US Airways Dividend Miles - Why do so many people still call the airline "US Air"?

I know people who lived in unserviced parts of the country until very recently and never experienced this airline until the past couple of years, yet I've had to correct them when they call it "US Air." There are people here who are CP who mistakenly call it "US Air." What is it about the "US Air" brand that lingers so pervasively in people's minds a good 15 or so years after the name was scrapped? It's not like the airline, when it was flying under the banner US Air, was that well-known of an airline - it was just a regional carrier and was frankly a fleeting hodgepodge of a lot of much better-known carriers (Piedmont, PSA, Allegheny, Henson, etc.). "US Air" as a standard-bearer name to describe an extensive route network really only lasted a short period of time. In fact, "US Airways" has now been around for as long than the name "US Air" was ever in existence.

I don't see people making the same mistake with "United Air," "Delta Air," "American Air," etc. "Airlines" seems natural for those carriers, with "Airways" is not a conceptually-natural result for US?

Habit or Lazy.

Habit or Lazy.

Could be, but I also see a larger issue of US being unable to carve out a brand identity for itself even in areas that are saturated with its service (i.e. airports where it's one of only two or three carriers). I live in Charlotte and very recently when I was visiting relatives in Gainesville, FL, they asked me how long my layover in ATL on DL was going to be. When I said I was flying nonstop on US, they were like, "really, there are nonstop flights to CLT?" Yeah, only for the past 20 years. They still think you have to fly DL to get anywhere in the Southeast.

Because US Airways is long and awkward, "US" doesn't feel sufficiently descriptive outside the flyertalk ranks. You say people don't say "United Air," etc., but that's because "United" feels sufficiently descriptive, as do the others.

Moreover, the old name is a built-in nickname. Ask any person whose last name could also be a first name -- people seem to use those last names as a nickname for the person more often than normal.

Those are my guesses.

Plus, people are slow with corporate name changes that don't really matter to the ordinary person. NPR still calls Apple, Inc. "Apple Computer," even though the name changed several years ago. No one is going to get confused. Similarly, no one will honestly get confused as to what someone means by "US Air" (even though people on this board sometimes pretend like there is such a danger).

Also, it could be worse -- who here remembers overhearing (at PHX) "American West," followed by an assertion that it's like "United Express" for American Airlines.

Well, as they say in the South, "whether you're going to Heaven or Hell... you have to fly through Atlanta to get there"! :D

Well, as they say in the South, "whether you're going to Heaven or Hell... you have to fly through Atlanta to get there"! :D

I feel like I'm going to Hell anytime I fly into AT...nevermind. ;)

US Air? US Airways?

Actually, I could care less
or maybe, I couldn't care less

"US" doesn't feel sufficiently descriptive outside the flyertalk ranks.

I didn't learn what AS, B6, FL, HP, NK, and WN stood for until I came to flyer talk.

I dunno, but some of us still call it Piedmont.

US Air? US Airways?

It was a stronger brand in the old days. USAir rolls off the tongue better, there was a stronger logo / service marque, they did more advertising. The current US Airways name is not only a mouthful, the graphic brandwork isn't visually memorable.

Habit or Lazy.




We know, but its 4 more letters to type!

I know people who lived in unserviced parts of the country until very recently and never experienced this airline until the past couple of years, yet I've had to correct them when they call it "US Air."

Why have you had to correct them?

Because "US Airways" doesn't rhyme with "scare".

Good thread. It does surprise me that people still don't call the airline correctly.

It always makes me cringe a bit when I hear it called 'US Air'. Kind of like when a poster on FT talks about going to the BA 'Concord lounge' ;)

Why have you had to correct them?

^ ^ ^

Seriously: who cares if people call it "U.S. Air"??? It's a nickname, for crying out loud.

Does the OP correct people when they say "United" rather than "United Airlines"? "Delta" rarther than "Delta Air Lines"? :rolleyes:

I still slip up and refer to "Fresh Fields" and "Boston Chicken." You get used to calling a company by one name, and when it gets rebranded for whatever reason, if you're still doing the same business with them, and going to the same place to do it, well, it just takes a long time to un-learn the old name. That's the same reason why "Crestar Bank" took so long to exit my vocabulary.

My mom still calls Macy's "Hecht's."

I never really understood why it's such a big deal, except with Fresh Fields becoming Whole Foods, or Hecht's stores being bought by and rebranded as Macy's; at least in those latter cases, someone could be confused when you tell them to meet you at Fresh Fields and they've got no idea where to go. If someone tells me they're flying "US Air" it's not like they're going to turn around and go home when they find only "US Airways" signs at the airport.

Because it's one less syllable, or 4 less letters to type.

My wife says she is going to the "Sev" -- meaning the 7-11. Says it because it is shorter.

I could let it bother me, but I try not to.

Because "US Airways" doesn't rhyme with "scare".

I've heard "US Scareways" uttered a number of times, actually...

I'm often guilty of incorrectly calling my city of residence "Philly." I've also incorrectly called a city in California "L.A." many times. Woe is me. :eek:

Why have you had to correct them?

Because one of them is my wife and this is the 1 out of 100 times when I'm right and she's not. :p

I'm often guilty of incorrectly calling my city of residence "Philly." I've also incorrectly called a city in California "L.A." many times. Woe is me. :eek:

Just don't call S.F. "San Fran" - you'll be immediately tourist-pinged.

Because one of them is my wife and this is the 1 out of 100 times when I'm right and she's not. :p

OK, you're off the hook. :D

^ ^ ^

Seriously: who cares if people call it "U.S. Air"??? It's a nickname, for crying out loud.


I recall back in '96 when the rebranding effort took place that it was basically priority #1 for the corporation because "US Air" invoked a very "budget airline" perception about it. The line of reasoning was that all "real" airlines are called "Airlines" or "Airways". "US Air" connoted something more along the lines of Viscount, Key Air, Allegiant, or some other leisure operation. Of course, such prioritization could be why the airline had so many problems back in the day.

Well, as they say in the South, "whether you're going to Heaven or Hell... you have to fly through Atlanta to get there"! :D

Amen! It's Limbo in Atlanta!

Why do so many people (particularly US employees) get so worked up about it?

When someone asks me which airline I'm flying, I don't think I've ever responded "American Airlines." Generally, my response is "American." I leave off the second word entirely. And no one has ever given me a hard time for omitting the second word.

Anyone know the URL for AA when the interwebs were invented (by that Tenn Senator)? That's right: www.americanair.com. Stayed that way for a couple years until AA obtained www.aa.com.

USAir, US Airways. What's the real difference? I just don't understand the all the indignity when someone refers to US as "USAir."

I think the difference in calling US 'US Air' instead of 'US Airways' is that 'US Air' is not really an abbreviation, it is the name of the airline 15 years ago, and thus it just seems like you are calling it the wrong name.

So, calling AA 'American' is an abbreviation for 'American Airlines', but calling it 'American Air' is just incorrect.

While it bothers me to hear 'US Air' I certainly admit it's not that big a deal.

Good thread. It does surprise me that people still don't call the airline correctly.

It always makes me cringe a bit when I hear it called 'US Air'. Kind of like when a poster on FT talks about going to the BA 'Concord lounge' ;)

Why is Concorde "lounge" so different from Concorde room? I mean, it's a lounge called the Concorde Room, and Concorde is the primary part of the naming, just like US Air is the primary part of the naming of the airline.

I think this is a discussion/debate that could only happen on this board, and asides for 27 people in this country, no one cares. :)

I call it US Air, because I don't say United Airlines, and just saying US can be confusing. Don't blame me. Blame the company that named themselves after a nation.

I think the difference in calling US 'US Air' instead of 'US Airways' is that 'US Air' is not really an abbreviation

How is US Air not an abbreviation of US Airways?

Just because it used to be called US Air doesn't really change the fact that it is an abbreviation or am I missing something?

I call it US Air because it's easier/a nickname.

(I still say Philly too, which will probably get me banished to south jersey soon)

Just don't call S.F. "San Fran" - you'll be immediately tourist-pinged.

I believe that many people from that region similarly frown on "Frisco," a word I don't use as frequently as I say "USAir."

I live in Los Angeles, frequently say "LA" and have never encountered resistance from anyone.

(I still say Philly too, which will probably get me banished to south jersey soon)

When I lived in PHL and worked for US, most people I knew called it "Philly," so I'm not sure about that. However, while it is pronounced "Philly," it is usually spelled "Phila." Well at least among the non-tourists.

Also, on a recent MR, every US pilot I noticed during announcements referred to it as "US Air." As a former US employee (who started with new Piedmont in 2008), I will always know it by "US Airways."

Of course in STL the Kiel Center was renamed I think over 10 years ago, and I still call it that. And Riverport.

So who cares?

... USAir, US Airways. What's the real difference? I just don't understand the all the indignity when someone refers to US as "USAir."

I agree. USAir was the East callsign until shortly after the merger when it changed to "Cactus" - I suppose habits die hard, especially among the long-time pilots, employees and USAir-era FFs. As others have remarked, "USAir" also rolls off the tongue easier ...

Heck, it's only lately that I've started calling the "Barclays card" what it is instead of the original "Juniper card" :eek:

Don't blame me. Blame the company that named themselves after a nation.

LOL!! ^

I use "US" here on the board to refer to the airline, USAirways.

When I say "USAir," I am referring to San Francisco.

When I write "LA," I am referring to the former Piedmont Airlines.

I hope this helps.

The uninformed public doesn't care.

See the aforementioned "American West" as an example. Many moons ago when I was a lowly tech support person for HP, customers often called about modem problems when connecting to American Online.

I've been in a Verizon store when an irate customer said he was going to switch to T-Mobile. He pronounced Mobile the same way one pronounces MOB.

For me, there is no such thing as the Willis Tower. I'll probably always called it the Sears Tower. The Arizona Diamondbacks play at Chase Field but until that bank merger it was Bank One Ballpark, commonly referred to as BOB. I still call it BOB.

It was once US Air. Some people cling to that.

The uninformed public doesn't care.

See the aforementioned "American West" as an example. Many moons ago when I was a lowly tech support person for HP, customers often called about modem problems when connecting to American Online.

I've been in a Verizon store when an irate customer said he was going to switch to T-Mobile. He pronounced Mobile the same way one pronounces MOB.

For me, there is no such thing as the Willis Tower. I'll probably always called it the Sears Tower. The Arizona Diamondbacks play at Chase Field but until that bank merger it was Bank One Ballpark, commonly referred to as BOB. I still call it BOB.

It was once US Air. Some people cling to that.

In a similar vein, I don't know anyone who calls the Delta Center in SLC by it's new name, Energy Solutions Center. Some people think a new name sucks and refuse to acknowledge the new "correct" name.

I'll admit I'm in the camp when it comes to the Delta Center. :D

I find the US name long and awkward as well. For the most part, I just call it US. I don't like the logo and find it awkward as well, though I understand why they use it as it "goes" with the name. Guess if you have a bad name and a bad logo, it's not going to be good for brand recognition.

In all seriousness, what WOULD be a better name for US?

When someone asks me which airline I'm flying, I don't think I've ever responded "American Airlines." Generally, my response is "American."

And now they're bankrupt!

I always call it US Air.

US Air, United, American, Delta.

What's the issue?


I refer to all convenience stores as Quiktrip or 'QT". I still call it the Sears Tower and always will, although Big Willie does seem to fit I suppose. ;) I still call a few stadiums by their un-branded names (Mile High, Comiskey), but just like ArizonaGuy there are a few where I remember the defunct brand. I still think of Pac-Bell Park and Enron Field and am not really sure what the new names are. (I guess Pac-Bell is AT&T Park now?)

I refer to all convenience stores as Quiktrip or 'QT".

So you refer to a Shell station as a QT? Blasphemy! QT is far and above the best gas station/convenience store there is. Ok, Wawa in PHL is pretty awesome too. I wouldn't call it QT, though. Also, that seems different from the examples of changed names. For the most part, I'm with you, when names change people just call it by what they know.

It's "US Air" to me.

Just because some marketing suit thought "airways" sounds good, doesn't mean I have to enable pretentiousness.

There is "British Airways". There is "Thai Airways", based in a former British colony. In this country, a business that flies people from place to place is called an "airline".

US Air executives may be confused about American English, but that ain't my problem.

Why do so many people still call the airline "US Air"?



I don't and wouldn't and couldn't care why they won't use extra syllables, and you shouldn't.

Anyone know the URL for AA when the interwebs were invented (by that Tenn Senator)? That's right: www.americanair.com. Stayed that way for a couple years until AA obtained www.aa.com.



That reminds me of www.delta-air.com before DL obtained www.delta.com!

I think it's mankind's trouble with change. People in Durham will be saving "Wachovia" for a long time, people in Milwaukee call the US Bank Center the "First Wisconsin Center", Chase Field is still known as Bank One Ballpark, Citi Field is Shea Stadium, the RFK Bridge is still the Triborough...

Trust me I could go on like this for a while!

US was actually renamed USAirways because they wanted more of a global name. They thought USAir insinuated it was just a local airline and they had outgrown the name. I say the full name in announcements but I just say USAir in conversation. Heck, I still say Washington National Airport too :)

Heck, I still say Washington National Airport too :)

As does pretty much everyone I know who's from DC. Want to get pegged as a tourist? Use that other name for it!

In all seriousness, what WOULD be a better name for US?

Piedmont. If "Delta" (as in Mississippi Delta) can be a global brand, so can the region where US' most important hub is. US still owns the rights and I bet "Piedmont" still carries more positive brand association, despite the shortcomings of the express operation by that name today.

Piedmont. If "Delta" (as in Mississippi Delta) can be a global brand, so can the region where US' most important hub is. US still owns the rights and I bet "Piedmont" still carries more positive brand association, despite the shortcomings of the express operation by that name today.

I second that. I miss saying / hearing "Piedmont" and being proud of it as our hometown airline. Fat chance they'd ever change the name back, but it's far more unique and you're probably right... positive brand association.

I guess it could still be Allegheny, or as many pronounced it, "Agony"...

Jim

One of the express carriers is now using the Piedmont name, another is using Allegheny. At least they kept it in the family :) flew on the PI airplane all day yesterday.

I know people who lived in unserviced parts of the country until very recently and never experienced this airline until the past couple of years, yet I've had to correct them when they call it "US Air."

Would you like us to go back through all your posts and correct:
Continental - it's Continental Airlines
United - it's United Airlines
on-time ops - it's on-time operations
etc., etc.

As someone once said...

This is hilarious. People take themselves too seriously sometimes.

It is interesting how almost nobody calls it 'British Air' or 'Thai Air' or 'British Airlines'

Also interesting/funny how many responses this thread has (look at the views to posts ratio). Reminds me of a thread recently about soda vendors, everyone felt compelled to share their favorite beverages. :)

One of the express carriers is now using the Piedmont name, another is using Allegheny.

Actually, the USX Allegheny disappeared in 2004 when it and PSA were merged together under the PSA name. But you were right for about 10 years.

Jim

Citi Field is Shea Stadium

I agree with your overall sentiment about people saying the name that is familiar to them. However, Citi Field is an entirely new stadium. Shea Stadium was demolished after the 2008 season.

While Piedmont certainly is easier to say, it sounds like a local airline. Same reason they dumped USAir.

Another vote for US Air. I also call British British, Thai Thai, and
United Continental. Except when I use the IATA codes.

No ambiguity anywhere, I think.

I agree with your overall sentiment about people saying the name that is familiar to them. However, Citi Field is an entirely new stadium. Shea Stadium was demolished after the 2008 season.

Still where the Mets play ... still take the subway to Willets Point ... still refer to it as Shea.

Kinda like the Pan Am Building ...

I call it US Air or US Scare. What's the big deal?

Still where the Mets play ... still take the subway to Willets Point ... still refer to it as Shea.

Kinda like the Pan Am Building ...

We also tore down our baseball stadium. We also call the new one by the same name. But that's because it's also named Busch Stadium. That makes more sense.

While Piedmont certainly is easier to say, it sounds like a local airline. Same reason they dumped USAir.

Delta and Northwest are local sounding too - they'll never make the big time. Pan American? What's the Greek god of fields and woodlands got to do with air travel? A big global carrier should be called something that sounds expansive and world-wide, like TransWorld - that's an airline that'll succeed.

Jim

.... I still think of Pac-Bell Park and Enron Field and am not really sure what the new names are. (I guess Pac-Bell is AT&T Park now?)

Pac-Bell - 2000, 'til Pacific Bell was crunched into SBC,
SBC Park - 2003, 'til SBC was crunched into AT&T,
AT&T Park - 2006.

I rarely hear it called anything but Pac-Bell.

The uninformed public doesn't care.



If this thread is any indication, most of the "informed public" doesn't care either. Honestly, if you've got time to get worked up over something like this, then you need to take up a new hobby or start volunteering somewhere or something. Sheesh.

A big global carrier should be called something that sounds expansive and world-wide, like TransWorld - that's an airline that'll succeed.

Jim

LMAO at this Jim!

When I am asked which airline I usually just say US, I have even dropped the Air, and funny most people understand, when in the USA. Out of the county I usually will say things like USAIR, BA,THAI, Singapore and its amazing people also understand. It is only the corporate branding folk's who seem to get all up in a roar about this. Guess they just don't like that we have ignored their efforts at creating a brand.
Hell, when I make a copy regardless of machine type, I am still making a Xerox , now that is a brand.

I use "US" "US Airways" or "Airways" depending on the audience. "US Air" does make me cringe a little when I hear it and I am not even a loyalist outside of Grand Slam.

Could get esoteric and start referring to it as "the airline formerly hubbed at PIT" :)

Probably the same reason why some people call FEDEX Federal Express and that was chnaged years ago.

Delta and Northwest are local sounding too - they'll never make the big time. Pan American? What's the Greek god of fields and woodlands got to do with air travel? A big global carrier should be called something that sounds expansive and world-wide, like TransWorld - that's an airline that'll succeed.

Jim

Touche - but how many people know where DL's name came from? I didn't until this thread. Ask most people and they'll probably think it has something to do with triangles. :D

I don't know ... maybe it's just that I don't like the name Piedmont. Just sounds backwoods-ish to me. I don't think a name necessarily has to imply specifically where it's from (take LH, OZ, VS for example) to be a good name.

I agree with your overall sentiment about people saying the name that is familiar to them. However, Citi Field is an entirely new stadium. Shea Stadium was demolished after the 2008 season.

Oh Yeah? ;) (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/new-york-city/1205610-i-guess-everyone-else-still-calls-shea-stadium-too.html)

Interestingly, Lufthansa is a shortening of the original name Deutsche Luft Hansa - or in English German air commerce. OZ, a nicname for Austraila, is called Asiana for the suburb of Seoul - Asiana Town - where the headquarters is located. Neither seems to suffer because of their names. VS - Branson founded his Virgin empire well before starting the airline and like all the other businesses he ran called it Virgin something or other.

If you want a hodge-podge, look no further than AA. Originally a collection of 82 independent small air mail carriers that operated under the American common brand - Universal, Southern Air Transport, Southern Air Fast Express, Colonial Air Transport and 78 others - to form a nationwide network. Through acquisitions (most shotgun weddings under pressure from the post-master general at the time) the Aviation Corporation was formed and the airline used the American Airways name, which eventually became American Airlines.

Jim

Interestingly, Lufthansa is a shortening of the original name Deutsche Luft Hansa - or in English German air commerce. OZ, a nicname for Austraila, is called Asiana for the suburb of Seoul - Asiana Town - where the headquarters is located. Neither seems to suffer because of their names. VS - Branson founded his Virgin empire well before starting the airline and like all the other businesses he ran called it Virgin _________.

If you want a hodge-podge, look no further than AA. Originally a collection of 82 independent small air mail carriers that operated under the American common brand - Universal, Southern Air Transport, Southern Air Fast Express, Colonial Air Transport and 78 others - to form a nationwide network. Through acquisitions (most shotgun weddings under pressure from the post-master general at the time) the Aviation Corporation was formed and the airline used the American Airways name, which eventually became American Airlines.

Jim

US Air? US Airways?

Actually, I could care less
or maybe, I couldn't care less

+1

With the Philly car parking shuttles, I always say "Useless Air".

They still seem to know where to stop!

I know people who lived in unserviced parts of the country until very recently and never experienced this airline until the past couple of years, yet I've had to correct them when they call it "US Air."

It always makes me cringe a bit when I hear it called 'US Air'.
Do you cringe when Noo Yawkers call it "Sixth Avenue' instead of the correct "Avenue of the Americas"?

As for DCA being "National,"
As does pretty much everyone I know who's from DC. Want to get pegged as a tourist? Use that other name for it!
Tourist, or a local tool of the sort that watches Fox News.

The best suggestion for further "enhancing" DCA's name was in the WashPost's humor contest (Style Invitational), where someone suggested "Ronald Reagan Washington Ronald National Reagan Airport."

The dealership I work at is just off a highway called either the Durham Freeway or the I.L. "Buck" Dean (don't ask) Freeway. However, until 1984 it was called the East-West Expressway. Our letterhead and deposit slips still bear the name "East West Expressway" :D

I guess it could still be Allegheny, or as many pronounced it, "Agony"...

Jim

Nope....it was and always be know as USeless to me.

US was actually renamed USAirways because they wanted more of a global name. They thought USAir insinuated it was just a local airline and they had outgrown the name. I say the full name in announcements but I just say USAir in conversation. Heck, I still say Washington National Airport too :)

That may be true, but the name change took place about the time of the code sharing with British Airways and I always heard it was at the insistence of BA. The "great northern efficiency" had a nack for screwing things up.

The dealership I work at is just off a highway called either the Durham Freeway or the I.L. "Buck" Dean (don't ask) Freeway. However, until 1984 it was called the East-West Expressway. Our letterhead and deposit slips still bear the name "East West Expressway" :D

Given how poor that broken concrete pavement has been along that stretch through downtown Durham, "Buck" is an apt description.

...I always heard it was at the insistence of BA. ...

With BA owning 24% of US Air (http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-11-12/news/9611130015_1_usair-alliance-between-british-airways-american-airlines) at that time, I suppose all that was needed was a "gentle suggestion" :), though Wolf is "credited" with the name change for the reasons mentioned by GalleyWench to go along with new livery and outlook.

I agree with most that it really doesn't matter whether it's US Airways or USAir or BA or British Airways when used in casual conversation. However, if I have a beef with this subject it's when I read in print (or hear a televised news broadcast) the incorrect name of any company or product. I cringe a little when a professional writer, reporting in a newspaper about US air travel, can't be bothered to determine the correct name of a company he or she is writing about. Or when the old name of a ballpark is used or when a company name is used that has been non-existent for years. To me that shows laziness or ignorance, or a bit of both. What we say in casual speech is one thing, but professional newspeople should at least get the facts right, starting with simply getting the name correct!

Other than that, who really cares what we say to each other in private conversations?!

Why do they speak Spanish in Mexico, but Portugese in Brazil?

You've got to go back to the early 80's and prior for it to be "Agony". Youngsters like you don't remember those days...:D

Jim

On FT, I find that the people who call it USAir are the same people who have a very outdated perception of what US Airways is truly like.

On FT, I find that the people who call it USAir are the same people who have a very outdated perception of what US Airways is truly like.

I flew Piedmont in the old days and don't think the domestic service is any better now that they are "Airways" than they were then.

Why do they speak Spanish in Mexico, but Portugese in Brazil?

lol

The Treaty of Tordesillas:

http://www.thenagain.info/webchron/americas/tordesillas.html

Although some historians object, people have been known to say "TreatTord," but I just say TT.;)

(Speaking of TT, do frequent flyers in Australia object when people refer to TT as Tiger Air?)

I think that when most people are asked what they fly, you get these reponses:

"US Air"
"American"
"Delta"
"United"
"Southwest"

I think that when most people are asked what they fly, you get these reponses:

"US Air"
"American"
"Delta"
"United"
"Southwest"

False. If you ask most people, their answers will be:

"JetBlue"
"JetBlue"
"JetBlue"

In case you couldn't tell yet, I was BOS based :D