lsugolfer

I'm beginning to look more into my travel on my predominant route (BTR-JAX/DAB) and US is showing about $30-40 cheaper on this route. Sometimes DL is pricing itself so high that I'm flying out of MSY.

Couple that with 10-15 of these trips and the savings would add up for us on a budget.

I hear horror stories from US, but can someone provide me with a little more insight as a whole? Thanks!

Darien Red Sox

Flew 4 flights with them in the past and not try to avoid them at all costs, 1 flight the FA was one of the rudest people you would ever meat, she would through the pretzels (this was back in the day when they gave free snacks) at the passengers and had a frown on the whole time, when people said thank you she remained silent. Another time on US Express we encountered a near miss coming into HPN, passengers knew something was wrong but the crew gave no explanation about it or about why we circled for 30+ min, people on the ground were worried because all the screens were showing arrived and the staff would not provide them any info. Any passenger who asked about the situation was just hushed.

AngryPrez

Flying out of DCA USAirways gives me a viable option to Delta -- both in terms of pricing and service. While my recent experiences have been better on Delta than US in terms of the planes, in-flight service, irregular operations, etc, that only takes you so far.

Key differentiator for me is the higher number of non-stops out of DCA that US has -- not just to East Coast (FL) destinations, but also to places like PHX. I really wish there was something Delta could do to obtain some of those slots to offer more non-stops out of DCA. Hard to justify a 6-7 hour flight with connections versus 4-5 hours non-stop (west coast destinations), and even harder to justify 4-5 versus 2-3 (FL non-stop versus going thru Atlanta for east coast).

Upgrades also matter - 100% so far on US this year, less than that on Delta with their first class monetization (upgrade percentage was better last year for me).

vikingscout

Hi,
I've had to do USAIR my last few trips. Assuming that you will have no status.
1. Expect to pay for a forward seat ($12-$16 each segment). Otherwise expect a window or aisle in the far back(if CRJ's)
2. I think for that route, you will probably have CRJ's, so you can carry your luggage, no fees.
3. The cabin service is about the same as compared to a Delta connection, with one exception, no snacks..just drinks

Overall Customer Service
1. Be at the gate before the 10 minute mark (had a teammate lose her connection because she showed up 8 minutes before departure and the door was closed (she was equal to a delta PM).
2. Had another teammate call up USAIR call center to change her ticket to an earlier connection(CLT-jax), she was informed of the change price, complained and somehow her DCA-CLT was good, but according to a GA@clt, the call center supervisor canceled her CLT-JAX portion. Took her 60 minutes to get her old ticket back with out a change penalty.


Overall if you have no status, try USAIR. I know some USAIR FF who have
gotten upgrades on united flights for Biz/First International without paying extra, They seem to have no problem redeeming FF miles for international biz seats on USAIR (not many destinations) or UNITED/LH. Domestic upgrades are about the same lottery as Delta, a wash there.

Pick which airline you feel comfortable flying. Use your own criteria. Sometimes price isn't always the most important. When I fly USAIR I have no backup. If I miss the one connection, I dont go home till the next day. With delta I have multiple gateways with multiple departures after 7pm.

AUDirt

The CR9s that DL flies are far more comfortable than those used by US. The US CR9 that I was on last month had threadbare seats that were uncomfortable by any stretch.

In short, the US flight was the shabbiest looking plane I've ever been on. I don't care about looks, but I do care about comfort, and those seats were not comfortable. BTR-CLT is not a short flight if your seat isn't comfortable.

Other notes:

• The previous poster who commented about the ten minute deadline is not kidding. A few weeks ago I was on a US BOS-CLT flight that arrived ten minutes late into CLT. After I (literally) ran through the CLT terminal I got to my gate just in time to see the door close with no chance of reopening. There were four of us going from BOS-MEM that day and US knowingly left all of us, even though our BOS plane had physically arrived.
• Beware the 35-minute connections in CLT. US is way too aggressive with their scheduling, IMHO. If you're coming from the Northeast corridor (BOS, NYC, PHL, Washington DC) you could be in for a bad surprise.
• Upgrades do seem to be easier to come by on US.
• US seems to be raising their rates on a lot of cross country routes lately. (Try pricing them to SEA and see what you find).
• CLT is preferable to ATL as far as size, layout, and dining/shopping options. (Not that the CLT options are overwhelming, but at least they're all together, unlike ATL.)
• US miles are probably easier to use than SkyMiles, at least domestically. That is, with US -and- CO/UA, you have a lot of different ways to redeem 25k miles for a domestic award ticket.

For what it's worth I won't fly US again as every time I fly them something bad happens (i.e. missed connection, lost bag, delays, etc.). But YMMV and I'm trying to be objective

cmn.jcs

I've got a couple questions. First, where are you going on the west coast? There are only direct flights to SEA and LAX (also LAS, PHX, DEN, and SLC, but I don't consider those west coast). Those flights are on AS, a DL partner. So you still get the miles and a few benefits. Otherwise, you're connecting no matter what airline you fly.

Second, FL flies to MKE, FLL, MCO, and ATL from DCA. DL flies from to DCA to FLL, MCO, and ATL (only MKE doesn't have a direct flight). Do you mean you prefer US for the east coast flights? FL doesn't seem to get you anywhere more than DL does.

Bagels

In fairness you'll be taking two short flights and connecting through an airport (CLT) way more relaxed that ATL. If you're on a tight budget and making frequent trips, give US Airways a try.

lsugolfer

Will US do a status match? I might make GM with DL this year then float between the two for next if I can have GM/FO on both airlines.

Once I've hit GM though, I can get a little more creative and utilize SDC.

runfit

I flew with US Air about 7 times last year and purposely avoid them if I can help it (huge price difference would be the "help" part!). I had some problems with a couple of my flights (cancelling for no reason they would tell me, one time was weather, but they kept the flight going to the same place an hour later and the plane was already on the ground), rude customer service on the phone the few times I had to call - overall, it just left a bad taste in my mouth. Made me happy to get back on a Delta flight!

redheadtempe33

US does not do status match, but you can buy a silver trial, which allows you to retain silver (or whatever status) as long as you fly a certain number of miles/segments within a certain amount of time.

http://www.usairways.com/en-US/divid...preferred.html

Am I understanding correctly that you have to be a GM on Delta to get free same day changes? On US, it is free for Silver and up (rather it is free to move to an earlier flight).

Otherwise, I'd have to agree that while the inflight product isn't as good as Delta, you are also paying $60-$80 less RT. Can have it all ...

CLT is a great airport to connect through (especially compared to ATL). US has made a big push towards being on time with bags, so yes, that door will shut 10 minutes before departure.

Miles are much easier to redeem and upgrades (from what I hear) are better too (probably honestly because US has much fewer elites than Delta).

elvessa

I quit flying them years ago (when still America West), when the THIRD time that I could have driven from Southern California to ABQ faster (or vicea-versa - it's a 13 hour drive), I realized that it was far more expensive to fly them than simply the cost of the ticket.

javabytes

I have always found service to be poor on USeless Airways. Everything from inattentive or mean flight attendants to delays (and poor IROPS recovery) to lousy baggage handling.

redheadtempe33

Not to get into a he said she said, but the DOT's 2010 and 2011 stats say otherwise.

AUDirt

Perhaps US' PHX hub is better than CLT or PHL, but every time I fly them in the eastern half of this country I have some kind of delay. (US seems to have mastered the 45 minute taxi time...)

AUDirt

I'll put it this way: earlier this year I started a Silver match trial with US because I wanted a better UG rate than I was getting on DL (47/50 on the UG list with 16 seats in F total ).

I flew them one RT (4 segments total) with US and have subsequently sworn them off completely. I'm now trying to think of some way to get rid of the miles I have banked with them.