US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - Will USAir still be flying?

We're flying USAir to Aruba next Wed. With all the problems they had, I booked tickets on another airline as a back-up. After all the recent happenings, my wife wants to cancel the other reservations. I still have my doubts as I have heard a few negative comments on the survival of USAir. Do you all think I would be safe in cancelling the other tickets?

You are safe. US Airways has the cash from the ATSB to use from now until June 30th. The only thing left is the vote from the IAM which is due on the 21st.

I flew SFO-PHL-CDG on Saturday and will never go US again. I know airlines are cutting back services, but please, $5.00 for a beer in coach. Not even ONE complimentary wine/beer with dinner??!? Ridiculous. I usually fly Air France or United and will continue to fly with a carrier that isn't trying to gouge me on drinks.

FDuvall

You are safe. US Airways has the cash from the ATSB to use from now until June 30th. The only thing left is the vote from the IAM which is due on the 21st.

If that is your only complaint then see ya later. US is struggeling to survivie. Does UAL still offer free alcohol in coach to Europe? . I have no idea to be honest. If they do then go for them. I do not know about alcoholic charges since I always fly Envoy when going to Europe. I don't drink alcohol anyhow.

I could understand if you were upset because of losing a bag or being delayed through PHL. But a drink. :td:

Something tells me you probably flew US because they happened to have the lowest price...due to the fact you are complaining about them charging for their services for alcohol.

If that is your only complaint then see ya later. US is struggeling to survivie. Does UAL still offer free alcohol in coach to Europe?

Unfortunately no. Transpacific alcoholic drinks are still complimentary in coach, but all other international destinations (i.e. Europe, S. America) have been slapped with charges.

Yes - I am price sensitive, as I am a partner in a small company. I flew US because I couldn't find a reasonably priced flight on short notice on my usual carriers and found out too late that I couldn't use an SWU to upgrade my return un UA metal.

I understand that US is struggling. One more reason to give them some of my business AND get UA ff miles. However, I think it goes beyone the pale to charge $5.00 for one beer or glass of wine with my dinner, let alone drinks on the rest of the flight. Yes, I will take my business to carriers that still provide a few perks. If I can't upgrade, I expect every small comfort that is available. Wouldn't you do the same? I see by your 'handle' that you support US. Good for you, but Coach passengers are probably still a large source of revenue and while I can bring my own food on a flight, I can't do anything about the drink prices.

I wasn't looking for defensive responses...just making a comment. :td:

If that is your only complaint then see ya later. US is struggeling to survivie. Does UAL still offer free alcohol in coach to Europe? . I have no idea to be honest. If they do then go for them. I do not know about alcoholic charges since I always fly Envoy when going to Europe. I don't drink alcohol anyhow.

I could understand if you were upset because of losing a bag or being delayed through PHL. But a drink. :td:

Something tells me you probably flew US because they happened to have the lowest price...due to the fact you are complaining about them charging for their services for alcohol.

As a occasional drinker I was always surprised to see free alcohol on transatlantic flights. But that is going the way of the doodoo on all USA airlines soon enough. It wouldn't be enough for me to pick one carrier over the other, but it may be for others... if that was the worst problem I had on a transatlantic flight I'd say I was pretty lucky, especially if I was connecting in PHL <grin>

I flew US because I couldn't find a reasonably priced flight on short notice on my usual carriers


So you would have preferred to pay higher airfare on other carriers to save your $5 on a drink? Seems odd....

I agree that $5 for a beverage in coach is a bit much, but so is the ritual of purchasing food in coach. For the longest time, Continental continued serving meals, but they too seem to be dwindling. I was pleased when Southwest started flying in Philly. They drove last minute and business fares down. Unfortunately, service also dropped. Maybe life was better before Southwest.

In terms of flying USAir and having points credited to United accounts, keep in mind that United is also operating under bankruptcy protection.

Yes - I am price sensitive, as I am a partner in a small company. I flew US because I couldn't find a reasonably priced flight on short notice on my usual carriers and found out too late that I couldn't use an SWU to upgrade my return un UA metal.

I understand that US is struggling. One more reason to give them some of my business AND get UA ff miles. However, I think it goes beyone the pale to charge $5.00 for one beer or glass of wine with my dinner, let alone drinks on the rest of the flight. Yes, I will take my business to carriers that still provide a few perks. If I can't upgrade, I expect every small comfort that is available. Wouldn't you do the same? I see by your 'handle' that you support US. Good for you, but Coach passengers are probably still a large source of revenue and while I can bring my own food on a flight, I can't do anything about the drink prices.

I wasn't looking for defensive responses...just making a comment. :td:


I think pretty much all airlines charge for beer, wine and cocktails anymore. I can remember when US used to charge only $3-4 for beer, but they changed that maybe a year or two a go to $5. Cocktails have always been $5 and most other airlines charge the same. I think the increase from $4 to $5 on beer has less to with US trying to squeeze customers for an extra dollar and more to do with the convenience of not having to deal with singles and change while in flight.

Yes - I am price sensitive, as I am a partner in a small company. I flew US because I couldn't find a reasonably priced flight on short notice on my usual carriers and found out too late that I couldn't use an SWU to upgrade my return on UA metal.

I understand that US is struggling. One more reason to give them some of my business AND get UA ff miles. However, I think it goes beyone the pale to charge $5.00 for one beer or glass of wine with my dinner, let alone drinks on the rest of the flight. Yes, I will take my business to carriers that still provide a few perks. If I can't upgrade, I expect every small comfort that is available. Wouldn't you do the same? I see by your 'handle' that you support US. Good for you, but Coach passengers are probably still a large source of revenue and while I can bring my own food on a flight, I can't do anything about the drink prices.

I wasn't looking for defensive responses...just making a comment. :td:

Fduvall,

First I apologize if my response to you sounded defensive. I did not mean it to be that way. It is hard sometimes to tell how people are talking on here when we don't use the emotion icons that have been provided. That is my fault so I am sorry about that. I am not trying to come down on you at all.

I just want to point out to you that I know that you are sensitive on shopping for airfare. Heck most people are in the world. But if you think about it for a second, how much less did you pay to the next most expensive fare. Let's say it was 20 dollars so to speak. (I am sure it was quite higher) That would have gotten you 4 beers if you think about it. But I am sure the price difference would have been much higher.

Now you also stated that you understand that US is struggling and that is why you give them part of your business. Well you would also be helping them by buying that beer as well. That money is helping US Airways and helping their business survive. So yes the beer is expensive however, if you are really wanting to help out buy the beer. Your costs overall will still be lower if you had flown Air France or whichever other airline anyhow.

I am sorry again if you feel like I was coming down on you. I had no intention of the wording to come out that way.

Anyhow which ever airline you choose, safe flying.

Troy

How about this: Icelandair doesn't even offer complimentary soda & juices on their flights. It's $1.00.

In LH transatlantic coach, drinks (good German beer) was free as of last October. If UA now charges, I will keep flying LH.

Yes - I am price sensitive, as I am a partner in a small company. I flew US because I couldn't find a reasonably priced flight on short notice on my usual carriers and found out too late that I couldn't use an SWU to upgrade my return un UA metal. :


So unless you drank more than the price difference, you still came out ahead. I don't understand your beef. :confused:

When flying USAir or United, have points credited to another * airline if your worried about losing points.

Well Fduvall. Here is the bad news. You can't ever fly United ever again! If you would have bought a UA ticket to CDG, you would have had to paid $5 for your drink.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=382102

It's gonna be awful tough for you to go anywhere these days :rolleyes:

I flew SFO-PHL-CDG on Saturday and will never go US again. I know airlines are cutting back services, but please, $5.00 for a beer in coach. Not even ONE complimentary wine/beer with dinner??!? Ridiculous. I usually fly Air France or United and will continue to fly with a carrier that isn't trying to gouge me on drinks.

FDuvall

How about this: Icelandair doesn't even offer complimentary soda & juices on their flights. It's $1.00.

SpanAir does the same - coffee, water everything is a euro. Wine and beer is 3 I think.

I mean it would be great if US didn't charge for alcohol but some people abuse it and I would rather see the airline survive. And not to mention, charging $5 gives them the ability to provide better wine.

Compared to an airport bar, $5 is a bargain.

I flew SFO-PHL-CDG on Saturday and will never go US again. I know airlines are cutting back services, but please, $5.00 for a beer in coach. Not even ONE complimentary wine/beer with dinner??!? Ridiculous. I usually fly Air France or United and will continue to fly with a carrier that isn't trying to gouge me on drinks.

FDuvall


Would you expect your favorite restaurant to give you a free bottle of wine, simply because you showed up and bought a $40 steak?

Quite honestly, I was sorry to see the free hooch go too. I'm a FA (not for US), and always thought it was a nice touch on int'l flights. But let's face it, the discount fares *barely* pay for your share of the gas over the pond - not to mention paying for the pilots, FA's, gate agents, cleaners, caterers, landing fees, taxes, yadda yadda yadda. What you consider to be a 'reasonable' price barely pays the bills.

But if the thought of paying five WHOLE dollars really bugs you, then bring your own. Most carriers allow it so long as you give it to the FA's to serve to you.

But if the thought of paying five WHOLE dollars really bugs you, then bring your own. Most carriers allow it so long as you give it to the FA's to serve to you.


Seriously?? I did not know this was allowed! I must try it next time I fly overseas! :p

BTW: the original poster is from Sausalito. I lived in L.A. for 11 years and $5 for a beer at any niteclub, sports event, or concert would have been a bargain! I guess alcohol prices in Northern California must be really, really cheap compared to the SouthLand! :cool:

But if the thought of paying five WHOLE dollars really bugs you, then bring your own. Most carriers allow it so long as you give it to the FA's to serve to you.

This is news to me too (bold added). Do we have any confirmations of this? I assumed the quoted rule about only FAs serving alcohol meant only that purchased on board could be consumed onboard. Refillable miniatures cost a lot less than $5 for the economy minded and $5 does approach gouging IMO when it's not a bar.

I am sorry but I have to disagree. I do not think it is price gouging. This past week when they had DCA to LGW for 186 round trip (93 dollar each way) that is dirt cheap. And the fares this week are dirt cheap as well). I do not think any other airline came close to that last week at all. The DCA LGW fare is basically a free fare! You can't fly to the west coast at the present time for that. Try getting a hotel in London for that price a night.

How do you expect the airline to make up for this? Would you like them to charge you the higher more expensive fare so you can get the free drink?

I think it is better to pay the cheaper fare and buy the alcohol. If you want to fly Air France or the other more expensive carriers then do so to get the free beverage. But that would make no sense to me at all why anyone would want to do such a thing. You could probably buy twenty 5 dollar drinks for that or even more.

US need to charge for this to make up for the loss you bought the ticket for.

People want cheap tickets, free drinks ect. The airline is in Ch 11 and they need to do something to make up for the loss. I would rather US charge the 5 dollars for them to stay afloat.

T

Back to the original point of this thread :p - It looks good for your flight.

Geez - I didn't want to start my own thread on this because I was just making a minor comment. But since you asked, I expense my plane tickets and meals, but pay for most drinks out of my own pocket. And it just bothers me to pay $5.00 for a domestic beer in Coach. I usually try to upgrade on my primary carriers, United and Air France, and I don't like to have to pay for drinks on flights when I am not always carrying cash. I can bring my own food, but have no choice about bringing my drinks (alcoholic), if I want to have something on a flight. Anyway, I think I will limit my complaints in the future and stick to making constructive comments.

FDuvall

So unless you drank more than the price difference, you still came out ahead. I don't understand your beef. :confused:

SpanAir does the same - coffee, water everything is a euro. Wine and beer is 3 I think.

I mean it would be great if US didn't charge for alcohol but some people abuse it and I would rather see the airline survive. And not to mention, charging $5 gives them the ability to provide better wine.

Compared to an airport bar, $5 is a bargain.



Personally, I think charging for alcohol is a good practice for every airline. It cuts down on the D&D passengers. Face it, some people would abuse free alcohol and get out of control. The vast majority of air rage incidents are alcohol related. I think it really helps keep people in check by hitting them a hefty fee for alcohol purchases.

I know some of you are going to come back with "that isn't a problem in first class where the drinks are free." Well, that is true for the most part. However, with many first class passengers traveling on business or being frequent travelers, there seems to be a bit more decorum than the occasional traveler heading to Mardi Gras. Also, there are a lot less first class passengers, so it wouldn't be a problem if the entire cabin did get smashed. In contrast, imagine being on a full flight where 50% of coach is smashed. It would be unpleasant for all.

This is in no way a suggestion that the original poster would show such poor decorum. However, some passengers do, and that is probably why american airliners are now charging for alcohol.

This is news to me too (bold added). Do we have any confirmations of this? I assumed the quoted rule about only FAs serving alcohol meant only that purchased on board could be consumed onboard. Refillable miniatures cost a lot less than $5 for the economy minded and $5 does approach gouging IMO when it's not a bar.




Sports venues aren't bars either, but the last time I checked, it was $5 for a beer at the baseball and football games in the US. It's just a competitive going rate that may very well be designed to control the amount of alcohol consumed during an event (be it a sports game or a flight).

It is very common to charge higher prices for captive audiences. That's why food at a McDonald's at our airports and amusement parks are more than the McDonald's down the street. They've got you, and they know it. US Air can charge whatever it wants for food and beverages because you can't go anywhere else for it.

It's a drawback of living in a free economic society. And it's a small price to pay for it IMHO.

So you would have preferred to pay higher airfare on other carriers to save your $5 on a drink? Seems odd....

You beat me to it!

I am always amazed that people will pay $100 for an airline ticket if they get a free lunch or drink, but would be outraged if they payed $100 for the same meal at a restaurant or ... $100 for a beer.

All US carriers are moving towards the Southwest model (no services) except Delta with Song. As a CEO of a company, I would be extra to avoid SW. But the vast majority of people go for cheapest fares (and expect massive perques in the form of upgrades, free mileage tickets, etc).

Jeez, try some of the Euro carriers (like Swiss) where they charged for water!

I am no big fan of "no frills", either. Since I don't really drink alcohol that much (only occassionally), I really don't mind airlines charging for alcohol. In fact, I didn't even drink when it was free on my previous international flights. As many posters have already mentioned, the airfare OP saved would probably have been more than he can buy a six-pack at a liquor store. However, it's the degradation of service that I clamor about. I certainly won't choose a carrier based solely on free drinks (even if I am an avid alcohol drinker), however, I will certainly pay more to be more comfortable, especially on longer flights. I think it's up to each individual consumer to decide what they want and what price they are willing to pay. Similarily, It's the carriers have to make these decisions as well-what service to offer and at what price. To the defense of US (or any carriers), if it offers an incrediably low price, it may have to pare some service to at least break even (probably little to no possiblity of profit). However, if a competitor offer similar prices with more service, then it may have to pony up or lose customers. Just my opinion.

LAX

Free drinks/food I can live without; however legroom makes my flights bearable or torture. I'm 6'6".

This is news to me too (bold added). Do we have any confirmations of this? I assumed the quoted rule about only FAs serving alcohol meant only that purchased on board could be consumed onboard. Refillable miniatures cost a lot less than $5 for the economy minded and $5 does approach gouging IMO when it's not a bar.


I would call US and ask before bringing it on your trip - if they don't allow it, you might be disappointed (and stuck lugging around that big liquor bottle!). The company I fly for does allow it, and I know some others do as well. I've only had two passengers ever actually bring their own though...in both cases, they were honeymooning couples who brought really good champagne. :)

Geez - I didn't want to start my own thread on this because I was just making a minor comment. But since you asked, I expense my plane tickets and meals, but pay for most drinks out of my own pocket. And it just bothers me to pay $5.00 for a domestic beer in Coach. I usually try to upgrade on my primary carriers, United and Air France, and I don't like to have to pay for drinks on flights when I am not always carrying cash. I can bring my own food, but have no choice about bringing my drinks (alcoholic), if I want to have something on a flight. Anyway, I think I will limit my complaints in the future and stick to making constructive comments.

FDuvall
Bingo - now we've hit on it. You expense tickets/meals, but pay for drinks out of your own pocket (literally, on most airlines, including US and UA now). So you'd prefer to pay more for a ticket and have it include alcohol, because it means you yourself are not paying for it out of your pocket.

I sure as heck liked the days when alcohol was free, it was a nice perk. But in the end, am I going to drink on every flight, or do I need to subsidize someone else's drinking on my flight? No. If I have a rock bottom fare to Europe, I'd think that I'm glad I am flying to Europe on the cheap, rather than bemoan the fact that even if I saved 100$, I still had to pay 20$ for some drinks throughout the flight. In the end, I'm still coming out on top there. It's not like I got on the plane and they said, I'm sorry sir, that'll be 10$ extra to make your seat recline.

Like I said, I think it'd be great if booze was free on airlines, it's a nice little bonus. But in the grand scheme of things, if the difference is you charging a client $500 for an airfare and getting free drinks, or charging your client $350 (and maybe being comfortable to get a bottle of wine while at the restaurant that you'll end up expensing) and having to shell out 15$ for three drinks in your upgraded first class seats, I feel like you've also got to think about what's best for your business.

And to add to what POH said, I ABSOLUTELY would take legroom over drinks - for those of us who are miserable in gawdawful 31 inch pitch, no amount of booze takes away from knees jammed into the seatback in front of me.

Yes - I am price sensitive, as I am a partner in a small company. I flew US because I couldn't find a reasonably priced flight on short notice on my usual carriers and found out too late that I couldn't use an SWU to upgrade my return un UA metal.

I understand that US is struggling. One more reason to give them some of my business AND get UA ff miles. However, I think it goes beyone the pale to charge $5.00 for one beer or glass of wine with my dinner, let alone drinks on the rest of the flight. Yes, I will take my business to carriers that still provide a few perks. If I can't upgrade, I expect every small comfort that is available. Wouldn't you do the same? I see by your 'handle' that you support US. Good for you, but Coach passengers are probably still a large source of revenue and while I can bring my own food on a flight, I can't do anything about the drink prices.

I wasn't looking for defensive responses...just making a comment. :td:

To the best of my knowledge all US based carriers charge for drinks in coach on transatlantic flights.

Sports venues aren't bars either, but the last time I checked, it was $5 for a beer at the baseball and football games in the US. It's just a competitive going rate that may very well be designed to control the amount of alcohol consumed during an event (be it a sports game or a flight).
I'm actually convinced that $5 is for simplicity's sake, over say $4. No messing around with $1 bills in change. Even more convinced of this with EUR5 - the fiver is the smallest denomination. Can you imagine collecting EUR4 in coins??? Just think of the weight... Headphones are also $5. Coincidence?

I think pretty much all airlines charge for beer, wine and cocktails anymore. I can remember when US used to charge only $3-4 for beer, but they changed that maybe a year or two a go to $5. Cocktails have always been $5 and most other airlines charge the same. I think the increase from $4 to $5 on beer has less to with US trying to squeeze customers for an extra dollar and more to do with the convenience of not having to deal with singles and change while in flight.
Delta charges 4.00 for all alcohol.