Rebmig

Because I have to. Corp policy.

biggs

Just burned the last of my FF miles for tix. Other than an earlier award flight, this is the only flight I will have this year on US. All AA now with an occasional UA or NW.

Cargojon

Because they are still better than WN and nobody esle runs PHL-PIT.

DanHag

Since April of thios year I disagree wholehertedly regarding WN for these reasons:

1.) WN has a culture of operational execution. US does not.
2.) Snack boxes are free on WN, and $5 on US.
3.) 80% of US lavatories stink, and 80% of WN lavatories do not.
4.) WN has much more widely available free seets. US does not.
5.) 80% of WN employees love working for WN, and 80% of US employees hate working for US.
6.) Take a tape measure on your next trip on both WN and US, as I did as recently as 2 weeks ago. WN now has 2 inches more of seat pitch in Y than US has. Seatguru will eventually catch up with those numbers.

WN has a much better coach product and airline in general, in my experience as US has gone nose down during the last year or so. The only thing I will not do on WN is have a connection. Absent a necessary connection, I will always fly WN now.

VanTheMan63

DanHag, I absolutely, positively agree with you, 1,000%. I debate, lively, with people all the time.

If coach is a "must," then give me WN EVERY day of the week over US. The WN coach product is 10 times superior to US.

From my vantage point, US has assigned seating as it's only benny over WN. That's it.

Just the other day, I had to buy a ticket between PVD and ABQ. F-Class wasn't an option as it was sold out on CO and NW...and the very last thing on earth I would ever do is give US "F-Class money" since I believe they are now the worst airline in modern aviation from a product standpoint.

So, I bought WN. I have to connect in BWI....but the price was right, $353, completely refundable....and I'll get a good seat.

I don't fly WN that much....but I do fly them enough to get 1 free roundy a year. And I would say this on the "no assigned seat thing." In all my flights on WN, again, not lots, but a fair number....I've only had a middle seat one time. And it was my own fault, my own doing. I needed to fly from MCI to LAS, showed up at the airport 5 hours early, took an earlier flight, was stand by and the last guy to get on the airplane....that earned me a center seat.

Other times, I've gotten on the airplane last and gotten emergency exit row.

And I can't remember any other flight in 3 or 4 years where I didn't have an aisle.

So all this hatred for WN has never registered with me....nor has it, apparently, with the majority of the flying world as (a.) they are now the number one airline in the US in terms of enplanements (b.) they are the most profitable airline by a long, wide margin and (c.) their balance sheet would make a '90's .com company envious.

That kind of stuff doesn't happen "because they suck."

I couldn't agree with your assertion more.

flight62

Oh no..say it isn't so. The EVIL US Airways not more rampant? PSU Mudder. you seem to be the only one here that really has a grasp on reality. HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

PSU Mudder

LOL, somehow I seem to luck out. My evening return flight LGA-PIT, which is most subject to disruption, is on a plane that runs CMH-DCA-MCO-PIT-LGA. So it never once touches CLT or PHL during its day. Also, because it's mainline, they try harder to run it. All of the other airlines are express routes, so they cancel them at the drop of a hat. On top of that, I've never had crew rest issues with my morning departure, which the other airlines have all the time because their aircraft came in late the night before from NYC (or possibly ORD, which is just as bad).

PSU Mudder

I've been shifting more of my transcon leisure travel to WN. If I don't think an upgrade is likely, WNs coach does beat USs running away.

MrBookworm

All domestic flights in the US suck, it's just a small difference between airlines. So, since they all suck I figure I'll fly the airline that gets me there non-stop. Since I live in PHX and fly mostly to EWR and SEA, that is US.

I really don't understand why this is a discussion anymore. Is US really that much different in coach vs. US AA DL NW, etc.? I'm buying transport from A to B, so getting there without a connection trumps any minor difference.

Dean

PS: This does not inlclude int'l trips.

nottooshabby

Captive here in PHL, but occasionally I fly from AVP (the fares are sometimes significantly better!)

Phudnik

I think there are some small but meaningful differences:

All airlines in the USA (except NW and FL, and including WN) have more pitch in Y than US, which can often mean the difference between the ability to open a laptop comfortably or unexpected abdominal autosurgery.

Most airlines (again, with the possible exception of NW) are more reliable than US East. The former HP is clearly a different animal based on the comments I read here.

Other factors include:
--E+ on UA (which, to some extent, compensates for their frequently mediocre customer service)
--Meals at mealtime on CO (not the greatest, but a nice touch that partially compensates for their tight pitch and uncomfortable seats)
--Better snacks, cocktails for purchase, etc. on DL

Etc. I'd say there's no aspect in which US (at least in the East, and at least in Y) is better than any other airline (except perhaps the size of the "party cups," unless one is a big fan of Cranium or that goofy Canadian candid camera show), and there are several in which it is worse.

I agree that non-stop flights are an enormous factor, particularly for business travelers. Even from PHL, I can get to most places I need to go for business non-stop on other airlines. When US is the only option, it's often on a transcon where, if you factor in the expected 1-hour delay and potential for fuel stops in the winter, there's no much difference in connecting or taking the train to EWR. It means splitting status between the three alliances but (unfortunately) I will fly enough to make that doable. Over the past several months I have found US too unreliable in terms of late flights, fuel stops, etc. to continue flying them, and anything longer than an hour or so in coach is miserable if I need to work (which I almost always do). I do have one trip coming up where US is the only convenient nonstop option on one leg -- but I'm connecting outside *A to an international flight, and I'm wondering whether that's a good idea, even with a (scheduled) 3-hour layover.