy flying US.

Ultimately I switched my travel to Delta because Delta treats their frequent flyers better.

You are talking about taking a single roundtrip flight. Don't worry, save yourself the extra money and fly US.


Some things you will want to consider...

-US Airways will allow you to pick a seat in advance for free so you will not have to check in right at 24 hours. You are on vacation, no need to stress over that.

-US Airways will charge you for checked luggage while Southwest will not, so factor that into your pricing.

-The on time percentage refers to on-time departure. Airlines are getting better about padding their schedule and making up for time. Take that with a grain of salt, Southwest could be delayed as well, they just don't advertise that to you on the booking screen.

-Free drinks and snacks will be provided on both airlines. It seems a lot of Southwest flyers forget other airlines serve free snacks.

 

[Telcogirl]

We usually fly on SW and got a decent price on our airfare down to MCO, so we booked a one way. The flight on SW back to PHL was too much so we have been checking out fares daily on all airlines.

USAirways has the flight home at the time we want for $79, which is the cheapest we have seen on any airline since we booked our trip.

It seems that SW is the only airline on the boards that gets any good press, so now I'm scared to use any other airline. And, the flight on USAirways website says that it only has a 60-70% chance of being on time. There is no way I want to sit in an airport with a cranky 18mos old for several hours.

One thing I would like about going with USAirways on the way back is baggage check in at our hotel/participating airline, which means we don't have to touch our luggage once we get on the DME bus, right? We usually fly SW so we don't have any experience with the whole participating airline/resort check in thing.

Can anyone make me feel any better about using USAirways?Has anyone had a good experience on the 3pm flight from MCO to PHL?

Just don't forget that you may be charged a fee for your bags on Us Air. That is a hidden cost that increases the overall price of your ticket. Southwest still allows for two bags per passenger for free.

 

[DebbieB]

I used to fly over 100k miles a year on US Airways. I have never stepped foot on a Southwest plane nor do I ever plan to. Their services do not suit my taste or needs. I was very happy flying US until they made changes to their frequent flyer program. Aside from those changes I was still very happy flying US.

Ultimately I switched my travel to Delta because Delta treats their frequent flyers better.

You are talking about taking a single roundtrip flight. Don't worry, save yourself the extra money and fly US.


Some things you will want to consider...

-US Airways will allow you to pick a seat in advance for free so you will not have to check in right at 24 hours. You are on vacation, no need to stress over that.

-US Airways will charge you for checked luggage while Southwest will not, so factor that into your pricing.

-The on time percentage refers to on-time departure. Airlines are getting better about padding their schedule and making up for time. Take that with a grain of salt, Southwest could be delayed as well, they just don't advertise that to you on the booking screen.

-Free drinks and snacks will be provided on both airlines. It seems a lot of Southwest flyers forget other airlines serve free snacks.

I don't think US serves free snacks. They abandoned the little bag of pretzels long ago. SW does have the advantage there, they usually serve peanuts & some kind of crackers.

A big advantage for SW for me is the easy flight change/price change policy. US will charge you $150 to change the flight.

 

[uva185]

I don't think US serves free snacks. They abandoned the little bag of pretzels long ago. SW does have the advantage there, they usually serve peanuts & some kind of crackers.

I thought they replaced the pretzels with some nut mix. (I could be wrong) In any event, US does offer real food and a variety of snacks for purchase.

http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/traveltools/intheair/foodandbeverages/maincabin.aspx

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

Can anyone make me feel any better about using USAirways?Has anyone had a good experience on the 3pm flight from MCO to PHL?

We have flown round trip to Disney using US Air twice (Phila). Never a flight delay. You want to pay for your luggage online and print your receipt to show the Disney luggage people when you drop your bags for magical express. It is a $15 per bag per person fee. This is important!

I prefer US Air because I know what to expect. Rest easy; you shouldn't have a bad experience.

Extra tip: If you are on the dining plan (or not), we used counter credits and took to go meals with us for the airport. ME delivers you to the airport with about two hours before your flight. We eat outside of security - in front of the Disney store. That way we kill time and aren't hungry on the flight. We did this for the first trip to use left over credits (then the second) and will repeat it for other trips I'm sure.

 

[Coconuts]

Thanks for all the quick responses everyone, and especially for the arrival details DebbieB. I think I'll tell DH to book it!

 

[Coconuts]

We have flown round trip to Disney using US Air twice (Phila). Never a flight delay. You want to pay for your luggage online and print your receipt to show the Disney luggage people when you drop your bags for magical express. It is a $15 per bag per person fee. This is important!...

So you have to pay the online luggage before you get to the resort desk for check in? So we would need to bring our laptop with us then or are there places in the resorts to go online?

 

[PrincessKsMom]

So you have to pay the online luggage before you get to the resort desk for check in? So we would need to bring our laptop with us then or are there places in the resorts to go online?

I'm curious about this too (but for Continental), since I don't have a laptop. Is this something you can do through your resort?

 

[disneydreamingdebby]

When we went in Feb, the bag fees were new. The CM would not take our bags and my husband was so angry because no one could explain to him why... He ended up paying via phone for the bag, I think... The CM kept telling my husband that they wouldn't check the luggage. So we were going to just check it at the airport ourselves but the CM said we couldn't take it on the bus without it being checked in.

from USAIRWAYS website:
"Pay for your checked bags online when you check in
You can pay for your checked bags when you check in online and save a few. Customers who choose to pay for checked bags at the airport will be charged an additional $5 service fee (effective July 9, 2009). " Fee is $20 at airport $15 online.

I pulled this from Disney's magical express site...

Q. How should Guests that are subject to airline checked luggage fees proceed?

A. Guests should call Baggage Airline Guest Services at (407) 284-1231 to pay their airline's applicable luggage fees. Guests will need to pay their airline luggage fees prior to checking in at the Resort Airline Check-In desk. Airline luggage fees cannot be collected at the Resort Airline Check-In desk.


Appears to be one more headache, because Disney already confirms your flight for you, but all you need is the phone number. I guess because it is not at the airport, you should still get the discount...

I would love to know how others have handled this...

 

[kaytieeldr]

The instructions for paying for your checked luggage will be included in your "return" DME packet - the envelope left on/under your door the day before you leave.

You don't need to carry the phone number with you - it'll be on the instructions. You don't need to bring a computer if this were the only reason for taking it - the instructions will tell you to call that number to pay your baggage fees.

 

[Coconuts]

The instructions for paying for your checked luggage will be included in your "return" DME packet - the envelope left on/under your door the day before you leave.

You don't need to carry the phone number with you - it'll be on the instructions. You don't need to bring a computer if this were the only reason for taking it - the instructions will tell you to call that number to pay your baggage fees.

Thanks!

 

[PrincessKsMom]

The instructions for paying for your checked luggage will be included in your "return" DME packet - the envelope left on/under your door the day before you leave.

You don't need to carry the phone number with you - it'll be on the instructions. You don't need to bring a computer if this were the only reason for taking it - the instructions will tell you to call that number to pay your baggage fees.

That's a relief. I don't have a laptop so that wasn't a possibility.

 

[beccasmom]

USAirways is fine and certainly a safe airline. We use them 85% of the time because they are the dominant carrier at PHL and offer a good number of non-stop flights at a competitive price. They have not always been competitive, IMHO, but are now since SWA arrived on the scene.

My opinion is that service levels dropped somewhat after the USAir/America West merger; up to then they had been okay. But we have always felt safe flying USAirways and simply choose to ignore the odd lapse in customer service (it's never been safety-related). Most of the staff are great.

Also, during the summer thunderstorms often cause long flight delays. There is not much an airline can do about that; you can take an early flight and hope for the best. But that's no guarantee either. So review the on-time performance with a grain of salt.

 

[solar]

I fly US Airways, and arrive on time 99% of the time...there was 1 delay due to bad thunderstorms one trip, and we only arrived about 10 minutes late.

Flew in April and they gave free drinks (coke, etc) and instead of a "snack" they offered the option of a "boxed snack box" at about $5....

...and a "blanket box"...which made me laugh. It felt like a sales pitch, but they just announce it, then walk down the aisle and you wave if you want it.

In fact, this week I just booked another flight via US Airways. I've had good experiences with them, so I stick with them - since I know their system. I always check US Airways first.

- also love that i can book my seats when i buy my tickets!

 

[Coconuts]

I fly US Airways, and arrive on time 99% of the time...there was 1 delay due to bad thunderstorms one trip, and we only arrived about 10 minutes late.

Flew in April and they gave free drinks (coke, etc) and instead of a "snack" they offered the option of a "boxed snack box" at about $5....

...and a "blanket box"...which made me laugh. It felt like a sales pitch, but they just announce it, then walk down the aisle and you wave if you want it.

In fact, this week I just booked another flight via US Airways. I've had good experiences with them, so I stick with them - since I know their system. I always check US Airways first.

- also love that i can book my seats when i buy my tickets!

Thanks, this makes me feel so much better about our decision. We booked our return flight the other day at $79/pp. Not only am I happy about the price, but now we can check our baggage at the resort and we have assigned seats!

 

[TDC Nala]

I do not believe USAirways serves any free snacks in coach at all. They used to charge for all the drinks, but that didn't last.

 

[onelilspark]

I'm originally from the Philly area, so here's my opinion on US Air since I've flown them a "few" times

If I'm flying through Philly, I avoid US Air like the plauge. PHL and Charlotte are 2 hubs for US Air and a lot of US Air flights from Rochester will stop at one of the 2 airports. If I can help it, I will fly through Charlotte because that airport is better. (Love Philly, but let's face it, the airport is a mess.) Flying out of Philly, I'd say that the problem lies more with the airport than it does the airline, however I think USAir is worse than the others. Southwest will get you out of the gate faster. Flying into Philly, I'd go with any airline, including USAir if it's cheaper.

Flying out of Orlando in the afternoon you might encounter a weather delay due to storms. Plan on it happening, have a back up plan. Like snow in the NE, storms in Orlando in the afternoon are not unusual. The airline does not matter. The only difference is that Southwest is usually quicker getting the planes loaded. Even so, I'd say you're okay to take USAir to Philly. I would avoid taking them out of Philly. (Maybe that's just me...)