LUS: The ugly truth about LUS ("West" 757) First Class service to Hawaii
Jan 19, 2007, 12:57 pm
#106
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: (near) Cambridge, MA
Programs: US GP (used to be *G, now,what)
Posts: 1,777
Wow, all this talk has me pretty concerned! After reading through all of this and my recent experiences flying into PHX from PHL, I am worried that I will miss my connection in PHX next month (I'll be going PHL-PHX-KOA with a 50 minute layover in PHX); not to sound like a Negadelphian (Philly sports fans are familiar with the term! 
) I have been looking through the ITA website and there are several flights PHX-KOA which depart later that day, assuming we're late getting to PHX. If we do miss the connection, is US responsible for getting us to KOA with another carrier? Also, the tix are booked in FC (I know, stupid move, but work is paying for it). Will we be able to fly FC without monetary penalty (in other words, paying full-fare--although it would be reimbursed, I think the department would be pissed for running the travel allowance into the ground) on one of these other carriers, if US can somehow get us onto another flight? Thanks!
) I have been looking through the ITA website and there are several flights PHX-KOA which depart later that day, assuming we're late getting to PHX. If we do miss the connection, is US responsible for getting us to KOA with another carrier? Also, the tix are booked in FC (I know, stupid move, but work is paying for it). Will we be able to fly FC without monetary penalty (in other words, paying full-fare--although it would be reimbursed, I think the department would be pissed for running the travel allowance into the ground) on one of these other carriers, if US can somehow get us onto another flight? Thanks!
Jan 19, 2007, 1:35 pm
#107
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: PHL, AVP, ABE
Programs: Marriott LTP, Wyndham Diamond, Hyatt Explorist, Hilton Diamond, AA EXP, CET Diamond, MGM Gold
Posts: 295
Alphaguy, the original tickets I don't believe are full F. When I originally booked, I picked them out of the "First Class-Lowest Available" option, not "First Class-Unrestricted". Am I SOL?
Jan 19, 2007, 4:25 pm
#108
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Southern California
Programs: US Airways,Hilton HHonors, Marriott, National
Posts: 1,341
Worse case scenario, you can call US Airways and ask them to check the fare rules!
Jan 19, 2007, 10:20 pm
#109
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: A lovely little town filled with cows
Programs: US2, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 3,284
Just give reservations or your preferred line a call and tell them your story and that you're very concerned about the tight connection and see what they can do to help.
Enjoy your flight!
Jul 20, 2007, 12:22 am
#110
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Hell Paso
Programs: HH Dia, Hyatt Dia, Hertz 5*, WN CP A-List, US SP
Posts: 101
Whew!!! I just read the whole thread.
Has anyone flown these routes recently? I have checked some of the flights on tracking websites and they seem to be departing close to the scheduled times. Are the interiors still in as bad of shape? Is FC still as bad as it was?
Has anyone flown these routes recently? I have checked some of the flights on tracking websites and they seem to be departing close to the scheduled times. Are the interiors still in as bad of shape? Is FC still as bad as it was?
Jul 20, 2007, 7:47 am
#111
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: MHT
Programs: AA Plat, Bonvoy Gold, HHonors Gold, , IHG Gold
Posts: 209
We just did this route on 6/25, returned on 7/7 and all our flights were on time or early. The interiors of the planes are old and pretty sad looking. We were in f/c and it was fine. (I posted a trip report if you can find it.) If you're paying $$ for your flights, I would not use US. But we were on miles and so honestly did not care all that much. If I could have gotten UA, I would have preferred that but it was not available.
Jul 22, 2007, 10:30 am
#112
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 6
F Class PHX-Hawaii Service Updates?
Read with interest previous thread re: US F Class service to HNL. Any more recent F Class encounters PHX-HNL or PHX-LIH? Thanks.
Last edited by AZ Travels the World; Jul 22, 2007 at 12:48 pm Reason: Merged new thread into existing thread on the same topic; no changes to this post. -AZ
Jul 22, 2007, 11:15 am
#113
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2007
Programs: Hilton Diamond, CO PE, US CP
Posts: 51
I have been on these flights multiple times and while the service is good, thats where it ends. I am a big supporter of US but for flights to Hawaii, you'd be better off with flying on CO (their planes to Hawaii have BusinessFirst service/seats), HA, etc.
Jul 24, 2007, 12:01 am
#114
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: TUS
Programs: US Airways CP; SPG P; HHonors S; Delta GM
Posts: 26
Hello everyone! Long time lurker and decided it was time to start contributing. Just returned from PHX-HNL 7/6; LIH-PHX 7/18. Bought tickets very late but found a 1st class saver (70k) and upgraded the other three of us with miles. The PHX-HNL flight left on time and arrived a few minutes late. The meal (which was OK) was salmon something with pecan pie served later. The cabin looked aged and was not the cleanest. The aisle TV monitor had lines across the top which messed up the movie. LIH-PHX was a night flight so no meals (although Buy on board was offered) and no movie. FA apologized for the "muffin" which was served about an hour before landing in PHX. Snack baskets were available anytime you wanted something. Return flight left 10 minutes early. It was nice watching the sunrise. Both flights were full and the FA's were very good.
Aug 8, 2007, 2:09 pm
#115
Join Date: Apr 2006
Programs: UA Premier Executive
Posts: 346
I just completed LAS-PHX-OGG-PHX-LAS on US First after several similar trips on UA. Here's how I compare them:
1. No Tedlock on US; advantage:US
2. With Paid F, free admittance to US club; advantage: US
3. Price for Discounted F: About the same
4. Seats: Both offer an armchair with not a lot of pitch. US has less recline which I prefer so the guy in front of me is not in my lap. I realize this is subjective.
5. Entertainment: VCR for crappy movies worked better on UA
6. Food: UA wins hands down. UA can serve a mac nut fish fillet of high quality. On my US flight I was only offered cold chicken pasta salad for dinner as they ran out of the hot salmon entry. (My wife had it and it wasn't that good.)
7. FAs: In general both are attentive and do a good job with what they have to offer.
8. Boarding/Deplaning: UA wins. F section is so small on US 757 that US F passengers get off after coach passengers. Leaving OGG I thought that US might win the boarding process as they were using an Aloha boarding area that had rows of seats for the different zone passesengers. But US totally ignored this forcing the Zone 1 passengers to wend through a giant maze of webbing. Then at the beginning of the boarding process a male FA contradicted the GA and other FAs to hold up the boarding so that he could seat a young able pax in F, presumably a friend.
1. No Tedlock on US; advantage:US
2. With Paid F, free admittance to US club; advantage: US
3. Price for Discounted F: About the same
4. Seats: Both offer an armchair with not a lot of pitch. US has less recline which I prefer so the guy in front of me is not in my lap. I realize this is subjective.
5. Entertainment: VCR for crappy movies worked better on UA
6. Food: UA wins hands down. UA can serve a mac nut fish fillet of high quality. On my US flight I was only offered cold chicken pasta salad for dinner as they ran out of the hot salmon entry. (My wife had it and it wasn't that good.)
7. FAs: In general both are attentive and do a good job with what they have to offer.
8. Boarding/Deplaning: UA wins. F section is so small on US 757 that US F passengers get off after coach passengers. Leaving OGG I thought that US might win the boarding process as they were using an Aloha boarding area that had rows of seats for the different zone passesengers. But US totally ignored this forcing the Zone 1 passengers to wend through a giant maze of webbing. Then at the beginning of the boarding process a male FA contradicted the GA and other FAs to hold up the boarding so that he could seat a young able pax in F, presumably a friend.
Aug 8, 2007, 5:07 pm
#116
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Tempe, AZ
Programs: AA Plat
Posts: 310
Do they still use the drop-down monitors in the center isle for movies? It seems like most of those don't work! I just booked a PHX-JFK on a west 757 in F and was wondering what they're doing for entertainment on those flights.
Aug 8, 2007, 6:39 pm
#117
Moderator: American AAdvantage & Marriott Bonvoy
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: PHX
Programs: American ExPlat; Marriott/SPG Lifetime Plat; Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 8,116
You're in luck -- drop down monitor in the center of the isle. It's the same 757configuration to JFK that they use to Hawaii. For F, it's a miserable ride.
Aug 9, 2007, 1:38 am
#118
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: TLV now - formerly LAS
Programs: King of Rental Cars, BA Gold, Virgin Gold, AA MM Gold, A3 Gold, SK Gold, Hotel SuperElite
Posts: 7,357
Nov 27, 2007, 12:12 pm
#119
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Programs: CO Infinite Elite, SPG Plat, US Gold, MR Plat, etc
Posts: 124
Just made the PHX-OGG trip about 10 days ago. The service in F was actually pretty good both ways. Meals were still the cold chicken pasta salad and salmon dish as mentioned above. Both pretty weak.
Nov 27, 2007, 5:40 pm
#120
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Purgatory
Programs: Too many to list. Status is a half dozen.
Posts: 9,235
I've gone to HNL four times now. First two times were on cheap ATA flights several years ago and the service was minimal but absolutely fine. The only complaints I had were the annoying, seemingly uneducated (travel-wise) passengers who were mostly all part of some vacation package.
The last two times were with US. I paid at the gate to upgrade to F on the July 06 trip. I agree, F in US to HNL really could use a bit better service and the seats are nothing to write home about, but I was at least far more comfortable than I'd have been in Y.
I went again in Dec 06 to go see the lads from Dublin (U2's final Vertigo tour show). It was going to Honolulu for 5 days, but it was cheaper to book PHX-OGG-HNL / HNL-LIH-PHX. The GA was very helpful on the outbound when I asked about the OGG connection to HA. She thought that was ridiculous, took my BP and handed me an F BP for the flight directly opposite - the PHX-HNL flight leaving at about the same time. Again, service was ok, but nothing special. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't avoid the HNL-LIH-PHX inbound routing, and it was Y. And I never got US to credit those 500 HA miles which pissed me off. Grr!
The last two times were with US. I paid at the gate to upgrade to F on the July 06 trip. I agree, F in US to HNL really could use a bit better service and the seats are nothing to write home about, but I was at least far more comfortable than I'd have been in Y.
I went again in Dec 06 to go see the lads from Dublin (U2's final Vertigo tour show). It was going to Honolulu for 5 days, but it was cheaper to book PHX-OGG-HNL / HNL-LIH-PHX. The GA was very helpful on the outbound when I asked about the OGG connection to HA. She thought that was ridiculous, took my BP and handed me an F BP for the flight directly opposite - the PHX-HNL flight leaving at about the same time. Again, service was ok, but nothing special. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't avoid the HNL-LIH-PHX inbound routing, and it was Y. And I never got US to credit those 500 HA miles which pissed me off. Grr!