US 707 - experience
Jan 3, 2008, 1:50 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: CAE
Posts: 212
US 707 - experience
Just got off US 707 MUC-PHL in Envoy yesterday.
Was a rather funny and at the same time another sad experience.
Never been on an older/filthier airplane, but thats not really new.
Check in in Munich was funny, the LH agent chatted with me and said (among other things) that if US Air belives they belong to the Star Alliance, they should at least make some improvement to meet at least minimum standards. I said "US Air is just special" - she smiled and said "yes, very special"... not further words needed.
She also called US Airways a "third world airline" and told me she also worked the United check in and that there was no comparison is the way the airline behaves in case of problems etc.
On the plane, the flight attendand came to me right away and told me that the entertainment system in my seat was broken, but she could not reseat me. She was VERY frustrated. I told her is certainly wasn't her fault and she flat out asked me to write a letter to the management of US Airways. She said "they don't listen to us or care at all, but if they get enought letters from customers, maybe they will change something".
The one thing that bothered me was the fact that the seat belt for the flight attendant was broken. She was sitting in her seat next to the fron exit without seat belt during takeoff. The belt was stuck and did not retract.
At least, no more US Air flights for me in the near future, only LH, ANA, and United.
Was a rather funny and at the same time another sad experience.
Never been on an older/filthier airplane, but thats not really new.
Check in in Munich was funny, the LH agent chatted with me and said (among other things) that if US Air belives they belong to the Star Alliance, they should at least make some improvement to meet at least minimum standards. I said "US Air is just special" - she smiled and said "yes, very special"... not further words needed.
She also called US Airways a "third world airline" and told me she also worked the United check in and that there was no comparison is the way the airline behaves in case of problems etc.On the plane, the flight attendand came to me right away and told me that the entertainment system in my seat was broken, but she could not reseat me. She was VERY frustrated. I told her is certainly wasn't her fault and she flat out asked me to write a letter to the management of US Airways. She said "they don't listen to us or care at all, but if they get enought letters from customers, maybe they will change something".
The one thing that bothered me was the fact that the seat belt for the flight attendant was broken. She was sitting in her seat next to the fron exit without seat belt during takeoff. The belt was stuck and did not retract.
At least, no more US Air flights for me in the near future, only LH, ANA, and United.
Last edited by drjochen; Jan 3, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Jan 3, 2008, 1:55 pm
#2
Join Date: Jan 2006
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And this is a DOT worthy complaint as well.
Jan 3, 2008, 3:16 pm
#3
Join Date: Oct 2001
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Jan 3, 2008, 4:12 pm
#4
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Travel Safety/Security & Texas, FlyerTalk Evangelist
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I did PHL-MUC (twice), MUC-PHL, and FRA-PHL all in early Dec. I had purchased rock-bottom coach fares, and based on what I had read here, I expected the TA flights to be nothing short of being left on the I-10 near Casa Grande on an August afternoon.
While the experiences certainly weren't the very best airline experiences I've ever had, none were the worst either. I got where I wanted to go, in a reasonable time (2 legs very early, 1 on-time, 1 2 hrs late). My very first flight back in 1988 was an Eastern Airlines 727, then a DC9, I think both older than any of these planes. After flying NW for years on some very old DC9's and DC10's, I'm confident that none of these US planes were the oldest I had ever been on (not including any military aircraft).
Personally, I thought the B767 was better than the A330, coach experiences at least....the seats seemed slightly more roomy on the 767, probably due to the lack of the IFE box and controller in the seat. I have my own iPod (and borrowed one from a friend), magazines, books, etc, so the whole IFE experience isn't as important to me.
When I checked in for the MUC-PHL leg, the LH agent was very professional, apologized that the incoming flight from PHL would be 2 hours late, and invited me to go to the LH Senator's lounge. She even called to find out the hours of the Christmas Market just outside the airport. My connections from PHL (this was a mileage run after all), had already been adjusted to the later PHL-LAS-PHX flights (all in F). After getting on the plane, I was invited up to Envoy. As for the Envoy experience, I thought it was fantastic. Pre-departure champagne/sparkling (not sure), warm towel, bowl of warm nuts, salad, choice of like 3 entrees, desert, free-flowing drinks, snacks, etc. The pre-landing snack was a panini sandwich, which was very unexpectedly good. My only regret was I didn't know I'd be up front, and ate accordingly in the LH lounge, so I wasn't really hungry for all this food. The seat was very comfortable, large pillows (larger than coach at least), a real blanket, and a working IFE unit all added to the experience. I did pull out my iPod for some music as I snoozed a bit. Certainly better than my biz class experiences on NW....
The FA's on all segments were mostly professional....I did find 1 on the FRA-PHL leg who started to rant, but I somehow managed to change the subject (to movies or something). Heck, given the chance, when someone approaches me with shop talk, I may rant about my own company....none are 100% perfect, but most of us can make the most of the situation.
While the experiences certainly weren't the very best airline experiences I've ever had, none were the worst either. I got where I wanted to go, in a reasonable time (2 legs very early, 1 on-time, 1 2 hrs late). My very first flight back in 1988 was an Eastern Airlines 727, then a DC9, I think both older than any of these planes. After flying NW for years on some very old DC9's and DC10's, I'm confident that none of these US planes were the oldest I had ever been on (not including any military aircraft).
Personally, I thought the B767 was better than the A330, coach experiences at least....the seats seemed slightly more roomy on the 767, probably due to the lack of the IFE box and controller in the seat. I have my own iPod (and borrowed one from a friend), magazines, books, etc, so the whole IFE experience isn't as important to me.
When I checked in for the MUC-PHL leg, the LH agent was very professional, apologized that the incoming flight from PHL would be 2 hours late, and invited me to go to the LH Senator's lounge. She even called to find out the hours of the Christmas Market just outside the airport. My connections from PHL (this was a mileage run after all), had already been adjusted to the later PHL-LAS-PHX flights (all in F). After getting on the plane, I was invited up to Envoy. As for the Envoy experience, I thought it was fantastic. Pre-departure champagne/sparkling (not sure), warm towel, bowl of warm nuts, salad, choice of like 3 entrees, desert, free-flowing drinks, snacks, etc. The pre-landing snack was a panini sandwich, which was very unexpectedly good. My only regret was I didn't know I'd be up front, and ate accordingly in the LH lounge, so I wasn't really hungry for all this food. The seat was very comfortable, large pillows (larger than coach at least), a real blanket, and a working IFE unit all added to the experience. I did pull out my iPod for some music as I snoozed a bit. Certainly better than my biz class experiences on NW....
The FA's on all segments were mostly professional....I did find 1 on the FRA-PHL leg who started to rant, but I somehow managed to change the subject (to movies or something). Heck, given the chance, when someone approaches me with shop talk, I may rant about my own company....none are 100% perfect, but most of us can make the most of the situation.
Jan 4, 2008, 6:22 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: CAE
Posts: 212
I did PHL-MUC (twice), MUC-PHL, and FRA-PHL all in early Dec. I had purchased rock-bottom coach fares, and based on what I had read here, I expected the TA flights to be nothing short of being left on the I-10 near Casa Grande on an August afternoon.
While the experiences certainly weren't the very best airline experiences I've ever had, none were the worst either. I got where I wanted to go, in a reasonable time (2 legs very early, 1 on-time, 1 2 hrs late). My very first flight back in 1988 was an Eastern Airlines 727, then a DC9, I think both older than any of these planes. After flying NW for years on some very old DC9's and DC10's, I'm confident that none of these US planes were the oldest I had ever been on (not including any military aircraft).
Personally, I thought the B767 was better than the A330, coach experiences at least....the seats seemed slightly more roomy on the 767, probably due to the lack of the IFE box and controller in the seat. I have my own iPod (and borrowed one from a friend), magazines, books, etc, so the whole IFE experience isn't as important to me.
When I checked in for the MUC-PHL leg, the LH agent was very professional, apologized that the incoming flight from PHL would be 2 hours late, and invited me to go to the LH Senator's lounge. She even called to find out the hours of the Christmas Market just outside the airport. My connections from PHL (this was a mileage run after all), had already been adjusted to the later PHL-LAS-PHX flights (all in F). After getting on the plane, I was invited up to Envoy. As for the Envoy experience, I thought it was fantastic. Pre-departure champagne/sparkling (not sure), warm towel, bowl of warm nuts, salad, choice of like 3 entrees, desert, free-flowing drinks, snacks, etc. The pre-landing snack was a panini sandwich, which was very unexpectedly good. My only regret was I didn't know I'd be up front, and ate accordingly in the LH lounge, so I wasn't really hungry for all this food. The seat was very comfortable, large pillows (larger than coach at least), a real blanket, and a working IFE unit all added to the experience. I did pull out my iPod for some music as I snoozed a bit. Certainly better than my biz class experiences on NW....
The FA's on all segments were mostly professional....I did find 1 on the FRA-PHL leg who started to rant, but I somehow managed to change the subject (to movies or something). Heck, given the chance, when someone approaches me with shop talk, I may rant about my own company....none are 100% perfect, but most of us can make the most of the situation.
While the experiences certainly weren't the very best airline experiences I've ever had, none were the worst either. I got where I wanted to go, in a reasonable time (2 legs very early, 1 on-time, 1 2 hrs late). My very first flight back in 1988 was an Eastern Airlines 727, then a DC9, I think both older than any of these planes. After flying NW for years on some very old DC9's and DC10's, I'm confident that none of these US planes were the oldest I had ever been on (not including any military aircraft).
Personally, I thought the B767 was better than the A330, coach experiences at least....the seats seemed slightly more roomy on the 767, probably due to the lack of the IFE box and controller in the seat. I have my own iPod (and borrowed one from a friend), magazines, books, etc, so the whole IFE experience isn't as important to me.
When I checked in for the MUC-PHL leg, the LH agent was very professional, apologized that the incoming flight from PHL would be 2 hours late, and invited me to go to the LH Senator's lounge. She even called to find out the hours of the Christmas Market just outside the airport. My connections from PHL (this was a mileage run after all), had already been adjusted to the later PHL-LAS-PHX flights (all in F). After getting on the plane, I was invited up to Envoy. As for the Envoy experience, I thought it was fantastic. Pre-departure champagne/sparkling (not sure), warm towel, bowl of warm nuts, salad, choice of like 3 entrees, desert, free-flowing drinks, snacks, etc. The pre-landing snack was a panini sandwich, which was very unexpectedly good. My only regret was I didn't know I'd be up front, and ate accordingly in the LH lounge, so I wasn't really hungry for all this food. The seat was very comfortable, large pillows (larger than coach at least), a real blanket, and a working IFE unit all added to the experience. I did pull out my iPod for some music as I snoozed a bit. Certainly better than my biz class experiences on NW....
The FA's on all segments were mostly professional....I did find 1 on the FRA-PHL leg who started to rant, but I somehow managed to change the subject (to movies or something). Heck, given the chance, when someone approaches me with shop talk, I may rant about my own company....none are 100% perfect, but most of us can make the most of the situation.
I guess you were lucky to have a workng in seat entertainment system. I did 6 flights in Envoy to MUC/FRA in 2007. 4 times, something was broken (twice the monitor, 1 time the sound, one time the seat did not recline at all). That is my (incomplete) data set.
Jan 4, 2008, 7:03 am
#7
Join Date: May 2007
Location: PHL
Programs: US/*A, Marriott, ICH, Budget, Avis
Posts: 762
On another occasion I witnessed another pax with the same problem and he received very similar treatment.
Stuff happens; I, and I suspect many others, remember how issues are handled and resolved more so than the issue itself.
Jan 4, 2008, 7:12 am
#8
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Olympia, WA
Programs: US Gold
Posts: 22
i would agree that the US planes are not that old and are much newer than others.
i would also agree that they are by far the dirtiest, dated, and most neglected of the domestic carriers.
there was a reason NW was running older planes for longer. they took care of them!
There is only one reason why the aircraft are in the condition that they are in now, and that is US.
They have neglected them and it shows. They have done so for at least 2 years, and the quick buck they made a year ago, is having an impact now.
Plain and simple, "these planes are gross and sticky". (that is my 5 year old commenting on her ride up front)
should US just buy stock in Apple and issue ipods to all passengers? just forget about the IFE that they spent millions on to fail on a regular basis.
Can US just deliver what it sells? Really, just be honest with what you are selling. People cannot get pissed if you tell them you are selling them a POS, you just have to deliver that POS. It has not been a problem thus far on delivering poor service, just advertise it now and all will stop complaining
i would also agree that they are by far the dirtiest, dated, and most neglected of the domestic carriers.
there was a reason NW was running older planes for longer. they took care of them!
There is only one reason why the aircraft are in the condition that they are in now, and that is US.
They have neglected them and it shows. They have done so for at least 2 years, and the quick buck they made a year ago, is having an impact now.
Plain and simple, "these planes are gross and sticky". (that is my 5 year old commenting on her ride up front)
should US just buy stock in Apple and issue ipods to all passengers? just forget about the IFE that they spent millions on to fail on a regular basis.
Can US just deliver what it sells? Really, just be honest with what you are selling. People cannot get pissed if you tell them you are selling them a POS, you just have to deliver that POS. It has not been a problem thus far on delivering poor service, just advertise it now and all will stop complaining
Jan 4, 2008, 7:54 am
#9
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Stuck Between the Moon and CLD or SAN, Your local Taco Bell
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Jan 4, 2008, 8:24 am
#10
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: St. Croix, USVI
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Posts: 915
Jan 4, 2008, 8:43 am
#11
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Homebase: CAE - Formerly, YUL
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Posts: 2,187
So... If PHL/MUC and back (US 706/707) are so nasty, why on earth are nearly all the seats in Envoy sold (or at least, show as sold)?
Jan 11, US-706, 22/24 are sold
Jan 13, US-707, 23/24 are sold
Who the heck is buying all those envoy seats??!
JP
Jan 11, US-706, 22/24 are sold
Jan 13, US-707, 23/24 are sold
Who the heck is buying all those envoy seats??!
JP
Jan 4, 2008, 9:17 am
#12
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Stuck Between the Moon and CLD or SAN, Your local Taco Bell
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... and would be up to the FA to report. The OP likely does not have complete, first hand knowledge of the situation - or what the requirements were. For example, were there other seats available to the FA and they chose to sit in the broken one?
Jan 4, 2008, 9:23 am
#13
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Philly burbs
Programs: US,UA,AA,DL,hhonors
Posts: 2,966
should US just buy stock in Apple and issue ipods to all passengers? just forget about the IFE that they spent millions on to fail on a regular basis.
Can US just deliver what it sells? Really, just be honest with what you are selling. People cannot get pissed if you tell them you are selling them a POS, you just have to deliver that POS. It has not been a problem thus far on delivering poor service, just advertise it now and all will stop complaining
Can US just deliver what it sells? Really, just be honest with what you are selling. People cannot get pissed if you tell them you are selling them a POS, you just have to deliver that POS. It has not been a problem thus far on delivering poor service, just advertise it now and all will stop complaining
I do think that US does an incredibly good job of delivering a POS in terms of FC service ! It's dirty, it stinks, and its owner has wiped away its most redeeming qualities...
Jan 4, 2008, 9:26 am
#14
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: (near) Cambridge, MA
Programs: US GP (used to be *G, now,what)
Posts: 1,777
Jan 4, 2008, 9:28 am
#15
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: (near) Cambridge, MA
Programs: US GP (used to be *G, now,what)
Posts: 1,777
You might be on to something with your I-Pod idea. Although it is doubtful that Apple would want to co-brand with US...
I do think that US does an incredibly good job of delivering a POS in terms of FC service ! It's dirty, it stinks, and its owner has wiped away its most redeeming qualities...
I do think that US does an incredibly good job of delivering a POS in terms of FC service ! It's dirty, it stinks, and its owner has wiped away its most redeeming qualities...