Did a quick scan of recent threads and didn't see anything yet on this. Here's some links:

http://www.rte.ie/business/2007/0412/ryanair.html
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles...eet-of-50.html

This really lowers the bar on TA travel.

Current discussion going on in the BA forum:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=681674

No friend, US Airways lowered the bar.

But who cares? Why is it everyone thinks TA is off limits to low frills and low class service. Having worked MANY TA flights out of both CLT AND PHL, customers arecustomers. I have seen alot of trashy looking people from England, France, Germany, and Spain and of course the USA.

I have heard people say about US Airways. The service wasn't like other carriers and I had to pay for drinks and headsets, but the price was cheap!

Hello.......point taken.

Transatlantic...The next myth to fall!!

Well if WN does go TA then they will have lowered the bar even more.

I did a BWI- SAN nonstop on WN once and it was the worse thing ever!!!! I cant imagine some sorta 737 BWI to LGW/LHR.

Can you imagine how early you would have to get there to sit on the floor at the A line to get a bulkhead or exit row?

US's TA isnt the best but by no means is the worst...

Trust that with ryanair service TA you will wish WN started it instead.

O'Leary's vision of the future is that pax will not check in any bags. His view is that the tickets are so cheap so you can afford to buy everything at your destination. Imagine it.

1. no window shades
2. no recline
3. Paying extra for each item from pillow to nuts, probably toilet paper too, I'm not joking here.

Recently I flew US from BWI-PHX and then WN on the return PHX-BWI. Differences between the two:
1. WN has friendly staff.
2. WN gave me a box of snacks AND a bag of peanuts vs. just a bag of peanuts on US
3. WN had more leg room
4. Luggage came to the belt quicker with WN. (May be a PHX vs. BWI issue and not a WN vs. US one.)
I can't quite understand people not realizing that WN offers a good product that in most instances is better than the other major carriers. Sure I don't like standing in line and I probably would never fly WN internationally but I don't understand people claiming that US is any better other than letting you reserve a seat or possibly giving you an upgrade if you are elite.

O'Leary is a nut job who doesnt understand the business travler, the purpose of a hub and spoke network and the value of service.

This is so true. WN Y blows away US Y. I don't even worry about the boarding first for an exit row ting on WN because the pitch is good for all of their seats.

I know that WN has their model and they're stickin' to it, but I really think they're missing significant opportunity with business travelers.

If they changed just two things, it would change the game completely:

1. Allow travelers to confirm a seat assignment, even if they have to pay a nominal fee for it.
   
   
2. Create some sort of elite tier that provides an express check-in and security line, so that the business traveler doesn't have to be concerned about a security line that runs around the corner, out the door and down the street.

Think about the low- and mid-tier US elite members, who typically aren't getting upgrades, and are accruing miles for free domestic trips.

WN offers:

• More operational reliability across their system;

• Planes are newer, nicer and offer greater pitch in nicer seats;

• The vast majority of employees you encounter seem to genuinely enjoy what they do and respect the company and management they work for.

Now, for those of us who are CP, who are upgraded more often than not, and who use our miles for international, premium cabin vacation travel, it's not the right fit. But that's not the profile of the vast majority of US frequent travelers, which I believe are ripe for WN to pick off with these two changes to the way they do things.

I love WN's service level to the customer, dont get me wrong! They are all happy to be there. I can not do the A B C line thing. Hate that you have to checkin right at the 24 hour period to get an A.

I dislike Rapid Rewards and they do not fly to as many places I would like or that I go to. They fly into oddball places that make rental cars more expensive in cases and then my Emerald Aisle or Gold service goes way at the places.

MDW and DAL and ISP are examples

The planes may be newer but there is something about flying a 737 transcon verus a 757 or 321 that makes US better for me. It just feels so small and cramped on a WN 737 that is packed verus the bigger US plane. IT may have better pitch but it doesnt feel like it.

And a box of snacks is not a big thing to me. I bring my own snacks when i can. I can go 3 to 5 hours without eating unlike some of us here.

My suspicions are most premier flyers have an aversion to the WN's business model because, and I'm paraphrasing an earlier FT post, these are not my words, we all become "gate lice".

<duck >

I'd like to try WN one day. C'mon and add CLT to RDU, WN....B6 is already in CLT and doing well

When the US Airways F/A's make SWA's top pay of $57.00 an hr compared to US Airway $39.00, then we'll talk about why THEY are nicer.

Maybe things on WN have changed(??). Flew them several times in the mid-'90's (JAN and BHM-HOU, BHM-BWI), and was horrified. I've never been so unhappy on flights (including more recent flights on Airtran, NW, US, DL, etc).

Really? Wow, I had no idea WN FA's make more then US FA's. Thats interesting.

That raises a question for me, why be a US FA and not WN? Non-rev privileges are better? Or am I missing something. This is not intended to be sarcastic, actually interested in this.