US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-2005 America West merger) - The Things that Many Don't Want to Say

Hey Everyone,

After a long conversation last night with a friend regarding the recent news reports concerning UsAirways, I felt motivated to start a new thread today to share some of the thoughts that many just don't want to say.

I'll preface my post by admitting that these are my opinions.

For starters,

I don't want to see UsAirways fail because I don't want my primary air travel options to be Southwest, JetBlue or Airtran. It's been clear to me that those airlines cater to a specific audience and niche market. And I'm sure that at some point or another, their route structure might have helped us, however over the long haul, the help of the USAirways CP line, coupled with the rewards that come with years of loyalty make a big difference.

I don't want to wait in a cattle call for a seat on the plane, nor do I want the flight attendants joking instead of passing on saftey precautions. I just don't want it.

I also don't want America to be fooled into thinking that Southwest is a cheap airline. Many of the fares are right on par with the major carriers, except in the extreme cases of refundable, last minute reservations.

I enjoy breezing through National airport and not being bombarded by folks forcing houseloads of luggage into the overhead compartment. Nor would I rather fly into Chicago Midway over O'Hare. I just don't want it.

I also like upgrading....even if it means using plastic utensils. I like using an airline that has an extensive route structure or partnerships with other airlines that afford equal amenities and even more travel opportunities.

Call me an elitist snob, selfish or whatever but I'd rather keep UsAirways alive and save 28,000 jobs and continue to make my air travel somewhat bearable.

Well, said!

Amen brother, sing me home! :D

The only thing worse than one free ticket on WN is two free tickets on WN! Now if they were going to PAY me to fly the garbage bag infested cattle cars then that is another story ;)

[QUOTE=777lvr]Hey Everyone,

777lvr--i sympathize with the pain you feel. Ideally, the market should be able to support choices to satisfy all preferences. However, the market for the type of airfare you enjoy is shrinking. In the end, there will probably be room for only one or two major full-service carriers. They will be able to charge a modest premium over LCCs. Regrettably, it is becoming less and less likely that U will survive to be one of those carriers.

iflyswa,

first fo all, how do you sympathize? all of your posts have been negative and bashing US so far?
would be at all possible for you to post constructive comments instead ????
I guess I probably already know the answer, but I really don't see the point of bashing US airways over and over. Honestly and I don't think I am alone in saying this, but if this is the only thing you have to offer this forum, I don't see any purpose in your posts.
Do you have a crystal ball? probably not, so how do you know better than any of us what's going to happen next? You don't and we don't either, but at least we are trying to support US airways in every way we can (through RF I am really sad I missed it, but I am trying to do my best by flying US Metal every chance I get, also by letting the FA's, checking agents, GA's, club personel, know that they are doing a great job every time I can).
So if you're just here to bash US, you're not helping.

Does anyone know if there is a way to block/ignore a User, in that somebody's post wouldn't show every time I am reading through the threads. I thought there was a way, but I can't find how to do it.

thanks
Synd
ps: moderators, I am not sure whether or not my post is appropriate, but I am just getting fed up, so if it is not please tell me so I'll edit.

Synd, with all due respect, I didn't find iflyswa's comments offensive or of a bashing tone. If their handle wasn't so blatantly pro-SW, would you have taken as much issue with the post? There's plenty of SW bashing going on here too, you know.

In this case, iflyswa's post was pretty much on par with what many analysts and die-hard USAirways' flyers have been expressing. We all hope for it's survival, but recent highly publicized news accounts make it seem less and less likely.

But we can continue to patronize them and hope that the management and unions will come to some terms that make it a profitable airline.

Hey Everyone,

After a long conversation last night with a friend regarding the recent news reports concerning UsAirways, I felt motivated to start a new thread today to share some of the thoughts that many just don't want to say.

I'll preface my post by admitting that these are my opinions.

For starters,

I don't want to see UsAirways fail because I don't want my primary air travel options to be Southwest, JetBlue or Airtran. It's been clear to me that those airlines cater to a specific audience and niche market. And I'm sure that at some point or another, their route structure might have helped us, however over the long haul, the help of the USAirways CP line, coupled with the rewards that come with years of loyalty make a big difference.

I don't want to wait in a cattle call for a seat on the plane, nor do I want the flight attendants joking instead of passing on saftey precautions. I just don't want it.

I also don't want America to be fooled into thinking that Southwest is a cheap airline. Many of the fares are right on par with the major carriers, except in the extreme cases of refundable, last minute reservations.

I enjoy breezing through National airport and not being bombarded by folks forcing houseloads of luggage into the overhead compartment. Nor would I rather fly into Chicago Midway over O'Hare. I just don't want it.

I also like upgrading....even if it means using plastic utensils. I like using an airline that has an extensive route structure or partnerships with other airlines that afford equal amenities and even more travel opportunities.

Call me an elitist snob, selfish or whatever but I'd rather keep UsAirways alive and save 28,000 jobs and continue to make my air travel somewhat bearable.
I think you should take a flight on one of your mentioned airlines before being critical of them.Did you know airtran has an elite program and has a business class??Why would you raither fly into ord over mdw I always found mdw alot quicker to fly into when I used to fly nw over ord.Did you know in wn's ff program you get a companion pass after 100 seg's.The bashing of the lcc is unproductive and alot of times uninformed and at points sounds downright selfish.The point of the airlines should be transporting you from point A to point B as cheaply and safely as possible
-howie

Does anyone know if there is a way to block/ignore a User, in that somebody's post wouldn't show every time I am reading through the threads. I thought there was a way, but I can't find how to do it.


There is a way - you just get the public profile for the user (click on the user name on the left side of their post and you'll see how you can access the public profile) and then there's a link where you can add the user to your ignore list. Once done, the user's posts are blocked out - I just did it and it works fine. I feel much better now.

REALLY, all of these wonderful Airtran and WN benefits. :rolleyes:

So can i connect through MDW to London, Rome or Madrid?

Oh, and I need two business class tickets using my WN segments and AirTran whatever points to Australia. . .oh yeah that's right.



I think you should take a flight on one of your mentioned airlines before being critical of them.Did you know airtran has an elite program and has a business class??Why would you raither fly into ord over mdw I always found mdw alot quicker to fly into when I used to fly nw over ord.Did you know in wn's ff program you get a companion pass after 100 seg's.The bashing of the lcc is unproductive and alot of times uninformed and at points sounds downright selfish.The point of the airlines should be transporting you from point A to point B as cheaply and safely as possible
-howie

Actually you can use your Airtran whatevers to redeem a ticket valid on any airline, anywhere in the world. Accumulate enough whatevers and they will buy the ticket for you. Only applies for coach though....

PHL,

I might be wrong on this, but every post I read from iflyswa seems to promotting the death of USairways. "Us is going to die, there is nothing you can do about it, so move on" in a way.

yes maybe i am being prejudicial because of his name, I am trying to think about it right now. NO I am sorry I don't think so. Yes I don't like the name with the postings, I'll admit to that. but I have tried to to give him the benifit of the doubt, and in the end, no matter of the flyertalk handle each and every post mentions and forecast the death of US. I don't call that constructive.

Synd

777,

I could not agree more with you.

Presently, it's a pretty competetive environment out there as discounters vie with full-service carriers for the same passengers. Throw in rising fuel costs & an antsy public just one terror incident away from fleeing the skies again and it's real tough being an airline trying to make money anywhere in the world right now.

I know that there's a dearth of pessimistic posts here on FT criticizing US for an assortment of deeds both real and imagined. I don't share that pessimism and negativity nor do I fret about plastic forks or little kids :rolleyes: ... it's all a part of flying today. Like you, I feel that flying is about more than simply the cheapest seat ( though I do use Easyjet on occassion when in Europe ).

My wife and I choose to make US our airline carrier because of our proxitimty to PHL and all of the destinations which US serves. We try to obtain value priced seats when possible, but we accept that one might not always find that "best" fare when flying on a specific itinerary. The DM program serves us well for our loyalty ( we make gold this year ) and we appreciate preferred check-in, easier upgrades, and other perks which go with loyalty and status. Our travels induce us to purchase a US Club membership which smooths out even more bumps in the airport. In return, we've always felt that US has made an earnest effort to treat us fairly.

We will continue to stick with US and we hope that US can weather these turbulent times to remain our airline.

Happy flying,

Barry

[QUOTE=synd]iflyswa,

first fo all, how do you sympathize? all of your posts have been negative and bashing US so far?
would be at all possible for you to post constructive comments instead ????
I guess I probably already know the answer, but I really don't see the point of bashing US airways over and over. Honestly and I don't think I am alone in saying this, but if this is the only thing you have to offer this forum, I don't see any purpose in your posts.
Do you have a crystal ball? probably not, so how do you know better than any of us what's going to happen next? You don't and we don't either, but at least we are trying to support US airways in every way we can (through RF I am really sad I missed it, but I am trying to do my best by flying US Metal every chance I get, also by letting the FA's, checking agents, GA's, club personel, know that they are doing a great job every time I can).
So if you're just here to bash US, you're not helping.

synd--i understand your frustration and admire you for your loyalty. However, i think you are misconstruing the meaning of constructive. You may be inappropriately construing posts that express opinions that you would rather not see expressed as not constuctive. For example, I believe it is likely U will fail. I understand that you may not like that opinion, but expressing that opinion is not unconstructive. To the contrary, I have suggested U fliers move their accounts to UAL and start cashing out their miles. Those are constructive suggestions for how to deal with what i view as the likely outcome for U. I do feel for you if you find those suggestions upsetting, but it is not really appropriate on a public message board to try and demand others not make posts upsetting to you. I do however enjoy reading your opinions and do enjoy our dialogue. However, I will not be hurt if you add me to your ignore list--probably a more "constructive" approach than attacking those you dont like.

:mad: Once again, don't feed the troll :mad:

I feel compelled to respond to one of the earlier posts which encouraged me to try one of the LCC's before bashing them. Understanding that experience is always the best teacher, here's what I got from my experiences:

Southwest: I never made it past their website because the fares were never the cheap bargain that most people try to fool us into believing. Besides that, US offers nonstops to FLL from DCA which are far more convienent than anything out of BWI.

Airtran: I did make it onto a flight and vowed by its conclusion never to board again. In addition, I am a member of their crappy loyalty program only for the preassigned seat. But while I am it, let me give you the details. For starters, every flight from DCA goes through ATL, which is about as bad as PHL when it comes to connections and delays. Besides that the Airtran terminal in Atlanta resembles a bus terminal or even worse, the waiting area at the local jail. I was horrified. Besides that, the inept customer service that provided little to no help with my delayed connection sealed the deal that this opportunity was never to be repeated. And, I still don't understand or care to understand their loyalty/rewards program.

Jetblue: I did one flight from FLL to IAD during the holiday rush in attempts to see their product. I admit that Jetblue has outshined the previous two, however, IAD is of no use to me as the gas, time and traffic that it takes to get to the airport, through security, out of the god-awful people mover and onto the plane is longer than the actual flight time to FLL. Besides that, at last check, there were less than ten cities that one could choose from when flying out of Dulles. That just doesn't work for me. The IFE is neat primarily because it keeps most of the hooligans on board quiet during the flight. Besides that, it's all relative.

In short, I'll continue to patronize UsAirways and pray for their survival. I am not afraid to admit that there could possibly be a class system in air travel and I just don't want to fraternize in the LCC sandbox.

REALLY, all of these wonderful Airtran and WN benefits. :rolleyes:

So can i connect through MDW to London, Rome or Madrid?

Oh, and I need two business class tickets using my WN segments and AirTran whatever points to Australia. . .oh yeah that's right.


Give it a few years and you very well might see this. Jetblue is already targeting the carribean/Canada and Ive heard ATA will be targeting Europe soon.

I think ATA has already announced service to CGN coming up.

I dislike flying through ATL even more than I hate connecting in PHL, though I will say that FL's new program where they'll buy you a ticket to anywhere in the world you want to go is definately a step to effectively having a worldwide network for award tickets. I don't know if that'll get them the new travelers, but it at least fills a hole in their available locations of travel for award tickets. I think it's definately an interesting development.

Give it a few years and you very well might see this. Jetblue is already targeting the carribean/Canada and Ive heard ATA will be targeting Europe soon.

Well I would not count on ATA providing service to Europe. ATA is in big trouble. They will probably either pull out of the scheduled service market or get liquidated. It does seem other LCC will slowly enter international markets. I would look for JetBlue to become a big player in the caribbean central america market over the next few years. In fact, U may be rushing its service into FLL in the hopes of beating JB to the punch.