Potential Switch to UA or Other in the DC Area
 

Hello Folks!

Currently I fly close to 100 segments a year on US Scare(US Airways) out of the Washington/Baltimore area. Right now I fly mostly out of DCA however occasionally I do make it up to BWI due to a cheaper fare.

I have been EXTREMELY displeased this year with the service, timeliness, and attitude of the employees and am ready to make a change for next year. I am sick and tired of looking at the long faces in the cabin and catching a smart alec attitude from most all gate agents and curbside employees. In addition, if I NEVER see PHL again in my life that would be ok and as hard as it is to say, since its my birthplace, CLT has gotten worse as well(Not nearly as bad as PHL but worse than it had been)!!!

Now all this being said I have been able to keep our travel expenses at our company relatively low by using US since they are the most cost effective carrier in our area(SWA aside.) That being said we are to the end of our wits with this airline and will spend a little more if the service and destination network is there.

The only airline that I have found so far in this area(IAD, DCA, and BWI) has been UA. Another good point in their favor is that they are in the Star Alliance. I guess my questions go from here: Would any of my status transfer over from US to UA since they are both Star Alliance members? How is their service? How are their fares out of IAD? Would anyone have any other suggestions(SWA aside!!!)?

I certainly appreciate everyone's input in this since I am a new member and all. I just feel that spending the kind of money that our company spends a year on travel we should be rewarded with more than a stink-en upgrade on another 2 hr and 35min ride from PHL to DCA(2hr and 10min of which are spent holding, taxing, holding, taxing, doubling back on another taxiway, holding some more, and then maybe JUST maybe being cleared for takeoff on the coveted runway 27L!!!!)


I apologize for this rant in advance and am looking forward to reading your responses!

Welcome to FT!

After flying US, UA will definitely be a step up.

Re status, I believe UA will match status one time.

Re your other questions, they're a bit vague to answer. About UA's service, it can't be any worse than US's. Price's are relative and depend on where you're going and how far in advance you buy. Flights out of DCA tend to be more expensive that flights out of IAD. Of course, you cannot fly nonstop internationally out of DCA (OK, Canada). And remember, UA has E+!

My suggestion is to start monitoring the UA Forum and read, read, read, the stickies.

Finally, most of us would walk before we'd fly WN.

They generally don't match status with another Star Alliance Carrier. Don't know whether that applies to US Air or not, so you might inquire, but don't be surprised if they decline to.

I don't understand this elitist (and wrong) attitude.

As a former UA 1K premier flier, I love WN. The airline delivers 2 things that I most desire: flexibility, and on-time flights.

I LUV WN. Far better airline than any other airline I've ever flown or pampered by. :D

Let's see -
WN has the best service
WN has the best timeliness
WN Employees have a great attitude
WN Employees almost never have a long face

Looks like you could easily find a new airline that will meet and exceed all your expectations. Go to the airport, find the employees that smile the most, say "Thank You" on a regular basis, look like they are enjoying themselves and their job - and buy a ticket from them. You will be flying on a canyon blue airplane.

I suspect that people have a negative perception of Southwest Airlines for one or more of the following reasons:

1. The low-fare reputation carries a stigma that rubs off on the customers ("Can't they afford to fly a REAL airline?") People who see their airline choice as a fashion statement will avoid Southwest.

2. They have flown Southwest only to or from Las Vegas or Orlando, on flights packed with leisure travelers. Those flights might as well be on a different airline than the typical Southwest flight, which carries mostly business travelers.

3. They blame Southwest for the demise legacy airlines, confusing the effects of deregulation with their cause. The more successful Southwest becomes, the more these people resent it.

4. They have watched A&E's Airline, a "reality" show that bore almost no relationship with reality. Anyone who believes that Airline protrayed anything you will ever see on Southwest is mistaken. We FTers haven't seen any of those antics on Southwest in our many thousands of flights.

Southwest provides reasonably priced reliable coach transportation, coupled with a frequent flier program that works well only for short-haul travelers. Their web site rocks, and they answer the phone quickly with a real live native English speaking person. Maybe this package fits your needs, and maybe it doesn't. But if you are getting too much attitude at altitude, I don't think you will find better front-line employees anywhere.

Here's what I do when I book travel ... I go to Expedia and put in the time and date I need to fly and click search. I then sort by departure or arrival time, depending on which is most important for that given leg, then I select the most reasonably priced flights for my desired departure and/or arrival times. If Southwest also flies the route I'm flying I'll then check and see what they have to offer for the route. Then I buy the ticket that offers me the best combination of price and desired arrival and/or departure times.

Elite status is nice ... but in my experience, it's just not worth much compared to saving money and flying on a convenient schedule. Besides, with the alliances these days you're likely to end up with elite status anyway, maybe not top tier, but enough to get you good coach seating at least.

Southwest also has No Change Fees which is a huge plus for biz travelers.

And no fee for booking over the phone.

WN is the way to go for trips under 1000 miles. Otherwise I would go with UA only if the price is right.

If you are really concerned with saving money (as you note) then WN is unquestionably the best choice for your needs.

If you are more concerned about "status" perks as you intimate, then WN is not the answer. However, if you do fly 40+ roundtrips a year you will easily qualify for a WN companion pass, which will save you or your company a lot of money.

Unfortunately WN doesn't fly from DCA, so if airport selection is part of your formula (and I could understand how that would be, given DCA's convenience and top-notch terminal facilities) then you will have to go with another choice. Note, however, that UA's schedule from DCA is pretty bare bones, so you'll probably end back up at US.

UA will probably give you 1P for 3 months and offer you a challenge; 12 segments of 12,500 miles to retain 1P status. I am in the midst of my challenge now (I used my US Gold status for the challenge).

None of the above for me. Southwest doesn't offer redeye flights, doesn't offer assigned seating, doesn't fly to several major airports/cities, and doesn't fly internationally, which to me translates into wasted time-- wasted daylight in an aluminum tube; wasted time in line or trying to check in at midnight from a cell phone; wasted time getting to Manhattan from ISP/Beacon Hill from MHT/West Seattle from... PDX; wasted time flying miles I could have banked towards New Zealand or India.

And perhaps more to the point, for the routes I fly, it's not that cheap. While not as expensive as Jetblue, I've found BWI-xxx-SNA consistently to be the same or even more expensive than on United at the times I want to fly-- Southwest had nothing under $400 this year.

fair enoughNot a big deal. I prefer aisle seat, and get an aisle seat 99% of the time Neither do many other airlines, so? Of course - they are a US only airline. If you need international, there should be no way you should compare Southwest to other airlines WN fares tend to be cheaper on most flights, and their lack of a change fee means it works for people with last minute plans like myself. I can change flights at a whim and not be penalized. Such flexibility is well worth any other perk for an infrequent international traveler like me.

Really? Check out Table 9: Top 10 U.S. Airlines, ranked by January-June 2007 Domestic Scheduled Enplanements at the Bureau of Transportation Statistics page at http://www.bts.gov/press_releases/20....html#table_09

Gee. So you are saying that of the 49 million Southwest enplanements in 2007 that they would rather walk than fly? Uh, okay. :rolleyes:

In terms of service, UA has some of the same bitter FAs and GAs you would see at other legacies, but on the whole, they are a thousand times more pleasant than US. I used to fly US a lot to CLT, and now I drive or fly UAX from IAD, even when US is cheaper.

UA also has the best IFE of any legacy, much better route selection out of IAD than US has out of DCA, and E+ is a good value on transcons.

UA still trails VX and B6 as far as overall service, but if you're a status seeker, they are easily the best out of the DC area.

These are perfectly valid reasons to choose a legacy airline, except the part about midnight check-in. That practice ended on November 9, 2005, when Southwest switched to 24-hour advance checkin.