flyphl

Looks like the running tally is now: good decisions 0 -- bad decisions 3. Any other changes we're missing?

carlhaynes

Wow, that's disapointing, I've actually switched all my trans-continental flights to US specifically because they have the powerports in coach. I've been going out of my way to fly on their planes.

I wonder if there's many more like me who otherwise have no reason to fly on US rather than United other than this single issue.

That's very sad.

ByrdluvsAWACO

This is one of the reasons I fly transcons and Intl with AA. Power ports at almost every seat in F and Y. I like being able to work on my travel projects while flying. Flying AA means I never have to carry extra batteries for my laptop or PDA.

Attache being changed to "US Airways Magazine".

BillMorrow

There's going to be a need to adapt to changes on both sides. HP has their own programs that they have used with reasonable success. They won't be in a hurry to change things that have worked for them in the past. If they can be shown that changing their thinking on some issues would increase their success, then they may consider changing their systems.

Note they have little/no experience with transcontinental travel to multiple cities on the east and west coasts, trans Atlantic travel, travel to the Caribbean islands, a shuttle product and having a large contingent of business travelers with multiple choices for airlines.

On our side, we can look forward to more rational fares. However, with that, comes HP's desire to actually sell FC seats through more reasonable pricing-something they have done successfully, but decreases chances for upgrades. Also HP will probably be adjusting FC seats per plane for fleet commonality. We've all learned to dance around and avoid the 757's on US. What will you do when the 320's go to 12 FC seats and the 737's go to 8 FC seats? Yes the FC seats on the 757's will probably increase to 14, but I would not be surprised to seat the 321's decrease to 16 FC seats. Additionally, HP does not have any closets on their planes. This adds an extra row of seats, but decreases the amount of overhead space available because of employee bags and equipment storage.

The ability to upgrade on transcontinental flights is one of the biggest perks for elites. What happens if HP routinely sells half the FC seats on a 16 FC seat 321 leaving only 8 available for upgrades? This is probably a distinct possibility.

We can make suggestions and hope that HP listens. Past that, we all have to make our own decisions regarding what airlines we use.

JenniferNAz

Just a few comments here.


In case everyone didn't hear, Phoenix actually passed Philadelphia in population during the last count. Phoenix is now the 5th largest city in the country. I am going from memory here, but I believe it is also the 5th busiest airport in the US.

From what I understand that has increased utilization of the planes and they have pretty good load factors. I may be wrong, but I believe this has been very positive for the bottom line. It is not the same model many airlines use but then again they are not other airlines.

HP currently is a LCC. The new US will be a LCC. Parker has made this clear all along. The new stock symbol will be LCC. Yes, you are correct, they are striving to be a LCC and there will be changes, very possibly significant changes to what current US FF are used to.

I think pets, UM's and now power ports are all part of the plan to lower the costs and help the new US to make money, which is really what we all want. I think there are going to be more and more of these decisions as the new US starts to look a lot like HP.

I know this isn't what many, especially US fliers who are used to what US has offered, want to hear, but it sure looks like this is going to continue. Everyone will have to decide if they want to pay a lower fare and fly with fewer bells and whistles or pay a higher fare to fly with a legacy carrier.




I am not saying I wouldn't like it if the power ports and other perks were available to me but I just don't see it happening. I hope I am proved wrong.

goheelswks

Wait...does this mean the regional jets aren't getting power ports anytime soon? Some of us are excited to see a 737 on a route, don't forget about us...simple minds, anyone?--ugh. Haven't flown on a US Airbus in...6? years.



On a side note--don't laugh--why don't the IFE radio choices work on most aircraft? I swear I'd be thrilled just to have that option.

deelmakur

Jennifer, firstly, the standard unit measurement for population ranking in this country is the MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area). Your ranking scale placing Phoenix in the top 5, does not include Mesa, Scottsdale, Glendale, etc. That is not how you rank population centers. In actual fact, Philly is 4th and Phoenix is 12th. Given its proximity to NYC (80 miles) and Baltimore (abut the same), as well as the continuous bands of population in between, you are probably looking at a potential 12 plus million people for the Philadelphia airport to draw from. Metro to metro, Phillly has 5.2 million to Phoenix' 3.2 million, and that increases nearly threefold when you count nearby cities and towns, which, for statistical purposes, are attached to other metro areas. Phoenix is landlocked. Philly is in the middle of the largest population corridor in the nation. Philly is major port. PHL has dozens of International flights. While many are USAirways, it is also served by British Airways, Air France. and Lufthansa. Phoenix has one flight to Europe, a BA trip to London,which, much of the year, only runs 6 days a week.

I lived in Phoenix for a number of years (Arcadia), and continued to run businesses there after moving, while serving as CEO of a broadcast company. The growth has been fantastic, but is driven by leisure and weather related considerations. From numbers of corporate headquarters to per capita income, it isn't even close. For years, Arizona was the only state without a branch of the Federal Reserve Bank, making it a favorite wth banks pushing cash management systems. In effect, for a long time, checks drawn on local Phoenix banks from outside the area, took longer to clear.

It's a pretty town, with better than average weather, but economically insignificant when compared to Philadelphia. As a location, it is too far from most population centers to be as effective a hub as PHL. This is quite visible, when you see that USAirways is nearly 3 times bigger than AWA, even in its weakened state.

The comment about the redeyes was a joke, although (a) it is accurate, and (b) I doubt there is much high yield business traffic at 3 AM.

As for it's being a true LCC, pre, or post combination, while adoption of that moniker for its ticker symbol, is clever, they will find out about "costs" when they inherit the USAirways short haul network in the east. As for whether or not they are a true LCC, the primary yardstick for comparison for HP is WN, since they compete head to head in so many markets. In that regard, on time performance is not as good as Southwest, which further suggests they haven't mastered the art of scheduling. Absent that, you aren't an LCC.

ByrdluvsAWACO

Here we go with the "HP isn't like WN so they can't be a LCC" line again.

The term LCC stands for Low Cost Carrier. It has nothing to do with what services are provided, how often you run routes, or point to point.

WN is only one example of a LCC, not the only one.

flyphl

Good post deelmakur. I would add that just because the new US wants to be a LCC doesn't mean that it needs to take away benefits and passenger comforts. JetBlue and Frontier both have technology (satellite tv and radio) that, in my opinion, greatly improves the ride. If power ports differentiate your product and result in improved yields, then why not keep them? HP management must think that power ports are not that important in getting and retaining customers.

Also, for the record, Philadelphia is still the 5th largest city in the country (not just talking MSA here, which of course is much larger than Phoenix MSA). It made the papers earlier this year that Phoenix was expected to overtake city of Philadelphia proper in population, but growth was slower in Phoenix and the loss of population in Philadelphia was not as great as projected. Thus, for at least another year or two Philly is still in the top five.

deelmakur

Exactly my point Flyphl. I wasn't trying to open a debate on what constitutes an "LCC". They can call themsleves anything they want, but in execution, it looks like the new US will be a hybrid. As you indicate, they should be looking to differentiate themselves. Instead, by dropping various features, they decrease any marketing differences, and give people less reason to switch. It appears they have made a lot of these decisions withut polling the customer base, and that smacks of the old USAirways. When they finally get in there, and discover that the US east coast network still costs a ton to operate, I'm guessing they will start chopping more. A year from now, it will probably be a mess. You can see it from the way they do (and in many cases, what they don't say, even though the takeover is just a few weeks away) things. I suspect they really think they are right about everything. Bleeding a couple of million a day will be a wakeup call. In movie terms, I fear what many of us thought would be a rerun of the "High and the Mighty" will actually turn out to be more like "Dumb and Dumber".

Note to HP types who are starting to migrate to this site: US customers have had years of managements doing dumb things, while never in doubt of how smart they were. Our comments are not on the definition of what HP is, nor are they meant to push back on people who live in Phoenix, and think we think it's a hick town. What we think doesn't matter, but we know bad decisions when we see them.

whlinder

Exactly, you can basically declare yourself a LCC. Whether or not HP is one is debatable. That is another thread.

pitflyer

Ah the my city is bigger than your city discussion. Always a good one. As indicated, city itself is a pretty bad barometer, since some cities are artificially big (I think for example Indianapolis merged with the county and made the whole county the city) while some are artificially small (like the city of Pittsburgh, which has a lot of the population right outside its borders). MSA is usually used, and this is the rankings
http://www.census.gov/population/cen...c-t3/tab03.txt

wr_schwab

Over my lunch hour I called Consumer Affairs and played dumb about the removal of power ports on the narrow body Airbus fleet.

Citing my source as a change in their web page and asked them directly, "Should I take this you are planning on removing the power ports on the narrow body Airbus fleet?" When they answered yes, I thanked them for the information and informed them that was the primary reason I had remained flying with them over the last five years through everything and if they were going I was going to look for another carrier that better suited my needs.

This is riddiculous. How can they expect anyone to work on a plane for any extended amount of time without providing power? I don't really care about china or glassware in first class, or any type of meal service on the plane. When it comes down to it, I don't really care if they serve Coke or Pepsi, as long as I know what to expect (I got some really strange looks on a recent UA flight when I asked for a glass of ice and pulled out a .5 liter bottle of Coke). I don't even care about the unlimited upgrades to first or the CP Desk.

But this??? If you prevent me from working on a transcon, and boiling it down to only basic transportation and become a Southwest with a seat assignment.

I will go to another carrier that I can get a seat with a power port. I had the trips planned to earn the 28,000 miles I needed to renew for CP. I'm starting to rethink my travel plans for the rest of this year and for 2006.

ByrdluvsAWACO

No. You can't just declare yourself a LCC without the low CASM to back it up.

bigred93

It all depends on how you define "low", doesn't it? Like they say, if at first you don't succeed... lower your expectations.