There was an article by Jane Costello in the 2/13 edition of the WSJ entitled, "US Airways Frequent Fliers Worry About Higher Fares and Fewer Seats"

I do not have a link to the story but maybe somebody could possibly dig it up?

I was contacted by the journalist, but she didn't use any of chexfan's quotes. Maybe another FT'er is quoted???

I can email you a copy of the story, but I won't post it for fear of any copyright infringement.

Email it to me please- I won't bust you http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Please e-mail it to me as well.
I was contacted by the journalist as well and would like to see the result of her reasearch.
Thanks yours eurousair

It is unlikely that a link would work, unless you were a subscriber to the Journal. The WSJ site is not free. It is best to go to your friendly neighborhood library and take a look at the article.

I was contacted by her as well. I was much more ascerbic that flying out of CLT it is hard to imagine how they could raise the fares higher, but that there were plenty of reasons for concern in the quality of that travel depending on how the frequent fliers were treated post merger.

The article described situations in non-hub cities were US rates are frequently among the lowest (not something I know anything about http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif ) and the fear among fliers in those cities that the decrease in competition will result in an increase in fares.

The article quotes a Myrtle Beach US top level elite as saying: "once you make platinum, you're upgraded, no sweat"... Platinum?? Surely she misquoted...

Originally posted by svpii:
"once you make platinum, you're upgraded, no sweat"... Platinum?? Surely she misquoted... I asked about this and the US spkesperson was quick to note that out to her as well. She (Jane Costello) wanted to use the term Platinum as a "generic term" so as to not bog down the story and to drive across the point that they were the top flyers.

I've just heard the rumor that FlyerTalk's own deelmakur is quoted in the article!

Can someone give me a specific page reference for the article? I couldnt find it when I looked for it. Feb 13th WSJ, right?

I don't have the print version of the WSJ, but I am guessing from past experiences with articles like this that it will be inside the Weekend Journal section, on the Travel page.

Well, I haven't seen the article, but I hope it mentioned two other things that I know a number of us Chairmans Pref's are concerned about:

a) Loss of current upgrade privileges
b) Loss of superior Chairmans Pref customer service

I've diverted a lot of my business to USAirways because of these two things, althogh I maintain top-tier status on 2 other airlines as well. Living in Raleigh, US's fares are typically not an issue, because of the presence of Southwest Airlines here. Southwest keeps everybody honest. The big guys tend to match their fares on routes where they compete.

In my experience, US Airways' treatment of its top tier customers is extraordinary compared to what I've experienced from other airlines. And I'm not just talking about the upgrades -- it's the whole service package. While there are bad apples in every barrel, it seems to me that US's people in general go out of their way to treat their top fliers well, particularly the Personal Liaison desk, which is always right on top of things.

UA has enough on its plate trying to sort out its own airline and keep it running. It's hard to be optimistic about what a combined UA/US will look like, or (egad!) what it will take to accomplish that.


------------------
/swaggie

I too was contacted by Jane Costello. Could someone please e-mail me or summarize the article. Greatly appreciated.

Well let's see,

The article quoted several individuals, including

one from New Caan, CT
one from Myrtle Beach, SC

I know ONE person who posts on Flyertalk-USAirways from New Caan, CT

and I know ONE person who posts on Flyertalk-USAirways from Myrtle Beach, SC.

Doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to figure this one out folks! <grin>


[This message has been edited by pitflyer (edited 02-17-2001).]

U Betcha

Hello, All!
From the discussion, it sounds like the point that top-tier on our beloved USAirways may be in some minds a better deal than top-tier elsewhere was made. For all the good it'll do, I'm thankful for that.

Can someone with a copy of the article e-mail it to me, also? I did indeed talk with Jane Costello, and I assure you I used the "Chariman's" word, and not Platinum,(but we've been through all that...)I'm just curious as to what else she put in there.

Jane said it would likely run ONLY in the On-Line version, because I asked her about that vs. the print version. If in fact it made the print version, I'm sure my Dad would send me the article as he subscribes to the actual paper.

Thanks, everyone/someone!

[This message has been edited by Surfrider (edited 02-19-2001).]

Looks like Ms. Costello was lurking and called everybody who posts. I thought I was one of the only ones called upon http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif
Are there other lurkers out there we should watch out for?

Apparently the hours I was available was not good enough for Jane http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Probably better for her, her ear would have fallen off after the mouthful I have to say about Untied! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Airline passengers in Charlotte, N.C.; Cincinnati; and Richmond, Va., pay the nation's highest air fares, according to a Federal Aviation Administration report.

http://news.airwise.com/stories/2001/06/991738003.html