US1@ORF

I've been a loyal US flyer for almost 13 years. Living in Norfolk, VA US has been the predominant carrier for years. Avoid SW and others for as long as I can. My primary route is ORF-DCA, a short 150 or so miles, 28 mins in the air, the ulimate in convenience for my commute. Fares currently are $590. Insane but they know a captive audience when they see one. Well, as of today, they are wrong. SW files ORF-BWI a couple of times a day (more than US flys to DCA) for a 1/5 or less of the cost of the US trip. Sure I will have to catch a bus from BWI to the Amtrak and take a short train ride into DC but my travel buget will love. By my calculations I'l be able to make 5 trips via BWI for the cost of 1 DCA trip on US.

For many years I've been willing to pay this fare because it makes my life better and I've dreamed about accumulating points for a nice vacation. Having taken a few I've come to learn that capacity for DM awards is getting more difficult each time.

The added BS about a new fee for mileage awards redeemed within 2 weeks of travel is stupid. As a previous poster put it "it costs US no more to issue 2 months in advance then it does 2 days in advance". Especially if I use the website to do redeem.

It seems the Sales Prevention Department has added Staff at US and they are in full force.

What I can do is start using my United Mileage Plus to get full miles on my ORF-DCA flights when I must fly into DCA for schedule constraints and use SW when I have the time to fly into BWI.

US - I'm just done!

When I have time in the next day or two I'm sending a nice letter to all the folks in the senior ranks of US. Sure, they have the right to change their policy just as much as I have the right to fly a different airline. One that values short haul flyers, who by the way, contribute a significantly higher share of margin to the bottom line then long haul domestic flyers do.

By US, you've finally shown me your true colors. Hello UA and SW. You are my new airline providers.