Jenniferpa

Inertia, and I'm in PIT.

To be fair, all my flying is done internationally on my own dime, and usairways consistently comes up with a cheaper price.

dcpatti

Couple of reasons:

-Hands down the most nonstops from DCA to places I need to go. I would rather chew on tinfoil than go to IAD, and as far as I'm concerned BWI doesn't even exist. When I fly US, I rarely need to connect, and when I do need to connect, like DCA-LAS, at least I'm still going in the same general direction. Flying other carriers I get the joy of DCA-MCO by way of MSP or EWR, neither of which makes a ton of sense to me.

-Consistently good service. Sure there have been some less-than-stellar performances by US frontline folks, but for the most part, they are nice to me, I am nice to them, and they take good care of me.

-I get upgraded a LOT. This I am sure has a lot more to do with the routes I fly and the times I go than my status (Gold) but I'm not complaining. I don't care why I get upgraded, just as long as I do.

-Star Alliance rocks!

fabricoftruth

Philadelphia! Unless other airlines decide to start flying outta here more often, I dont have much choice

Travels2mch

I didn't....I was responding to usa18dca's comment....after reading all of these posts, coupled with my own weekly experiences....I am starting to ask myself why I am still with US.........

mrhotelman

The reasons why I remain with us are:

1) Free upgrades (100% this year)
2) *A Benefits
3) Service to cities that some airlines dont have or only have limited service.
4) West employees (airport, inflight, reservations/customer relations) that know me and always ensure I am taken care of.
5) Reservations, refunds, customer relations calls that are not shipped overseas
6) PHX and CLT hubs

ayoh

Grew up in Pittsburgh; live in DC - it's been stalking me during my entire life...

DCAorBust

Amen! Admittedly if it's a weekday & the fare differential is over $150/seat I've been known to hop the MARC to BWI. Of course, you'll see me in the standby queue to DCA for return.

There's another less practical reason that I haven't (yet) abandoned ship. The rationale is similar to why a lot of folks have bought Nationals season tix at shabby old RFK: (foolish) optimism that they're getting in on the ground floor of something that might one day be worthwhile. For longtime US PAX, the merger really has opened a great deal of single carrier options to the west (for me these include SFO, LAX, SLC, & DEN). Previously I would fly whoever had the most service, usually UA, AA, or DL. If they could just get the kinks ironed out I think that we'd feel less embarrassed for choosing US.

But the clock is ticking. I suspect that after the next six months or so it will no longer be viable to begin & end every message with "Thank you for your patience."

DeltaRIC

Just making a point here: Looks like most of you are still with US because you live near PHX, LAS, CLT, DCA, or PHL.

Why do I fly DL? Well, I don't want to stir up any more sh** than there already is in this thread!

Jumpgate

I grew up in San Diego (ex PSA hub) and went to college in Pittsburgh (ex US hub). They've just kinda been with me my whole life.

Plus the Star Alliance is rockin'.

usa18dca

I was sarcastic DL is a great airline with it's great values and tradition but so does US...in some ways...

PhillyPhlyer40

Excellent values!

Lets see:

1-Closets on F cabin equipment
2-Working computers
3-Happy employees
4-Meals
5-CP Rollover
6-125% CP bonus
7-Meals
8-Working EUA

Oh wait...no those are DL/CO/NW's values...sorry

mrhotelman

Well maybe some of what you just mentioned apply to possibly CO and they do apply to US as well, but airlines like NW didnt earn the name Northworst without just cause. They have a lousy domestic F cabin with uncomfortable/flimsy and poorly maintained seats. Their domestic F seats look like coach seats on most other airlines. They have no IFE on domestic flights. Their employees have not been too happy ever since (and even prior) to bankruptcy. Their meals are nothing special. The food (quantity and quality) is no better, no worse than US. Plus if flying in coach without any sort of status, you are subjected to cattle call boarding. If one thinks, NW is better than US then there is a big problem.

I cant speak to much for DL as I hardly ever fly on them. The one thing that DL does have one-up on US on is the in-seat entertainment system on many of their long haul domestic aircraft.

vysean

While being hub-captive is a part of the reason I fly them, I could just as easily fly WN (who also hubs out of PHX). As a large part of my travel involves connections anyway, I could easily fly DL, AA, UA, or NW too. The hub thing isn't the only reason I fly them - really, my allegiance has more to do with the copious amounts of free upgrades and time savers like the elite lines in PHX, the CP desk, etc. These are things that the major competitor in PHX (WN) doesn't offer.

I'm still curious why you fly DL - PM me if you like to avoid sh** storms...

tommyleo

I live in Philly and can't fly non-stop to most places I'd want to go if I didn't take US.

KevAZ

Man oh man did I blow a snot bubble on your response! Me too! I was in the top five PAX with WN in '98 and '99. I am a former 1M (almost 2M) with UA. I can't deal with the Ma & Pa Kettle security lines in PHX with the Heifer Hauler. And I hate that a 2M UA gets stuck on the retarTED product. But US finally pissed me off to the point where I am flying through DFW a lot. AA ain't perfect but their marketing people aren't looking to piss off the folks that are trying to make a relationship with US.