Score8

OK, so other than the fact that you can likely get off the plane faster in most instances, this change rots.

Select Plus (Amtrak), here I come.

BOS2DCA

My maiden voyage is next week. How big are the planes?

BizJet

I'd like to hear why you think the change rots, as well as hear from others with recent US Airways Shuttle experience.

I fly the Delta Shuttle all the time but have only used US's offering a couple of times. I've noticed that the US Airways Shuttle now uses E190s between Boston and LaGuardia, and that is an aircraft type that I generally tend to like. The US Shuttle is sometimes more convenient for me than Delta, so I'd definitely be curious to hear about experiences with the product.

Also, besides the 500mi minimum and no advance seat assignments, is the Shuttle experience any different than mainline nowadays?

BOS2DCA: The BOS-LGA Shuttle is now operated by E190s. I think US is now dedicating the fleet to BOS-LGA/PHL (previously I think they flew pretty broadly, but typically PHL to Northeast points). I quite like the E190. No middle seats, giant windows, full-size cabin and overhead bins (though rollerboards don't fit in lengthwise like in bigger jets), and FC cabin with single seats on one side.

Gski

I flew BOS LGA this morning on the E190.
Nothing really to hate other than:
(1) MUCH smaller overhead bins -- a full row/plane means people who arrive 15 min before departure will probably have to check their carry on.
(2) really hard touchdown this morning

As for the advantages:
(1) No middle seats
(2) 3 seats to a row in FC, so single seats on one side for those anti-social CPs :-)
(3) 10 rows of seats before the wing (compared to 6 on the AB 320s)

I flew Delta (BOS-LGA-BOS) over the summer for 4 months and earned about 100,000 miles (yes, really) with all the mile bonuses (no, not EQMs unfortunately) and as a consequence missed P with USAir. Don't know what's better: P on USAir or 100,000 miles on Delta. Also, Delta gives you a bagel and more newspapers, but in my experience, Delta had a underachieving on time performance. At least one leg of my flight was delayed or canceled regularly. I think I've only had one delay with USAir during the other 8 months. Lastly, you do have seat assignments on the USAir Shuttle as opposed to the line for the school bus with Delta. I think it really comes down to where you have your miles and whether the 30 minute difference in departures matters.

tennessetom

I have taken the new shuttle roundtrip twice now. It seems like once you push back from the gate it takes a rather long time to begin the taxi. The flight time is about 10 minutes longer than on the a320. The six am shuttle which normally was a sure bet to land in BOS at 6:30 landed at 7.

The overhead bins or horrible

I was in First class for all four flights and the first class seats are far less comfortable than on the a320

The crews are philly based so I can see crew issues for the early morning flights when the weather is bad the night before. dca still has the a320 so they wont be able to swap equipment like they did in the past

FreequentFlier

I don't see what the problem is. The E-series (starting with the E170) are just about as nice as 737s or Airbuses. Pretty decent overhead space, no middle seats and often nicer FAs!

Score8

1. While there were middle seats on the old plane, it was ok to sit in one if you could get home earlier on standby - that's over with. Also, it was very common to have a middle seat open on the non-peak shuttles.
2. The overhead bins are going to potentially cause delays due to having to check bags. (As an offset, I heard from another passenger that the turnaround time for baggage is pretty quick)
3. Three fewer F seats certainly has an impact on upgrades.
4. The loss of capacity is going to make the common landslide of delays much, much worse as the planes won't easliy be able to accept passengers from "cancelled" flights.

BizJet

Good point about the potential crew issues with the PHL-based crews. I remember reading speculation that the closure of the LGA/BOS crew bases may affect the shuttle operations, and of course US Airways insisted that it wouldn't. But I wouldn't be surprised if there are crew availability and minimum rest delays and cancellations during IROPS recovery.

The Delta Shuttle sometimes has that issue, even though DL has bases in both LGA and BOS. For whatever reason, the early morning BOS-LGA shuttles are frequently staffed with LGA crews who overnight in BOS. There are occasionally minimum rest delays that wouldn't arise if they used BOS crews.

flight62

I've worked the both the Shuttle flights and the E190, but not both at the same time. I can say the loads on the Shuttle do NOT justify a larger a/c. Unfortunately, long gone are the glamour days of the Shuttle as it should be gone. It is a 35-40 minute flight with most passengers on biz and wanting to just catch a nap or finish some work on the PC.

Back in the EAL Shuttle days before PAA got involved, the Shuttle was INDEED a SHUTTLE. You paid on the a/c and there was hardly any service as you paid onboard and by the time the f/a's collected the money, it was time to land. It was Pan Am that tried to make it something it never EVER should had become.

The E190 is comfortable for a quick biz trip with nothing more than a briefcase and/or rollerboard. There is no bar under the seats in front of you seperating the under seat storage, so placing your back there isn't so bad.

At the current 40-50% loads, not a bad plane. Better than the 320? No, but it fits the need.

Beckles

Setting aside the claim up-thread that the E190 adds 30 minutes to a LGA-BOS flight (which borders on ridiculous in my opinion), quite frankly I do think the E190 is a better plane than the Airbus. The only advantage of the Airbus is that it has more overhead bin space. I would think on the Shuttle (I have never been on the US Shuttle honestly) that is less of an issue because many of the flyers are on same-day trips compared to most other flights.

dtremit

Actually, it's only one fewer; the A319/A320 are both configured with 12F and the E190 is configured with 11F. But as it's a significantly smaller plane, the F:Y ratio is much higher -- meaning if anything, your chances at upgrades are probably better.

BoeingBoy

With the same load factor you're right. With the same passenger load (which is more likely) there's a somewhat less chance of upgrading.

Jim

Score8

I agree that it fits the need for the 9am 11am 1pm flights which are way below the 40% load factor. It's the peak period shuttles that cause more of an issue of capacity where often the planes were/are completely full.

On another point, the percentage of F versus Y has virtually no bearing on the likelihood of an upgrade without including the # of elites who fly the route. Given the Q4 segment promotion, I suspect that the BOS-NYC corridor is rich with Gold-CP.

goheelswks

Bad move for those on the peak time shuttles. Those were always packed IME..in fact, last time, a CP was whining and complaining that he didn't get an upgrade on the way back to his middle Y seat. (I guess this SP had stolen it by checking in early , but I've been on the other side of that experience many times).

Otherwise, OK, except for the limited rollaboard space.

SaveDelta

Why would you think a CP is anti-social?