Trip Reports - TWA 894 LAX-DCA No wonder why AA bought!

I finally can report that TWA is the worst airline I have ever experienced. Today I had to fly to DCA from LAX. I went first class. Arrived at LAX to find a very long line to check in. but OK. Then boarding commenced in which we were lead onto the most unkepmt dirty 757 that I have ever seen. The plane looked as if it had not been cleaned in years.
Then to my seat 3c. The seat covers were new grey but the seat was covered in crumbs and dirt. Offered OJ or water.
Prior to take off a FA who absolutely had no personality asked me if I wanted scrambled eggs with cheddar chees, mushroon omelette or apple pancakes. No menus. I have never had a less enthusiastic crew. It seems as if they really did not care. ( Will they get positions at AA after the takeover?)

After takeoff, a plate of fruit which a choice of english muffin, coffee cake or muffin was passed out. Then the main dish. The worst food I have ever had on a plane. And I usually love airline first class food. Especially trans con. The coffee mug was broken, I got tea instead of decaf. I guess you get the picture. And ah!! the bathroom. One bathroom that had not been cleaned since who knows when. As a matter of fact white putty was keeping the bathroom tile together. It was quite a site.
Also, both FA sat and read the ENTIRE flight. Not once did they pass through the first class cabin asking if any of the passengers wanted a glass of water or a drink. It truly was terrible.
Oh well, we arrived on time at least. I say unfortunately good bye TWA. I heard you were a great airline .

Interesting experience on TW- I've heard good things about the transcon service in general and 894/895 in general.

I usually get much better service in F on my STL-LAX/SFO legs...The 767s are especially nice in the TWOne configuration. The service really depends on the crew, especially the FSM. Just last week to LAX in F, I had a terrific crew that was up and about the whole flight, filling ice, win, coffee, etc... Desert as served from a cart, complete w/ flowers and dry ice.

By the way, on a F ticket, you can use the Ambassador Club (locations at both DCA and LAX) to check-in.

[This message has been edited by socalterp (edited 03-22-2001).]

I'm sorry to hear of your poor TWA experience. TWA just like other airlines has good flights and bad flights I suppose. I have not had any problems with TWA that they didn't fix, or attempt to fix. I guess what helps is the great group of customer service agents they have at Omaha. I've had a few dud flight attendants but they have been helpful for the most part, especially in First.

Speaking of First Class seats, their seats on the B717 are very nice. Anybody else tried these out?


------------------
Jason Seiple
OMA

Quite honestly - I have had many flights on AA like the one you described - in International F as well.

Just the other day, I flew AA from MTY-DFW in F, and found the restroom to be absolutely disgusting (similar to what you described). Also, FA was rude - spent 50% of her time serving pilots.

Sounds like you were on a non-stop? I thought all flights to/from DCA were limited to 1,000 miles. Or were you on a through-flight?

[This message has been edited by essxjay (edited 03-24-2001).]

essxjay: In a effort to open up DCA a little, they now all two nonstops that go beyond the the previous distance limit. One was an America West nonstop to Phoenix (you can of course thank Senator McCain for this!!) and the second was a nonstop to LAX. All the major airlines lobbied for the DCA-LAX nonstop since it would be a very, very desirable route. It was awarded to TWA since they appeared to be the major airline who needed it the most.

There are actually six exemptions for flights over 1,250 miles at slot controlled DCA airport. This means 12 slots (one for each landing and one for each takeoff).

Slots are NOT being phased out at DCA, unlike ORD. However, this could change.

It seems as though the TWA DCA slots are a hot commodity. The airlines are lining up like a pack of hyenas, waiting for their chance for long-haul service to DCA.

If the proposed acquisition of TWA by American Airlines goes through, the slots (which are not transferable) will be "returned" to the U.S. Department of Transportation. DOT will solicit applications and then award the slots.

Although several airlines have applied, Alaska is currently considered to be the front runner. If they received the slots, they would institute a SEA-DCA daily non-stop with a 737-700.

Frontier got a slot to operate DEN-DCA non-stop.


------------------
Jason Seiple
OMA

Thanks for the detailed replies BizJet, West Coast Flier and Seiple. I now remember hearing the buzz about HP's exemption from the 1,250 mile rule. And I hope AS succeeds in its bid for the SEA-DCA nonstop. Woohoo!

The deterioration in service is simple: why do it? If they are going to be aquired by AA very soon, why should they be happy about it? Why should they have to act nice to the passengers if it won't matter soon? Why should they serve the best coffee mugs when they don't need to? etc.

Sarecca:

I have not flown TWA since 1987! You have once again vindicated my decision. BTW, I am not picking on you but did the flight attendent actually say cheddar chees and mushroon omelette ( phonetically speaking ) or are those typos?

I have not flown TWA since 1987! You have once again vindicated my decision.

I flew TWA for a while when I first began college in St. Louis in 1989. After several trips which showed the employees didn't care because Icahn was pillaging the airline, I switched to American.

After graduating and taking a consulting job, I once again gave TWA a try and flew them almost exclusively until late last year when I switched due to frequent flyer reasons.

In those 7 years, TWA provided me excellent service on all but a few occasions and also had the most generous FF program in the industry.

The TWA of 1987 was not the TWA of 1997 which was not the TWA of 2000.

Greg

Sarecca
I can't believe we are travelling on the same airline. I have been a regular passenger on the TW 894/5 LAX-DCA-LAX service since it started on October 9, 2000. I have taken the round trip 23 times, always in first and have had nothing but wonderful service. This is one of the premium routes for the flight attendants since they do the entire round trip in one day. They go out LAX-DCA in the morning and stay on board for the return trip to LAX. These are very senior F/A's who know what service is really about. Sure there are no menus (TWA has not had a domestic menu in over 2 years) but the food is much better than AA on their transcon 3 class premium first LAX-IAD which I used to frequent until the more convienent DCA slot opened up. Sure TWA has had its problem but the one thing that kept them flying and flying ON TIME is the employees. You must have had a very off day, because I have found the opposite to be true. Right now the odds are in my favour at 23 trips to your one. Please give it another chance if you could. We at LAX are sure to lose the LAX-DCA service that is so convienent and I will really miss it along with the demise of TWA. By the way, which airline is your favorite? I am always open to new travel ideas. Thanks for your post

Regards,

U-Lover

I haven't sampled TWA transcon in a while, but have you tried AA transcon in "P" lately with caviar service?

I think it's gotten a lot better since 6-12 months ago. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by nologic (edited 04-14-2001).]

Upgrade Lover --

I'd be absolutely shocked if AA didn't continue the LAX/DCA flight. That's got to be one of TWA's best frequencies that AA will be getting.

It will probably be one of the first flights moved over from the TWA name to the AA name...

AA tried very hard to get the DCA-LAX route when the exemptions were first granted, but it went to TWA instead. As far as I understand it, the DCA "beyond perimeter" exemptions, unlike route authorities, do not belong to the individual air carriers, and therefore their transfer to AA under these circumstances is open to interpretation. I believe that several other airlines, including CO, have filed w/ the DOT for this particular route.

Originally posted by 2 Many Miles:
Upgrade Lover --

I'd be absolutely shocked if AA didn't continue the LAX/DCA flight. That's got to be one of TWA's best frequencies that AA will be getting.

It will probably be one of the first flights moved over from the TWA name to the AA name...
As has come out in the beginning of this thread, it isn't AA's choice. The terms of the slot states that it can't be transferred or sold to another airline. If TWA can't operate it, it would be returned to the DOT, who would most likely grant it to Alaska.

I would expect an Alaska transcon to be VERY nice.

I flew them in first from LAS-SEA, and it was the nicest 2 hour dinner flight I've been on (domestically).

Can only imagine what they'd for a 6 hour flight. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

Don' they have some long flights to Mexico?? Anyone have any experiences to share?