How is US Airways?

Old Aug 18th, 2001, 09:40 AM
  #1  
kk
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
How is US Airways?

On orbitz.com the cheapest fare for travel from Houston to Frankfurt for Christmas is US Airways at around $550. I am a little leary of them, but should I be? I will be traveling with my 83 year old mother and need some assurance that the airline will take good care of us and her. Usually I fly Continental but its flights right now are listed at $900. Northwest flight prices are around $600 which is acceptable, but I prefer not to fly through Detroit in December and risk bad winter weather conditions. I would appreciate your thoughts. Fortunately, I don't have to book yet, so maybe Continental's prices will come down in the next month or so but then again, who knows.
 
Old Aug 19th, 2001, 06:42 AM
  #2  
Alice
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
US Air is in the same league as Continental or Delta - they provide the same service, same planes, and same level of good/bad (ie. delays) as any other major airline. Used them to fly to Paris several times - they typically have the best/lowest prices for US-Europe, espec. off-season. Someone else posted a similar question - search for "US Airways" to find it for more responses... Enjoy your trip...
 
Old Aug 19th, 2001, 07:44 AM
  #3  
Jill
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Yes, but ...

How much trouble is USAirways in and how likely is it that there will be a sudden curtailing of service, like Midway's?
 
Old Aug 19th, 2001, 07:52 AM
  #4  
mikey
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Jill,
USAIR will be around for awhile. I believe they overplayed their financial troubles in the hope that the deal with United would go through so their management could get big bonus. Know that they're concentrating on running the airline again they will do better.
 
Old Aug 19th, 2001, 10:10 AM
  #5  
Phylllis Stein
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Hiya kk,

I'm putting some faith in USAirways -- I bought two tickets to Paris for Nov-Dec last night. They have a great deal out of Charlotte ($350 for open-jaw tickets), and I couldn't resist.

I flew USAirway to Rome in 1998, and had two flights that were as enjoyable as can be expected from coach. Now that I think of it, I was impressed enough with the service to write a letter of praise for the return journey, as a matter of fact. So I have no qualms in terms of my expectations about the flights temselves. I'm sure quality-wise, I'll be satisfied.

That's all assuming we actually take off of course....I've been following the merger-reorganization stories via the Washington Post website, and I'm hopeful that the airline will still be up and running at the end of the year. Think how long it took TWA to fold in the end.

One thing I do semi-fear is some sort of labor action, based on the concessions USAirways may ask of their unionized workers. The unions say they gave a lot about 5 years ago, for nothing it now seems, and they appear to feel threatened by the plans announced by the airline in a recent presentation to stock analysts. But no plans have been put into practice yet, and it PROBABLY takes unions a while to agree on an action, and the federal gov't would PROBABLY call for the usual cooling-off period...so I went ahead and bought the tickets.

I'll keep reading the papers, and keep my fingers crossed, and hope no one on this board will rejoice at my folly if I am proven wrong.

Sorry to be so long-winded. I hope all this will help you with your decision.
 
Old Aug 19th, 2001, 11:32 AM
  #6  
jw
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
I've flown USAirways from Phila to London the last three summers. Service is great, with free drinks and movies. If you fly on an airbus, each seat has an individual screen and you control your own entertainment. But, leg space is somewhat smaller.
 
Old Aug 19th, 2001, 01:19 PM
  #7  
Calle
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
The next deadline for job action is Sept. 16, when flight attendants may strike USAir Express.
 
Old Aug 19th, 2001, 02:13 PM
  #8  
angel
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Flying Northwest or KLM (with a NWA flight number codeshare) will earn you mileage credits (and domestic leg upgrades if you're a CO Elite)on Continental.
Should be considered versus a small difference in ticket prices between US Air & Northwest, in my opinion.
 
Old Aug 19th, 2001, 02:21 PM
  #9  
claire
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
I flew USAirways roundtrip to London this summer (July & Aug.. Service was fine. We were on the airbus, where as already noted the leg room is not generous, to say the least! If the flight is not full (as it wasn't going to London), you can spread out. I slept on three seats in the middle of the plane (a four seat row). Food is typical plane fare. That is not meant to be a compliment! But, the plane was clean, the service good, the seatback TV screens & headphones worked, the price was right. No complaints.
 
Old Aug 19th, 2001, 02:36 PM
  #10  
BOB THE NAVIGATOR
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
KK, They are fine. I have flown them at least 5 times to Europe. Frankly, all of them are bad or good depending on the day, the weather, the crew etc.
Grit your teeth and endure.
 
Old Aug 20th, 2001, 04:18 AM
  #11  
hans
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Flew USairways to Paris in April 2000. No complaints and the price was right. I hope they survive to provide pressure to keep ticket prices down. the captain on our flight landed the plane in Paris excellently despite the most blustery conditions I have ever encountered during non-stormy weather.
 
Old Aug 20th, 2001, 07:59 AM
  #12  
kk
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
All of your comments have been possible, many thanks.
Believe me, I'd rather get FF points if I could, but for NW I have to fly up north at a dicey time of the year, weatherwise, and for Continental, the flights are at least $150 more each...right now I've found Lufthansa on a direct flight (easy for my 83 year old mother) at $560, which is looking pretty darned good.
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -