US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - Looking good!

If this morning at LGA is any indication, loads are looking good for Christmas travel! It's the first time I've seen security lines out the door. Actually, first time I've seen a line at all to be honest! And YES! there was a preferred line, staffed by a very nice US agent (who commented "ah, wow, Chairman's...thanks!) Well, it wasn't much of a line, as I saw no one else use it. And I'm the lone patron in the club as well. As someone so aptly put it recently "it's amateur hour out there." Here we go US...what a great opportunity to win over many new loyal customers!!!

Happy Holidays and safe travels to you all!

Also nice to see them putting some direct service back into LGA. While you can't be everything to everybody, particularly when finances are thin, that was a very big market to walk away from, especially when you have one of the best terminals in the place. One way to solve the Philly problem is to bypass it. Flew LGA-FLL the other night. It was great.

Deelmaker,

Was the load on your flight good as well? Glad to see things are picking back up at LGA for US. Very good news ^

Just talked to a friend who is at PHL waiting in a long line to check-in (not preferred) for a flight to MHT on US, and said that both B and C terminal security lines are very long as well. Glad I am not traveling this holiday season.

FAN, the flight was not busy, but it was a 7 PM departure on a Saturday. The whole terminal was quiet. It will take some time to regenerate traffic on some of these routes they had dumped. For one thing, they need promotion, which brings up another issue. Coming north on I-95 from Ft. Lauderdale airport, there is a huge painted billboard. It is what's known as a "cross read" (a board on the other side of the road you see as you pass to the right). Whoever did it is clueless about the use of outdoor. The writing is small, and there is too much of it, so the entire message is lost. When you use outdoor, you have to remember it's being seen from a moving vehicle, so you only have a few seconds. The message has to be brief, and the letters BIG.You wonder who they have doing this stuff.

Deelmaker,

I agree with you 100% To this day I am still scratching my head on those routes they dumped. I hope THEY know that it will take some time before people know that US has relaunched the service. It was a big mistake to leave the LGA FLL route and BWI Florida routes. I was so angry about that. They just gave all their customers to SWA. I do believe if they were to re-enter the market of BWI people would come back. Many people from Baltimore are US fliers but many don't want to do connections. This like LGA would take time and they need to get the word out. Not everyone checks the website, gets the E newsletters or reads the billboards and newspaper ads. Sometimes it needs to be in their face. Some advertising in airports (near the gates as people are walking by) would help. I do however think that business will come back over time. Marketing needs to do a better job of getting the word to the customer.

Not sure if you saw my other thread about DCA and the new service to be launched in Feb. That one still has me scratching my head. :confused:

But I don't understand what they are doing with the LGA-FLL service. I have been using it steadily since the start in Nov and understand why it was not very busy at first. However, last week, the evening flight on Monday was nearly full and it appears to me that the traffic is building now as more travelers are becoming aware of it.
So then they cut the number of flights in half in February? And they kill all the southbound flights after 8AM just when the Florida season is starting to gain momentum? Why? What is the rationale?
IMO, if they're ever going to be any kind of a player in the NY market (not to mention feeding their focus cities) they need these routes, even if they are comparatively low yielding. Does anybody here have a clue?

But I don't understand what they are doing with the LGA-FLL service. I have been using it steadily since the start in Nov and understand why it was not very busy at first. However, last week, the evening flight on Monday was nearly full and it appears to me that the traffic is building now as more travelers are becoming aware of it.
So then they cut the number of flights in half in February? And they kill all the southbound flights after 8AM just when the Florida season is starting to gain momentum? Why? What is the rationale?
IMO, if they're ever going to be any kind of a player in the NY market (not to mention feeding their focus cities) they need these routes, even if they are comparatively low yielding. Does anybody here have a clue?

Congrats on post #2000. This is 200 for me -- I've got a long way to go!!
;)

Hadn't noticed they cut the frequencies to FLL from LaGuardia. Looks like the flights are set up to connect with the Caribbean mini-hub. I guess it's back to cheese steaks and pretzels for me.

But I don't understand what they are doing with the LGA-FLL service. I have been using it steadily since the start in Nov and understand why it was not very busy at first. However, last week, the evening flight on Monday was nearly full and it appears to me that the traffic is building now as more travelers are becoming aware of it.
So then they cut the number of flights in half in February? And they kill all the southbound flights after 8AM just when the Florida season is starting to gain momentum? Why? What is the rationale?
IMO, if they're ever going to be any kind of a player in the NY market (not to mention feeding their focus cities) they need these routes, even if they are comparatively low yielding. Does anybody here have a clue?


I don't understand it either. It makes NO SENSE AT ALL TO ME!

What doesn't make sense is why they have replaced two of the LGA-FLL nonstops with two from EWR. I thank that they are so worried about short term yield that they think that they can sneak in there under Continental (which is consistently the highest cost carrier to FLA) and do a better yield in Feb and March flying from EWR.
This kind of thing flies in the face of what they told us that they were going to do to create a LCC somewhat in the image of HP. They were starting to create a certain image in NYC and now, in search of short-term cash flow (which I don't think that they are going to realize anyhow), they are going all out to blow whatever was created. Continental has the fortress and the image over there somewhat on the order of what US needed to create at LGA, and it will take quite a while, if ever, for the traffic to build at EWR as it seemed to be doing at LGA.
As far as this flyer is concerned, if I need to go to EWR, I will use CO to Florida. When you fly from a fortress hub, unless the fare disparity is very large, it pays to use the dominant carrier. It gets preferential treatment from most of the airport departments and even more important, has the ability to roll out another airplane in the event of mechanical difficulty.