US Airways---Never Again!

[maps]

Just came back from a last minute trip to Orlando. Slim pickings with flights but it came down to SWA direct or US Air connecting---the difference---US Air was $600 cheaper. Obviously we choose US Air.

Flight was delayed 30 minutes going to Philly. Landed in Philly Airport (which was filthy by the way), got on the plane only to be told that due to the weather (not their fault) we would have to stay on the runway for 50minutes (acutally turned into about 3 hrs). They served a little cup of soda and a bag of pretzels while on the ground and then we never saw the flight attendants again. Total of about 6 hrs on the plane and they never offered anything more (luckily I pack alot of snacks).

Then we finally land and we're told that there is no available gate and we have to wait for another plane to leave (another 30 min on the plane) While on the plane, we noticed someone's luggage fall on to the ground. No one ever picked it up. Plenty of people walked by it but they just left it on the runway by the gate.

On the way home, early am flight left on time. Connection was on time, in fact, we landed 30 min early. Unfortunately there was no gate avail so we had to sit on the plane again for 30 min until another plane left.

Went to baggage, stood there for 45-60 min. No luggage. Finally I went to see a rep at US Air and he told us that the whole plane's luggage was missing. "Happens all the time". Had to borrow car seats to get home. Luggage was delivered to house the next day.

Gee, wonder why they are going out of business!

 

[CarolA]

The luggage situation is probably a result of their union difficulities. (Although in Nashville you wait an hour for any luggage except SW. The service there is HORRID and since the work for the airport the airlines are just stuck!) I do wonder why they didn't just announce the issue!

However, the rest of your story could be written on DL, United, AA and probably even SW. weather will throw everything into turmoil.

 

[DebbieB]

It's a shame because Pittsburgh used to be a hub and has plenty of open gates. The terminal opened about 13 years ago and was designed to be a connecting airport. Pittsburgh is no longer a USAir hub so the connecting flights are now in Philadelphia and Charlotte. From what I've heard, Philadelphia is having problems with capacity with the extra flights. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh airport is very quiet. Big mistake by USAir.

 

[Pinnie]

The luggage situation is probably a result of their union difficulities. (Although in Nashville you wait an hour for any luggage except SW. The service there is HORRID and since the work for the airport the airlines are just stuck!) I do wonder why they didn't just announce the issue!

Thanks for the heads up! I am flying into BNA for a Drum Corp show on July 29th and will only bring a carry on!

pinnie

 

[beccasmom]

PHL is my home airport

We just got back from WDW last week, taking USAirways. For the first time in many trips, we had a very short wait for our luggage. This has not been the norm for some time and is an embarassing disgrace. Two hour waits are not uncommon and there is often no one around to address questions. And yes, the airport is a mess......it never changes. It is not a pleasant place to spend any more time than necessary.

I was recently in Pittsburgh for a family funeral. They are thrilled that SW is now there. They've traveled to Cleveland to use SW in the past. And though I did not fly there this time (I drove), their airport is terrific. Unfortunately, it is a distance from my Pittsburgh family's home, but undoubtedly worth the trip if circumstances permit.

 

[Poohgirl]

Hey maps, Just curious did you fly out of/in to Manchester?

 

[rgf207]

I fly a lot. and I do mean a lot. I always fly us airways and have not had very many problems. The flight delays are not the fault of the airlines for the most part. We have had many flight delays because there was bad weather at the destination airport or high volumes of air traffic and they delay the flights for safety reasons. I have sat on runways for 3 hours and it is definately the pits. The luggage situation is almost the same for all airlines. I have had to replace luggage many times because of the lack of care they take with them. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I have had my luggage not show up a few times and 99% of the time that happens due to flight delays.

 

[Laurajean1014]

We had a huge problem with US Air about 5 years ago.

We sent a letter and they gave us money off for next travel. We took it, went and never used them again.

 

[CarolA]

I fly a lot. and I do mean a lot. I always fly us airways and have not had very many problems. The flight delays are not the fault of the airlines for the most part. We have had many flight delays because there was bad weather at the destination airport or high volumes of air traffic and they delay the flights for safety reasons. I have sat on runways for 3 hours and it is definately the pits. The luggage situation is almost the same for all airlines. I have had to replace luggage many times because of the lack of care they take with them. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I have had my luggage not show up a few times and 99% of the time that happens due to flight delays.

I fly a lot too.. I understand luggage delays, weather delays, destroyed luggage etc.. However, FAILURE to load the ENTIRE plane's luggage is not acceptbable and is not normal operations. You don't hear about that often on other airlines, but I have heard about it several times on USAir. I think the baggage handlers somehow think this will help them. (Not sure how... )

 

[maps]

Yes I did fly out of Manchester. Normally we fly SWA and have never had any problems but the money difference was hard to ignore this time.

I have flown lots of times and this is the first time I have had an issue with my luggage. The rep at the Manchester airport said that misplacing luggage is an almost daily occurence with US Air.

Obviously flight delays due to weather can happen with any airline so I can't fault them on that. But landing and having to sit and wait again for another gate to open up is a first for me.

 

[bicker]

This is a pretty-fair depiction of what folks can expect from the US domestic airline industry these days. We, the flying public, have chosen low fares over high quality, and so now we live with the consequences.

 

[maps]

I don't agree about the lack of quality relating to the low fares. Case in point--SWA. Their fares are usually fantasitc and their service has always been great for me. Always on time, if not early, staff has always been friendly and helpful and never had an issue with baggage.

 

[bicker]

Southwest has its detractors as well. Spend any amount of time on the airline forums, and you'll realize that Southwest has its share of baggage problems, passenger dissatisfaction, etc. It is only mildly better than the rest in terms of customer satisfaction statistics.

Also, there are many things about Southwest's business model that are deliberately aiming to provide a lower level of quality. Furthermore, Southwest is riding on its low seniority load and its relatively low cost of maintenance, since their fleet is still so young. In time, Southwest will face the same pressures as the major airlines.

What Southwest does well is that they set expectations low more effectively than the major airlines. While this will help Southwest weather the storm better, because it is so good at being the low-end supplier, they'll still have to struggle against these new pressures.

So yes, low fares does result in low quality.

 

[Lewisc]

SW doesn't work for travelers who've earned elite status with legacy airlines. No first class upgrades. No flights to Hawaii or Europe to use you FF miles. No free same day standby.

SW current profitability is a result of the fuel hedging that was done. Other airlines either didn't hedge or sold their contracts because they didn't think the cost of jet fuel would stay that high.

Some of the "low quality" aspects of SW are being copied by the Legacy airlines. No meals. Some routes are flown without any first class seats.

I'm not sure what you mean by "quality". No meals? No first class? The fact that they don't generally have free magazines? The fact that elite fliers don't get preferential seating? The seat pitch is better than many airlines. The luggage allowance is generous. The on time performance is good. The pilots are allowed to burn fuel to make up for delays.

I'll agree SW tends to attract a different type of customer.

SW doesn't treat customers right when they overbook. The compensation is low, they won't overbook another flight to accomodate you and they won't pay to put you on another airline.

Southwest has its detractors as well. Spend any amount of time on the airline forums, and you'll realize that Southwest has its share of baggage problems, passenger dissatisfaction, etc. It is only mildly better than the rest in terms of customer satisfaction statistics.

Also, there are many things about Southwest's business model that are deliberately aiming to provide a lower level of quality. Furthermore, Southwest is riding on its low seniority load and its relatively low cost of maintenance, since their fleet is still so young. In time, Southwest will face the same pressures as the major airlines.

What Southwest does well is that they set expectations low more effectively than the major airlines. While this will help Southwest weather the storm better, because it is so good at being the low-end supplier, they'll still have to struggle against these new pressures.

So yes, low fares does result in low quality.

 

[DonnaL]

DH just had the same problem with USAirways coming home from a business trip to Montreal. They were told in Montreal there was bad weather in PHL and the FAA had limited flights in/out of PHL for the remainder of the day.
Flight was supposed to leave Montreal at 3:40 p.m......first, pushed back to
5:30, then 6:00.....finally at 6:30 p.m. they boarded plane and then proceeded to sit on the runway at Montreal for three hours waiting for PHL
FAA to allow them to take off because they supposedly couldn't land at PHL due to weather. According to weather channel there didn't appear to be bad weather conditions in PHL.......we live about two hours away and we had a little rain, but, nothing alarming and radar wasn't showing anything major.
Now after reading these posts, I'm wondering if the "conditions" at PHL were more to overcrowding and inability by the control tower to handle all of the
ingoing/outgoing flights, since the same thing happened to DH and I on our
way home from Orlando in May. We were held at MCO for almost four hours
due to "bad" weather at PHL. Someone seated nearby in the terminal called home to PHL (said her sister lived real close to PHL airport) and was told it was drizzling, but, nothing extraordinary. That was not USAirways, however, but, SW. In all fairness, on that occasion we did have a lot of turbulence coming up the coast. The pilot was up and down the entire flight to avoid
bad areas. OH......and USAirways also lost DH's bag last week coming from Montreal......he wasn't even checking it and the flight attendant told him there wasn't enough room in the overheads (it was an overnight bag!!!) and took it from him as he boarded and said she would check it. She also took
the bag of the other person traveling with him and his was lost too!! We got
DH's bag late the next afternoon.

 

[bicker]

SW doesn't treat customers right when they overbook. The compensation is low, they won't overbook another flight to accomodate you and they won't pay to put you on another airline.

That's really the key aspect of Southwest's service model that drags it down to the bottom of my list. They refuse to establish interline agreements with other carriers, so if they have trouble and cannot get your flight in the air you have to wait for them to fit you onto one of their own flights -- as a matter of policy they won't put you on someone else's flight, even if it would get you where you were going sooner.