America West FlightFund (Discontinued Program) - New to America West but am I missing something?

I am new to America West in that I am considering using them for travel but after looking at the America West postings as opposed to the other major airlines on Flyertalk, I dont understand why there are only a FEW posts? I fly AA, NWA and US Aiways. I am located in Pittsburgh,PA.

Several years ago 1988-1990 while living in Phoenix I flew AW on a regular basis and loved the service to CA.

Am I missing something in that America West has changed so drastically over the years? Should I reconsider utlizing their new service, PGH - PHX? My main goals are to acculate FF miles for free flights, not neccessarily interested in preferred status, flights will be work & leisure combined (pro photographer) Any suggestions?

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Will Fly For Photos-there's something about Mary
MCMattei@aol.Com

I like HP and think they are doing the best they can. Their elite program is great.. they have electronic auto upgrades
( I hate three letter you know whats!) and you can go international on BA with miles.

There are fewer posts for HP because it is a much smaller airline. I've never had a bad experience, though, and PIT folks are lucky to have them coming. As for saving miles for free travel, HP gives a 3,000 bonus on every ticket puchased online. Easy for folks in PHX to rack up the miles.

Sometimes I think fewer posts mean fewer problems! In other words, no news is good news, and in the case of HP, that is true with me.

I used to fly HP a lot as I am a CO Elite member.... but, ever since they dropped the alliance with CO, I stopped flying HP.

I thought there would be more guys like you, Steve, but AWA is currently on track to have their busiest October ever, with a record load factor almost certain. Not sure if it's the low walkup fares or the flexible rules, but the customers keep coming.

Get your status comped and come back on board.

I'm in Steve's boat..... in the last year, I've probably earned 20-25% of my CO miles on HP flights. (Most of the balance on NW.)

Since the divorce, I have considered asking for a Flight Fund comp of my CO status, but the reality is, I would be hard-pressed to requalify even for low level elite. 25% of the Platinum 75K requirement is still less than the 25K Silver requirement. Reason being, while I have some flights DC to the west coast, there are a lot of routes I fly where HP alone isn't an option.

So, yes America West is a good option for southwestern US fliers-- but not for as many people now as before with the CO agreement.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by mcmmcm:
My main goals are to acculate FF miles for free flights, not neccessarily interested in preferred status....</font>

The 2 really go hand-in-hand: a Gold elite can earn 100% bonus miles-- hence receive a 20K reward after 10K in the air. Depending on how much you fly AA, NWA and US Aiways, you may find that pooling all of those miles into a single program may yield elite status-- and the mileage benefits that come with it. Hence, your loyalty is rewarded, vs. being a mileage whore. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Even I have done extra extra whoring around this year-- much because of program changes and unwillingness of carriers to match specials-- so as a result, I may have flown 50K all total, but it's split between 3 programs (DL for my UA flights; US; and CO) so I will only make the 25K CO level-- and as a result, lose extra miles I would have received in the coming year had I achieved a higher level. My rationale at the time was that an extra $60 for this ticket or an extra $80 for that ticket, by the end of the year, wouldn't justify the marginal difference in benefit from one level to another-- in so many words, I've yielded cash savings on tickets already purchased, vs. potential extra miles I could have earned in the coming year.

But so much for frequent flyer theory..... back to your regular scheduled programing. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Premier Al:
Sometimes I think fewer posts mean fewer problems! In other words, no news is good news, and in the case of HP, that is true with me.</font>

I'm with Premier Al - lot's of posts generally means lots of complaints.

Just switched back to CO - what a difference I was getting used to HP's mediocre service

One good reason to fly America West:

http://www.americawest.com/email/keepingscore.htm

mcmmcm....I too live in PIT and I will be flying America West soon. I am looking forward to it actually. I am Chairman's Preferred on USAirways and they have been irritating me more and more lately. My boss lives in Columbus, OH and she flies them often and always has nice things to say.

Let's hope that AWA will last longer than the other airlines that have tried to enter the PIT market and failed because the BIG U squeezed them out.

....oh wait! soon to be the BIG Regional U.....how could I forget?! Our airport signage should read......Welcome to the Pittsburgh (semi-international) Regional Jet Airport.

trvlr64, how funny, I agree, I have always believed AW belonged here, and I would love to see Southwest here also, however I am NOT willing to wait another 15 years, as I am sure I will be relocating to the West coast before then.

Gcatered Southwest may not have all the FF perks, but I am tired of living in a city that appears for all intents and purposes to be monopolized by US Airways, and doesnt seem to mind either. Perhaps only I mind, but I certainly do not care for the poor service and attitude which I always seem to receive for no reason both in person and through their phone system.

Have you ever noticed that no matter how many special offers are available the least amount always seems to apply to PIT?

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Will Fly For Photos-there's something about Mary
MCMattei@aol.Com

I can't offer much in terms of what it would be like to use HP from PA, but as a Phoenix resident, I think they're bar far the best option. Most non-stop flights to major cities across the country; excellent route coverage in the West; the best elite program I've been a part of (and I've been in more than my share); and good benefits within the Flight Fund program.

In particular, the international partner awards people within the Flight Fund department are incredible. I've booked over a million miles worth of international first class trips, in one case involving 5 of my family members on the same itinerary and they were able to get all of us on British Airways, in first class, on the same planes, on the dates we wanted. Given that miles add up pretty quickly, if you travel a lot, being able to cash in 100K AWA miles for a first class trip to anywhere in Europe on British Airways is a great benefit. I've also found their availability on the BA flights to Europe to be very good. In each case I've been able to get within a day one way or the other, with the rounting I wanted. And they're so helpful in that department.

The first class service leaves a bit to be desired. The seats & space are average to below average, depending upon the aircraft and you're only served food on long haul flights like PHX to EWR, JFK, MIA, BOS, etc. But it's still far better than coach.

I have to say as a Platinum member (and what they called Chairman's Club/Masters before that), I think I've only NOT been upgraded two or three times in the last 5+ years. I think two out of the three were PHX to EWR, which tends to be a very popular frequent flyer route with lots of people using miles to confirm upgrades. Otherwise, I've had great experiences getting upgraded automatically and consistently.

Two years ago, using HP was excruciatingly painful. It's the only way to describe it. The morale of the employees was awful, customer service did not exist, flight cancellations & delays were the norm -- you just never knew what you were going to get, but could be pretty sure you weren't going to like it. I give a lot of credit to the new CEO who took over about that time. Things seem to have changed dramatically -- so much so that I find my self surprised that I'm able to say such nice things about them.

When you look at things in the airline world today, HP seems to be going in a very different direction. They've drastically reduced business class fares (with only 3 day advance purchase requirements) and have retained the flexibility of allowing you to fly standby without additional cost when you need to change things. They insist they're not going to get into the nickle-and-dime tactics of the big guys. I hope they're able to stay the course on this strategy.

It seems to me HP has made big strides in most areas. I hope they're able to keep up the good work.

And they have some very nice people http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Coming back SEA-PHX Fri nite - the FC FA noticed that I was not feeling well - she kept me plyed with hot tea with lemon in it -brought me blankets - and even brought a bottle of water from the crew stash!!!

Thanks the kind of service that keeps me flying HP http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jan_az:
Thanks the kind of service that keeps me flying HP http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif</font>

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif I'm getting nostalgic for pre-Sept. 23.