US Airways, anyone flown with them?

[eyoreaud]

Hi all, i've just booked to go back to visit the mouse, wahaay!

We are flying with us airways, never tried them before but we're on a budget this time so thought we'd give them a try. Any of you lovely people ever flown with them? Was there much difference from BA/VA? Meals, legroom etc? We have a stopover in charlotte on way over and philadelphia on way home.

Any info will be much appreciated

Thankyou

 

[juliebro]

This is a question that someone seems to ask every week! I think this is the most recent thread.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2061062

As you can see, we're frequent fliers with US Airways - MAN to MCO route via Philly. Happy to answer any questions you have .

 

[Cinderella]

I haven't flown with them yet but I'm planning to book the Man via philly flight that Julie mentioned. They seem to have some good deals, even flying around the time of the May holidays. And it was one of their pilots who saved that flight from disaster last week, (the one that landed in the Hudson) so I guess they should be pretty safe.

I checked seat guru and that flight seems to have seatback tv. Is it quite similar to Virgin flight Julie? Is there plenty choice of films etc for the kids to watch?

 

[juliebro]

They do have seatback tv's - witha reasonable choice of films and tv shows to watch. I have never flown with Virgin so I can't say whether they are similar or not. I'm guessing though that the cabin crew on Virgin are probably slightly younger and a little more glamorous then their counterparts on US Airways! But experience counts, eh?


The seatback tv's have individual controllers and you can pause/rewind and fast-forward.

They publish a list of the current month and next month's films on the website.

http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/traveltools/intheair/entertainment/movies_current_na.aspx

It's the 'video on demand' list for the A330.

 

[Cinderella]

Thanks Julie - I like the idea of being able to pause and rewind. On Virgin, I always miss part of the film when they bring the food. I'm not a big TV watcher but I love watching the films on planes.

 

[juliebro]

DH is the same. He doesn't have the patience to sit and watch a film - except when he's flying to the US.

 

[Disneyday]

I noticed that US airlines are the cheapest at the moment. How much is everyone paying?
I was looking for mid Oct and MAN-Philli-MCO was £406, but MAN-MCO was only £422. I wish I had booked a month ago when the same flight was £355 but like a fool I thought I would hang on for a bargain

 

[nobodies36]

I noticed that US airlines are the cheapest at the moment. How much is everyone paying?
I was looking for mid Oct and MAN-Philli-MCO was £406, but MAN-MCO was only £422. I wish I had booked a month ago when the same flight was £355 but like a fool I thought I would hang on for a bargain

I'm paying £351.39 (including credit card fees) for GLA-PHL-MCO in August.
I'm also paying £308.96 (including credit card fees) for GLA-MAN-PHL-MCO in December (which I only booked the night before last).

For that kind of money, I don't really care if it isn't the best airline.

 

[eyoreaud]

Hi all

Thanks for your replies, we're flying Aberden/Gatwick Gatwick/charlotte/orlando on way out and only difference on way home is the stop over in Philadelphia. I've only ever flown indirectly once before and found it really tiring on the way back but what the heck, we're saving a fortune 27th march till 17th April, with tax/service fees and airline failure protection came to £1439.00 for 3 adults! No other airline came anywhere near

I've never left it this long to book before so was panicking a bit at the prices! I'm sooooo excited!!!

 

[mickeyforpresident]

We flew US Airways around 7 years ago on our first trip and it was the worst ever flight we've ever been on! Terrible staff, terrible food, unclean plane and no TV screen! Compared to Virgin they are rubbish, but hey, cheap prices win out and as long as you get there......

 

[eyoreaud]

For the same dates (27th march-17th April) fying with BA from Aberdeen is ££2728 thats a difference of £1298! compared with US Airways and £3041 with Virgin with a difference of £1574 and that was only from LGW i would still have to get a flight from Aberdeen to LGW. I cannot believe the difference in prices!

We normaly fly Virgin but then again thats normaly in early December and the flights are cheaper then. But because my dd's prelims don't finish till the end of Feb we're stuck to certain dates and she'll be going to uni (hopefully ) after summer.

As we are going for 3 weeks, that means quite a bit more $$$'s to spend while we are there

I DO hope us air planes ARE clean!!! Well, i'll let you know when we get back, if they're rubbish then that'll be a lesson learned

 

[tubtruck]

Flew with them a couple of years ago. Were not the best I have flown with but by no means the worst either. Their transatlantic A330s are more comfortable than their transatlantic 757s and the entertainment system is better.

 

[TOONMADLAD]

Hi, we flew US Airways last Oct/Nov, Gatwick-Charlotte-Orlando. The flight from Gatwick was on a newish plane with the TV screens in the headrests and a handset in the armrest, giving you full control of the entertainment system. The food onboard was ok, same as any airline food, the staff were great and helpful, the only downside for me was the leg room, as I am 6' 2" and it was abit tight. The flight from Charlotte was on an older plane with no entertainment or food (snacks to buy onboard) but the leg room was huge, but I would certainly use them again. They might not be the best airline but there certainly not the worst

 

[juliebro]

I noticed that US airlines are the cheapest at the moment. How much is everyone paying?
I was looking for mid Oct and MAN-Philli-MCO was £406, but MAN-MCO was only £422. I wish I had booked a month ago when the same flight was £355 but like a fool I thought I would hang on for a bargain

Not sure if I've misunderstood you, but US Airways don't fly direct to MCO from MAN.

 

[juliebro]

Just checked with Seatguru, and Virgin's pitch is 32" in economy, while US Airways is 31".

 

[Disneyday]

Not sure if I've misunderstood you, but US Airways don't fly direct to MCO from MAN.

Here is the quote I got from the search engine (I notice they have gone up again)

Outbound Manchester to Orlando 15 Oct 2009 Dep: 10:55 Arr: 18:25 Flight No: US735


Inbound Orlando to Manchester 01 Nov 2009 Dep: 17:10 Arr: 08:45 Flight No: US734

 

[eyoreaud]

When i booked i thought i'd got a direct flight from lgw-mco but when i phoned to enquire the guy told me that there was a stopover in Charlotte. their site doesn't tell you this and so can be confusing as they do tell you about the stopover in philly on the way home, making it seem like the flight over is direct Maybe it's best ALWAYS to phone and check rather than booking on-line

 

[juliebro]

Here is the quote I got from the search engine (I notice they have gone up again)

Outbound Manchester to Orlando 15 Oct 2009 Dep: 10:55 Arr: 18:25 Flight No: US735


Inbound Orlando to Manchester 01 Nov 2009 Dep: 17:10 Arr: 08:45 Flight No: US734

Flights 735 and 734 have a stopover (and change of plane) in Philadelphia.

We are on those same flights in April.

 

[juliebro]

When i booked i thought i'd got a direct flight from lgw-mco but when i phoned to enquire the guy told me that there was a stopover in Charlotte. their site doesn't tell you this and so can be confusing as they do tell you about the stopover in philly on the way home, making it seem like the flight over is direct Maybe it's best ALWAYS to phone and check rather than booking on-line

A good indicator is to compare the take-off time from your original departure airport to the arrival time in MCO- not forgetting to add in the 5 hours time difference. Anything more than 7-8 hours will be indirect.

The US Airways website will tell you all you need to know about your flight as long as you have the flight number. Select 'Flight Status' option from their home page.

 

[eyoreaud]

Thanks for that Just been on their site and its very helpful