US Airways lately?

[MinnieGirl33]

Haven't flown them in years but am wondering how they have been lately?

On-time performance?

Luggage issues?

I know they were nightmarish not all that long ago... seemed to be on the news constantly...

Anybody with recent experiences (out of PHL specifically)

 

[safetymom]

They haven't gotten any better.

 

[ntsammy5]

They haven't gotten any better.

And they can't get much worse.

 

[rwdavis]

From what I read it's one of the worst airlines out there. We usually fly Southwest, Jet Blue, or Midwest(excellent).
Bob

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

I disagree. We flew USAIR out of Philly in April and they were excellent. It was on time, easy check in, no luggage issues, etc. I know they've had their problems in the past but they worked fine for us.

 

[ntsammy5]

Out of 18 flights taken with US since January, only 2 were on time. 8 were canceled due to US Air problems, not weather. Not a very good record, at least not for me. Unfortunately the cities I travel to don't have a huge choice of airlines

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

From what I read it's one of the worst airlines out there. We usually fly Southwest, Jet Blue, or Midwest(excellent).
Bob

Do you fly Midwest out of Philly? It seems like there are no nonstop flights.

 

[DebbieB]

US has problems in PHL. They closed the PIT hub and transferred far too many flights to PHL, the terminal and runways are crowded. Earlier this year, at 10:00am on a bright sunny morning it took 40 minutes from gate to takeoff. I've given up on connecting there, it's always a problem. A few drops of rain, the place goes into chaos.

 

[Brocktoon]

Not to mention how many times the morning flights to Orlando get moved from B terminal to A terminal while you're waiting. They'll delay the flight an hour or more, while all the passenger pick-up and move to a diffrent terminal.

The sad thing is that I have so many frequent flyer miles with US due to business travel, that I'm using them again to hit Orlando in late Oct. I'm pretty sure my morning flight has an average delay of 60 minutes. At least I'm going in knowing what to expect (and I'm only taking a carry-on)

 

[rwdavis]

Do you fly Midwest out of Philly? It seems like there are no nonstop flights.

Sorry, I was unclear. I like flying Midwest although I've never done it to Orlando.
Bob

 

[beccasmom]

DH and kids flew USAirways in late June to WDW from PHL. They were bumped from their flight and had a long wait for another one, although once they did get a flight, they were bumped to first class and got a voucher for a free flight (which we are using for our December trip). Our expectations are not very high when we fly from PHL in general, no matter the airline. I would rather use SWA, but we keep getting bumped from USAir flights and wind up with vouchers to use! I once had some semblance of "loyalty" toward them, but no longer. Their customer service remains below par, IMHO.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

Well gang thanks for the input!

We abandoned US Nightmare years ago for AirTran & SWA.

Saw some $59 fares lately & thought, "Well?... Should I even consider this????"

I don't know what I was thinking! I mean they show a 30-40% on time performace (for their 8am departure even) & they are declaring the flights at 2 hrs 45 mins! (from PHL its 1:55 - 2:10 max depending on flight path)

Thanks for setting me straight!

 

[Carys]

Yikes! I'm flying with them at the end of this month and chose them because they're a Star Alliance partner airline and had a very reasonably price. Thank goodness I chose JetBlue for my other US domestic flights. Wish me luck...

 

[DebbieB]

Yikes! I'm flying with them at the end of this month and chose them because they're a Star Alliance partner airline and had a very reasonably price. Thank goodness I chose JetBlue for my other US domestic flights. Wish me luck...

I see you are from New Zealand. Where are you connecting?

 

[TDC Nala]

I flew them to Paris and back from Barcelona this summer and other than sitting around on the runway at Philly it worked out fine.

I'm going to try them twice to Orlando this year since they fly out of DCA and have good return times.

 

[minie_meese]

I fly US Airways almost every week because I fly in the northeast and it is the only airline where I can get direct flights. US Air has its ups and downs. Lately it's been pretty good for me but I have had times when it has been terrible.

When I fly US Airways to the south, if I have a choice of connections I will choose Charlotte, then Washington National, then Philadelphia. I hate the Philadelphia airport (why they switched from Pittsburgh as a hub is beyond me - that was the best). I have not had an ontime flight into or out of Philadelphia in a long time. I also try to avoid connections where I switch from a commuter flight (US Airways Express) to a full size jet (US Airways). This is often impossible as US Airways seems to be continuously increasing the number of commuter flights and decreases the larger jets to save money I am sure.

An extra word of caution - If you fly into Philadelphia on a commuter plane you come into terminal F and will need to get to B or C for connections to Orlando - allow for a long connection. It is really far and the bus between the terminals can be a big bottleneck and a very unpleasant experience. On a good day it is tollerable. Washington National has moved many of their commuter flights out to an airplane parking lot in the middle of nowhere - this will require a bus trip to or from the terminal too - but the bus will be just for your flight - mostly tollerable.

The people at the airport who work for US Airways are different from the people who work for US Airways Express - and they don't always communicate well.

 

[Carys]

I see you are from New Zealand. Where are you connecting?

I am flying Air New Zealand to San Francisco (SFO), then travelling US Airways to Orlando (MCO) with a 1.5h connection in Las Vegas. I am sure that it will all be ok though - I am scheduled to arrive in Orlando mid morning and have no plans for the day of arrival (thought I would need some buffering against jet lag) so if the flights go to pot I have time up my sleeve for it to be set right. I will be far, far away from PIT and PHL!

 

[minie_meese]

The Las Vegas and Phoenix connections are old America West routes/connections. America West was acquired by US Airways a few years ago. My daughter has flown through both cities on US Airways a number of times in the last 2 years and has not missed a connection or complained of any problems. Also, morning connections tend to be better than afternoon/evening ones (you are not dealing with the backup factor) and with an hour and half connection you will likely be fine unless there is a major disruption .

 

[safetymom]

US Airways was bought by America West. There are many folks that flew America West that complain about the lack of service now.

 

[Disneynutbsv]

I've flown Us Air for years and we had one issue and it wasn't even there problem....just weather had us stuck on the plane for awhile and the wings were getting de-iced....
But other than that, its my airline of choice...