Trip Reports - US Airways PHL - LGW....no hoper

Flew US yesterday from Philadelphia to London Gatwick. Oh wait, I actually flew today. But I was supposed to fly yesterday. Read on....

I arrived into PHL on a connecting flight operated by Republic flying as US Airways express. 1 hour delay into PHL, but no problem as the London flight (flight 730, which is the 757-200 transatlantic service) was due to leave 2-3 hours later at 8:45pm. when I got into the airport, however, I found that the screens read 'delayed to 11pm'. Great.

Anyway, some delays can't be helped so I kept up a positive attitude. I made my way to Gate 26, where the flight had been shifted to from the earlier A10. At the same gate cluster there were also passengers waiting for flights to Glasgow and Shannon. We were to be a merry bunch.

As the night went on, the boarding time was delayed to 11:45pm. The Glasgow and Shannon flights also received notices of whopping delays. All were told that there were 'mechanical issues' and that new aircraft were being flown in from CLT (Charlotte). I felt pity for the Glasgow pax - they were made to check in three times for their flights, as the gate people kept announcing a 757, then a 767, then back to a 757, hence the need to reconfirm all seating arrangements.

Anyways, after a few hours we were told that US was sorry and that we could go and get up to $10 of food and drink from McDonalds or a sandwich shop close by. By this time most pax were sitting around bored, or trying to get some sleep. We were then asked to check in again for the London flight - as it was scheduled to be a 757, andI had good exit row seats, I was anxious to reconfirm the good seats. So I went up to the US agent and asked for a window seat in the same row. She said ok, and gave me seat G. At this, I asked her if the aircraft was still the 757 (which does not have a seat G). She looked at me as though I was stupid, and said, 'no sir, the flight is on a 730, that's a seven-thirty'. I didn't want to be mean, so I asked her again to make sure. I got the 'this is a stupid pax' look and sardonic smile, and she again said that the aircraft was a 730.....then she decided to check again and confirmed it was a 757. With G seating? Hm.

At 11.30, still no aircraft. Finally, a bit later, we were told an aircraft had arrived from CLT, but had to be de-boarded. I now know the aircraft had come in from Las Vegas. It landed at 12.18am, and at around 1.15am boarding finally began. It was, of course, a 767 and not a 757. Three flight deck crewmembers 'due to the long flight', according to the first officer, but methinks according to crew time regulations probably.

The plane's inside was like a throwback from the early 1980s. Yellowing panels. The interior obviously needed an update. But at least we were on board, as were 5 unlucky flight attendants having to work that late. They were actually a little more friendly than usual, which was welcome.

The flight itself was fine. We took off at 1:48am, and most of the pax were asleep before long. But will I be flying US again tranatlantic? After this experience, only if I can apply the 200-dollar rule: if US fares are 200 bucks cheaper than other options, I'll fly US, and I'll know why it's $200 cheaper.

Thanks for the trip report! I'm flying US730 this Friday night, and have snagged an exit row seat on the 757. I really hope they don't change it to a 767 again as the same seat looks a bit worse on seatguru...

Sorry to hear that your LGW flight is a misadventure. Just a guess, but the problem most likely relates to the lack of TA livery or the ability to shift extra a/c to meet needs as mechanical issues pop up ( which they do indeed ). US is flying an additional summer TA schedule without the necessary reserve a/c.

If I'm reading your post correctly, you flew out Friday night, and you say that both SNN and GLW experienced delays. Anyone know that these were all about?

My wife flies to MAD on Friday and she too experiences a delay. In her case, flight 740 boards on time, but the plane holds at the gate for 90 minutes due to a mechanical issue ( flat tire ). The maintainance truck also clips the cargo door adding to the delay. They push back around 7:20 PM and queue for take off in a 25 plus taxi queue. Take off at 8:38PM ( scheduled departure 6PM ). The arrive over two hours late in MAD and she misses her connecting flight to AGP ( costs her 150 Euros to rebook as she booked her AGP flight separate -- flys to MAD on a US Z fare which requires a business seat for the connecting flight, bought the cheaper coach seat herself, and gets screwed because of the US delay ).

And these guys think they can fly China.

Barry

How can a GA be so damn stupid as to mix up the flight number with a type of plane that doesn't exist? I could see if it were Flight US330 or US757, but to tell you the aircraft is a "Seven Thirty"?

I'm not sure it's even worth $200 to put up with! :D

. . . How can a GA be so damn stupid as to mix up the flight number with a type of plane that doesn't exist?

Stand back and watch the circus act which features dozens of impatient, sometimes obnoxious and often full-of-themselves pax who believe they are the airline's most important customer. Throw in infrequent flyers who don't know up from down and ask what might politely be termed as uninformed questions. Sprinkle in wrong expectations by a few more poor souls who honestly don't know the deal. Then dump a bunch of misconnected or travel-harried pax who are trying to get home or to the next leg of their journey. I haven't even added in an operational glitch such as what the OP endures. And yeah, there's those of us who know the deal and also have to queue up for one reason or another to ask a question. Put that in the context of an 8 hour shift and an "award winning" computer system put in by Tempe which still hiccoughs, and it's easy to see how things take the path they do with a GA.

So I can understand perfectly how/why a GA gets frazzeled, turned upside down, and gives incorrect/misinformed information. In this case it also sounds as if she was a bit too testy. But I'm not there to judge the real context of the situation. It sounds like a mistake to me and I'd file that under human nature.

Kudos to fkarotz for hanging in there on what was a very long and frustrating ride to London. It ain't easy being in this sort of situation. But the more one flys, you're gonna have a gnarly flight now and then. The issue here is how much of the misery was caused by chance and happenstance, and how much was self-inflicted by Tempe's poor operational management? The former you can grin and bear it, the later is . . . bad management.

Barry

The arrive over two hours late in MAD and she misses her connecting flight to AGP ( costs her 150 Euros to rebook as she booked her AGP flight separate -- flys to MAD on a US Z fare which requires a business seat for the connecting flight, bought the cheaper coach seat herself, and gets screwed because of the US delay ).

And these guys think they can fly China.

Barry

Just curious - what carrier was she connecting to in MAD that charged her for rebooking her domestic flight due to a late international inbound? Seems like if she was willing to go standby, the "flat tire" rule should apply. But I know things could be different in Europe, especially with LCCs.

She looked at me as though I was stupid, and said, 'no sir, the flight is on a 730, that's a seven-thirty'. I didn't want to be mean, so I asked her again to make sure. I got the 'this is a stupid pax' look and sardonic smile, and she again said that the aircraft was a 730


What would have been funny if she said "720" instead. Then you would have said "yes, that's right. I knew Dougweiser was getting cheap by buying 40 year old 707 variants out out retirement doesn't surprise me"
:D

. . .what carrier was she connecting to in MAD that charged her for rebooking her domestic flight due to a late international inbound?

She was flying IB. I was surprised at the steep fee and have to check the T&C of her booking ( we joined the IB FF program as well ). As I mention, the probem was her Z fare on her US return which if she allowed US to book the entire itinerary would have required her to purchase a business seat on the IB leg to AGP at a much higher price ( business on IB is the first three rows of coach in 6 across seating -- you get off of the plane 15 seconds earlier than the rest of the cabin). So she booked her own separate IB itinerary.

This whole thing is a catch 22 in booking a connecting TA itinerary. We only wanted the damned business seat for across the pond but TA booking rules require a constant fare basis booking. The other bite in theass with this sort of itinerary is if you are trying to UG the TA leg coming or going. With US, UGs before hand are possible only if you possess an electronic ticket. Yet the act of booking a connecting TA leg requires the entire itinerary to be a paper ticket. We get nailed whether we purchase a B/M/H/Q or a straight Z fare -- this is a real problem in the summer when competition for UGs is intense. In essence my status as a CP ( wife is Plat ) is worthless in this situation.

Just part of the vagarities of flying. I am going to write CA about her flight as the whole thing hinged upon US keeping it's end up as we were boxed in by their own rules.

Barry

. . .what carrier was she connecting to in MAD that charged her for rebooking her domestic flight due to a late international inbound?

She was flying IB. I was surprised at the steep fee and have to check the T&C of her booking ( we joined the IB FF program as well ).

Sure you can blame US all day, and you have every right to given your poor experience. But delays happen, and it doesn't seem fair to me for a full service airline like Iberia to not allow you to standby for free on a later flight if you miss your connection due to another airline being late (or, heck, even due to you being late to the aiport because of traffic).

Ryanair makes it publicly known that they have a 0 flexibility policy, and your story reinforces that Iberia is no better.

. . . it doesn't seem fair to me for a full service airline like Iberia to not allow you to standby for free on a later flight if you miss your connection due to another airline being late . . .

I agree with you. But when it comes to airlines of any ilk, "fair" is no longer in their lexicon.

My wife and I had joined the IB FF program since we do 2 or 3 Costa del Sol trips a year. I figured that this might help as well. She emphasized that she misses her flight because the US flight is late. The agent is sympathetic, but not helpful at all.

They suggest that she could stand by for 45 Euros for the next flight but would not give a clear indication as to what the bucket looked like ( flight was pretty full ). She's already frazzled by US and was trying to get to AGP expediently. I myself might have been more persistent and insistent than my wife as I know more of the jargon than her.

I do intend to let IB know of our situation as I know that in the past, US has booked us on JK & IB ( and during another US delay Air Europa ) so there does exist a relationship between them if not a partnership.

I don't want to double dip and play one against the other. I still feel that US is on the line with this as it all began with them. Though the policy which creates some of our misery regarding connections & fare classes and paper itineraries applies to all carriers in a similar situation.

But US can elect to stand by its elite with a long track record of business. We'll see how it turns out when we get home. In IB's case, it's simply instructive to me as to how they operate and whether they may or may not be a consideration for TA travel as presently, we are looking at all options for the future.

Neither US or IB score highly on this trip.

Barry

I have always wondered if the PHL-LGW would be ok if the BA PHL-LHR was full, now I know

Let's hope things improve for US. Thanks for the detailed trip report.

So for the winter schedule, flight 730 is changed to a 767 now? Seems backwards.

So for the winter schedule, flight 730 is changed to a 767 now? Seems backwards.

Except that TATL on a 757 is no fun. So the 767 is a step up (with the caveat that I've only flown the 767 on short hop domestic flights...never TATL).