US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - Jilted Pittsburgh airport might be better off

Now that US Scareways has demoted Pittsburgh from a hub city to a nuisance stop, I keep finding myself in the unlovely Philadelphia airport, where the gates are oh so shabby and depressing, especially compared to the nice, new, clean waiting areas we in Allegheny County provided for that faithless, two-timing airline that promised to stay forever and then left us in the lurch.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05040/454912.stm

Bitter? Us? NEVER! LOL

It's no wonder no one takes that paper seriously.

It's no wonder no one takes that paper seriously.

I cannot believe a "real" paper ;) would publish an article like this from a writer. I will not be able to read an article in this paper and take it serious again. . I think we should write or call her and ask her how she really feels (Sally Kalson can be reached at 412-263-1610 or skalson@post-gazette.com

This may be standard operating procedure for folks who have never lived in hub-land, but it feels so ... wrong for us who've been used to so much more.

That's the real key and we've heard it from almost every western Pennsylvanian. They just can't understand why a mid-sized city, albeit with a great airport, isn't a hub. They don't get it that you offer your services where the population is.

It's no wonder no one takes that paper seriously.

To be fair, many people take the Post Gazette seriously, it's just the ones with the anti-Pittsburgh chip on their shoulder that do not. This article, however, was over the top, but not too unexpected for that particular author. Ms. Kalson's column is more of an opinion page rather than any sort of journalism. Taken it like that it's an amusing read to how many of us do feel, anyway.

I found this to be a strange article, but obviously written with satire as the basis. One must admit that her characterizations of the PHL airport are right on the money! :D

PIT has a traffic management program in place at the moment... Clear sailing in PHL.

I just figured you'd all want to know ;)

The article is clearly an opinion piece, not a "news article". Somewhat amusing, but she completely lost any shred of credibility when she mentioned Independence Air -- like they're doing well or something...

While I feel badly for the people at PIT who either lost jobs or had to relocate who work for US, and while I feel badly for people who live in PIT who are frustrated by the change in air service - WHAT DO THEY REALLY EXPECT US AIRWAYS TO DO?

I know that it's important for companies to invest in local communities, to support local initiatives, and to honor good-faith agreements made with the airport authorities. However, in this case, Pittsburgh simply does not make good business sense. There was no need for two hubs in Pennsylvania so close to eachother, and in terms of O&D, PHL just makes more sense than PIT does. If people want US to stay operational - period - they need to accept that the company will do what it can to make the most profits in situations like this. I may not like flying through Filthadelphia, but I understand why US made the decision to build operations there as opposed to PIT.

It's like people in PIT expect US to have kept both hubs open out of the goodness of their hearts. Airlines, ultimately, are a business, they aren't there just to make people happy, they are also there to be profitable. Showing up to the party in a pretty dress (or with a pretty airport with a mall in it) doesn't mean that you are necessarily going to win the dance contest - to make that happen, you've got to find the best dancer.

Sorry, that's my two pennies, rant over...

PIT has a traffic management program in place at the moment... Clear sailing in PHL.

I just figured you'd all want to know ;)

What they are having is a fog related issue in PIT (according to my co-workers, whose office overlooks the AFR ramp).

Cat III certified aircraft (eg, almost every major's mainline metal) are having no problems. It's the RJs that can only handle Cat I or Cat II ILS operations that are having problems. The whole 63 or so US mainline flights should have no problem. The RJ armada, however, is another matter.

I don't think we want to start a running talley of PIT ground stops or traffic management programs versus PHL, because this once a year chance for those who nip PIT at every chance is going to pale in comparison to the volume of "neener, neener, neener" that will be generated on a weekly basis when PHL pulls a ground stop.

That said, it took fog so think that one apparently cannot see across the street to knock PIT back (and that's only because the RJ armada can't shoot Cat III approaches). If PHL had that kind of weather, it would (and has in the past) tank the entire US operation for days.

It's like people in PIT expect US to have kept both hubs open out of the goodness of their hearts. Airlines, ultimately, are a business, they aren't there just to make people happy, they are also there to be profitable.

At least speaking for myself, I don't understand the business decisions for chosing PHL over PIT as a hub.

Specifically, given the belief that PHL is over capacity and PIT is under capacity, it seems an odd business decision to not take advantage of this imbalance instead of making the imbalance worse by flying connecting passengers in.

Are O/D vs. connecting passenger information available to help show that a PIT could not be supported based on connecting passengers? Are traffic numbers available broken down by airport?


I realize none of this matters as it is extremely unlikely that anything said here is going to change the direction of US but as idle speculation it keeps the mind more active than watching cartoons. :)

With very day that US's customer satisfaction drops along with fares is another day that proves PHL was the WRONG decision. PHL is a poor hub airport, PIT is an excellent hub airport. If on-time efficiency and customer satisfaction are the keys to success, then the facts tell us that US will lose.

The single basis for the PHL hub was certainly the O/D numbers. If that will carry US to the promised land, then fine. However, these O/D numbers could have justified a significant amount of "point to point" flights or what is now called a "focus city" in PHL. Since the enemy is SW in PHL, US could battle them on the same playing field.

If one hub in the northeast was the way to go, and I agree that it was the only way, then PIT was the right location and facility for US to have a chance at survival.


While I feel badly for the people at PIT who either lost jobs or had to relocate who work for US, and while I feel badly for people who live in PIT who are frustrated by the change in air service - WHAT DO THEY REALLY EXPECT US AIRWAYS TO DO?

I know that it's important for companies to invest in local communities, to support local initiatives, and to honor good-faith agreements made with the airport authorities. However, in this case, Pittsburgh simply does not make good business sense. There was no need for two hubs in Pennsylvania so close to eachother, and in terms of O&D, PHL just makes more sense than PIT does. If people want US to stay operational - period - they need to accept that the company will do what it can to make the most profits in situations like this. I may not like flying through Filthadelphia, but I understand why US made the decision to build operations there as opposed to PIT.

It's like people in PIT expect US to have kept both hubs open out of the goodness of their hearts. Airlines, ultimately, are a business, they aren't there just to make people happy, they are also there to be profitable. Showing up to the party in a pretty dress (or with a pretty airport with a mall in it) doesn't mean that you are necessarily going to win the dance contest - to make that happen, you've got to find the best dancer.

Sorry, that's my two pennies, rant over...

I think we need to have this same discussion at least once a week on this forum. I'm glad I could help ensure that we did not miss this week's quota. :)

*yawn*

:rolleyes:

*yawn*

:rolleyes:

No, that battle is over. The latest question for connecting passengers is CLT vs PHL. To me, there is no question that I'll connect through CLT as much as possible to avoid the quagmire in PHL.

Last night I had a return flight, last flight of the night, to PIT. I could have connected through PHL, which would have been a shorter inbound flight and had me home about 20 minutes sooner. Instead, I booked through CLT.

When I arrived at PIT from CLT, about 20 minutes early, I checked the arrival monitor to see what the status was of the PHL-PIT flight that I would have been on......of course it was late! Had I been on that flight, I would have arrived almost an HOUR later than I did by connecting through CLT.

No, this isn't an isolated case.......it's the norm. Except for transatlantic flights that I have no choice but to use PHL, I'll make CLT my hub.

No, that battle is over. The latest question for connecting passengers is CLT vs PHL. To me, there is no question that I'll connect through CLT as much as possible to avoid the quagmire in PHL.


Sorry to beat a dead horse, but I would rather fly on another carrier and even settle for psuedo miles on an LCC (I know this is borderline blasphemy on FT :D ) in order to avoid PHL. I just don't need that much additional stress in my life. I'll take CLT even if the flt/connection is several hours less convenient.

But really, I am not sure what all the fuss is about. Yes US made a grevious error in expanding PHL, but for PIT flyers, there is still plenty of capacity out of PIT. So now there are two instead of three flts per day to SFO and LAX (and yes I remember when there were five per day pre-911). Still multiple daily flights to almost every major destination. So we can't fly direct to CHS. Big deal. Now we have 240 Flts per day total instead of 370 or whatever. With LUV coming in we'll have the best of both worlds. Hopefully 70-80 flts ultimately on LUV (enough to keep US honest on pricing) and continued levels of service on US. Not bad and FAR better than US in chapter 7.

Just bring back one transatlantic direct per day (and avoid PHL like the plague).

Love PHL the city, by the way, just loath the facility.

I'm going to agree that PIT still has plenty of lift for a city its size. Things can only get better once Southwest enters the equation. I know we're used to nonstop flights, and I miss them too. But once you get used to connecting, you're ok with it (more miles LOL). Also, I don't miss paying $2,000+ for a roundtrip PIT-LAX.

Maybe the "reorganized" PIT can service the needs of the PIT O&D market, but I'm getting really frustrated with forced connections through PHL due to the downsizing of PIT. US used to have the best schedule from LAX-AVP, which is a route I fly a few times per year. 9 times out of 10, I was able to easily connect through PIT. Now they've even taken away the early morning LAX-PIT flight, which means the only way I can connect through PIT is to either take the redeye (not), or take the afternoon flight which gets me into AVP at around 11PM, if I'm lucky and don't get stuck in PIT overnight.

Thankfully AVP has just announced one flight per day to/from CLT beginning in April. I'd sooner spend 3 hours in CLT waiting to connect to that one flight sitting in the Club or stuffing my face with Krispy Kremes, rather than have an hour layover at PHL, which would probably just turn into a 3+ layover, anyway. At least I'd be relaxed during my scheduled layover.

Those of you in PIT should be thanking US for making connections in either PHL or CLT. Think about all the extra miles or segments! :rolleyes:

To me, there is no question that I'll connect through CLT as much as possible to avoid the quagmire in PHL.

. . . .

Except for transatlantic flights that I have no choice but to use PHL, I'll make CLT my hub.Excellent advice. I love connecting in CLT. I've never connected in PHL, and thanks to this timely hint, will avoid doing so. ^