America West FlightFund (Discontinued Program) - I Luv AWA! My NWA Experience

In a topic I posted earlier in the week, I ask what to expect in NWA 1st. What I got in reply was a fairly accurate report but here is more on the travel.

PHX-DTW - 757
- Cloth seats, yuck.
- Seats seem smaller than on the AWA 57's
- Tray tables are unusable to work from. They fold down from the seat in front of you like coach and then slide to you. As you try to type on your laptop, it acts as a diving board!
-/+ The meal was marginal and was very close in comparison to an AWA 1st meal. I give them props for the use of glassware and silverware.
+ Boarding seems very orderly
+ Friendly flight staff

DTW-YUL - A320
- Again with the cloth seats
- Annoying front folding tray table
- Seat height? Seemed it was at my shoulder blades and I am 6'3
- Pretzels. Flt is 1:45 min.

YUK-DTW - DC9 (? YUCK ?)
- The whole plane. Old interior, seats sucked. You could recline right in to the lap of the person behind you.
- Again with the buttered pretzels.
-/+ Waiting for de-icing can take an hour but they don't cancel like Air Canada does!

DTW-PHX - A320
- Same issues as the above 320 flight.
- Meal again is on par with AWA and my comments with the 57 flight. The processed chicken thing with the real chicken leg sticking out was abnormal.

BIG MINUS: No inflight entertainment whatsoever! BRING YOUR OWN FUN is what should be printed on their tickets. They should at least offer audio programming since the long haul flights are 3.5+ hours.

Anyway, for all of the little things that annoy me about AWA, at least my comfort is better with them.

Just my 2 cents and take it for face value.

Cheers,
Gary

Is there any reason why you didn't continue this in the previous thread?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum12/HTML/001197.html

Probably because the regulars are always talking about other airlines in here. I think this is relevant and appreciate the comparison. What I do find funny is no on ever says anything when people are bagging on HP by up-playing other airlines.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

What's wrong with cloth seats? I prefer them to leather as they don't get as hot (or cold).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by zrs70:
What's wrong with cloth seats? I prefer them to leather as they don't get as hot (or cold).</font>

It's not like it's a car in the middle of summer in PHX. I have never sat on a leather seat in a plane where it was burning hot or freezing cold...I defiantly like leather... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

garyhartaz,

I don't preted to be an expert on NW, but from what I understand you need to fly on one of the planes equipped with the new seats. Although, I believe they're only on intl routes.

I like leather too, but cloth seats can be just as comfortable. It's not the material but how the seat was designed. A leather seat can equally uncomfortable as a cloth seat if the design is bad.

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"Rows 50 and above are business seats for those with infants" - gfowler-ord-1k

[This message has been edited by ByrdluvsAWACO (edited Feb 07, 2004).]

That's all well and fine, but in my opinion, they have missed the boat for domestic long-haul. I can understand the short hop equipment but when it comes to any flight that is over 3 hours, the industry really needs to step service up.

If you think about it, the 3.5 hour flt to/from DTW is more like 4-5hours of acutally sitting on a plane. 30min gate, 10-15 min delay leaving gate, 15-30min other dealys (de-icing, sequence, etc.) Comfort and entertainment should be on their mind in providing their customers.

Also, I forgot to mention my seat in 4C on the 320 DTW-PHX segment. They don't have a wall partition to seperate 1st and Coach, only a hanging fabric piece with a metal rod outline. When you attempt to recline, the seat actually goes underneath this divider. Then the coach seats right behind you are kicking the seat and when the get up to move about, the use your seat to assist them in standing. Very annoying!
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ByrdluvsAWACO:
garyhartaz,

I don't preted to be an expert on NW, but from what I understand you need to fly on one of the planes equipped with the new seats. Although, I believe they're only on intl routes.

I like leather too, but cloth seats can be just as comfortable. It's not the material but how the seat was designed. A leather seat can equally uncomfortable as a cloth seat if the design is bad.

</font>

Well I do remember hearing about the lack of IFE on NW. However, you could have searched or posted on the NW board.


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"Rows 50 and above are business seats for those with infants" - gfowler-ord-1k

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SanDiegoShaun:
What I do find funny is no on ever says anything when people are bagging on HP by up-playing other airlines.</font>

Because it's usually true and factual. I wouldn't call it up-playing if the other airline does something better than HP. For instance, AA's F pitch is better than HP's. This is a fact, and it needs no up-playing by me or anyone else.



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"Rows 50 and above are business seats for those with infants" - gfowler-ord-1k