CMK10
Mar 3, 04, 12:03 am
Last year in August when I came down to the Valley I was associating myself with an airline (AA) that had no eastbound service. I also knew that I was in the domain of America West and I figured why not? A one time status match could be fun and I'll hold status through 2005 for all future west-coast endeavors. Unfortunately HP decided that even though the comp wasn't approved until late September, the status would expire 2/29/04, giving me no chance to requalify (not that I would in '04 anyway, but whatever).
In that short timeframe I flew on four America West flights and even though I flew so few, I managed to experience the best and the worst of them.
The first time I flew them I bought round trip same day return tickets to San Diego for my girlfriend and myself. The EAU system didn't work and I had to call America West to get put into first class, my first phone experience with them was excellent, my call was answered in a very timely fashion and the woman who helped me was courteous and amicable. My first experience with them in purpose went well, I checked in at the First Class counter, got my girlfriend’s upgrade confirmed and was treated well. The flight boarded on time and we took off three minutes early. Unfortunately, I tried to go to San Diego during its only fogged in day in a blue moon and we returned to Phoenix as the A-320 couldn't land. Even so, the flight crew provided a great in-flight experience.
Once back in PHX the ground staff were well alerted to the flights cancellation and I was handed boarding passes for both me and my girlfriend on the next flight to SAN. I changed my ticket for our return to be on Sunday instead of Saturday with no problem at the Customer Assistance Center and was even given meal vouchers.
The next flight left late due to a maintenance issue and probably could have left earlier had the replacement part not been brought over from the hanger in a golf cart, but we were well taken care of in First Class.
The next day was the day of the San Diego wildfires and HP's staff at SAN was ill-equipped to deal with the problems. The check in agents let anyone into the First Class/Elite line and the gate staff were about as informed of the situation as I was. Granted they were haggard and dealing with a difficult situation but they could have kept us better informed of what was going on. The flight back was perfect minus the hour delay; all America West in-flight employees I dealt with (five) were exemplarity.
In November I booked another round trip to San Diego so I could catch an American Redeye home for Thanksgiving. My outbound was to be on a CRJ-200 operated by Mesa. The plane although present at PHX had no crew which was stuck in Fresno. Passengers were not kept informed and I gleaned my information from monitors and my phone, eventually I went over to the Customer Assistance Center and was once again well helped by an agent and put on a different flight to SAN which left on time and had a great crew.
The return was flawless; although I do not feel SAN ground staff to be the best bunch out there they aren't necessarily bad. My final HP flight finished with me sitting up front in the nice First Class cabin of the 757 sipping a beverage and watching the sunset over the desert between California and Arizona. I will continue to earn the occasional mile with them as booking a Supershuttle Reservation gets me 50 miles, but my flying career with them is over indefinitely. My biggest problem with them was their lack of communication to waiting passengers at the airport and that retched snack mix. Thank you America West for the experience.
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DC-10's Forever!
"This is the weirdest Routing I've seen in all my 16 years"
-LGA Check in Agent upon seeing LGA-BOS-JFK-LAX
In that short timeframe I flew on four America West flights and even though I flew so few, I managed to experience the best and the worst of them.
The first time I flew them I bought round trip same day return tickets to San Diego for my girlfriend and myself. The EAU system didn't work and I had to call America West to get put into first class, my first phone experience with them was excellent, my call was answered in a very timely fashion and the woman who helped me was courteous and amicable. My first experience with them in purpose went well, I checked in at the First Class counter, got my girlfriend’s upgrade confirmed and was treated well. The flight boarded on time and we took off three minutes early. Unfortunately, I tried to go to San Diego during its only fogged in day in a blue moon and we returned to Phoenix as the A-320 couldn't land. Even so, the flight crew provided a great in-flight experience.
Once back in PHX the ground staff were well alerted to the flights cancellation and I was handed boarding passes for both me and my girlfriend on the next flight to SAN. I changed my ticket for our return to be on Sunday instead of Saturday with no problem at the Customer Assistance Center and was even given meal vouchers.
The next flight left late due to a maintenance issue and probably could have left earlier had the replacement part not been brought over from the hanger in a golf cart, but we were well taken care of in First Class.
The next day was the day of the San Diego wildfires and HP's staff at SAN was ill-equipped to deal with the problems. The check in agents let anyone into the First Class/Elite line and the gate staff were about as informed of the situation as I was. Granted they were haggard and dealing with a difficult situation but they could have kept us better informed of what was going on. The flight back was perfect minus the hour delay; all America West in-flight employees I dealt with (five) were exemplarity.
In November I booked another round trip to San Diego so I could catch an American Redeye home for Thanksgiving. My outbound was to be on a CRJ-200 operated by Mesa. The plane although present at PHX had no crew which was stuck in Fresno. Passengers were not kept informed and I gleaned my information from monitors and my phone, eventually I went over to the Customer Assistance Center and was once again well helped by an agent and put on a different flight to SAN which left on time and had a great crew.
The return was flawless; although I do not feel SAN ground staff to be the best bunch out there they aren't necessarily bad. My final HP flight finished with me sitting up front in the nice First Class cabin of the 757 sipping a beverage and watching the sunset over the desert between California and Arizona. I will continue to earn the occasional mile with them as booking a Supershuttle Reservation gets me 50 miles, but my flying career with them is over indefinitely. My biggest problem with them was their lack of communication to waiting passengers at the airport and that retched snack mix. Thank you America West for the experience.
------------------
DC-10's Forever!
"This is the weirdest Routing I've seen in all my 16 years"
-LGA Check in Agent upon seeing LGA-BOS-JFK-LAX