America West FlightFund (Discontinued Program) - How dependable is America West?

I have never flown America West. But I am planning a trip to OZ, departing May 4 and returning May 20 (via LAX). I haven't purchased the ATL-LAX segments yet. I can't depend on Delta (strike?) or UA (FA strike?).

How is America West? Dependable? On time?
I have an 10:15PM ANZ departure. Anyone out there taken the AW 639/35 combo via Phoenix
(arrives 8:18P)? I don't want to miss my flight to OZ (nor do I want my luggage to miss it). Thanks for any advice!

Want to find out how dependable America West really is?

Go to the America West website, ust the flight tracking feature, pick a few sample flights and see how they do over a period of time. (check the status of flights from the day before)

If you see something like "Arrived 1132 minutes early" it means that the plane arrived after midnight of the day it was scheduled to arrive. Subtract the number from 1440 to find out how late the flight really was.

According to government figures about 30% of flights are delayed more then 15 minutes, and 5% are canceled.

Good luck!

p.s. Why don't you fly Continental???, they have a good on-time record, and no labor problems.

As a OnePass elite traveling from a city with limited CO service I fly HP more then I would like. I wouldn't fly HP on a route if CO service was available.

p.p.s. The AWA website shows that #639 on 3/8/01 arrived at PHX from ICT 90 minutes late, #35 shows "Invaled flight number" The changing of flight numbers helps to hide poor on time performance.

[This message has been edited by Old Gold (edited 03-09-2001).]

I am also concerned about my HP flight at the end of March.

I live in Seattle (where the earthquake caused much damage to the airport) and I am concerned about my upcoming vacation to a remote area of Mexico (where few flights fly). I am due to fly HP at 6 AM from Seattle to Phoenix with a half hour layover where we connect with a HP flight to Tucson.... that plane is due in at 10:45.
We then have a 4 hour layover to catch an Aerocalifornia flight to Mexico (and there are virtually no other flights if we miss this one). I have been watching the HP flight arrival times and I am concerned that due to late departures from SEA, we will miss our flight to Tucson.... and there aren't a whole lot of other flights in Phoenix that will get us to Tucson in time to make our Aerocalifornia flight.....

In Mexico we start a tour the next day... so it is crucial that we don't miss a day. My question is it appears that Tucson is only 115 miles from Phoenix.....so we could probably drive there in 2 hours..... or maybe take a bus.

Would it be advisable for me to rent a car in Phoenix just in case? Or are there buses I can take? Also, what car rental companies would be the cheapest and potentially not have a drop off charge? Lastly, is it a nice drive?

Sammy:

The drive from PHX to TUS (airport to airport) will take you right at 2 hours, driving 75 to 80 and as long as there are no major traffic tie-ups/accidents. It's desert the whole way, with attractive mountains ringing the horizons. However, coming from SEA you would likely find the drive to be barren in comparison with the lush forests of the Pac NW.

Carriers other than HP have a few flights between PHX and TUS, including UA and DL, but you'd have to check the times to see if they would work for you.

If you DO rent a car one-way, it's much more expensive. I paid $100 more for a rental from PHX because I had to drop the car in TUS (needed more time in Tucson) and my return HP flight still went through PHX. But it was on time. <g>

As of a year ago, there was at least one 'shuttle' service (Arizona Stagecoach) to Tucson but I don't recall it going to the airport, just to outskirts and central city locations.

I haven't checked the flight schedules recently, but HP used to run quite a few flights PHX-TUS, so even if you missed one, with that 4-hour window, you might make another.

Good luck!

HP has a flight to TUS roughly every hour, so if you have a 4-hour layover once you get to TUS, you're probably in good shape, even if you miss your original TUS flight.