A challenge for you and USAir
Feb 19th, 2004, 09:09 AM
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A challenge for you and USAir
I challenge anyone to go to the US Air website and find a way to actually contact them by email with a question or comment -- either a link or an actual email address.
I was trying to solve the following problem: I cannot seem to find a way to discover what specific seats are available to be reserved, until after a ticket has actually been purchased. They used to have a "view seats" option before you purchased, but at least on the June itinerary I was interested in, couldn't find it. Just that big red "purchase ticket" button to push and no seating chart.
And no, just knowing "class availability", i.e., the number of availabe seats per class -- doesn't do it -- need to know before I buy that I can at least try to reserve a particular seat.
Wondering if this is a function of me being fuzzy-brained this morning, or of USAir's new relationship with United (couldn't get the seating chart by going to UAL, either, despite codeshare), or of USAir's generally precarious situation.
I was trying to solve the following problem: I cannot seem to find a way to discover what specific seats are available to be reserved, until after a ticket has actually been purchased. They used to have a "view seats" option before you purchased, but at least on the June itinerary I was interested in, couldn't find it. Just that big red "purchase ticket" button to push and no seating chart.
And no, just knowing "class availability", i.e., the number of availabe seats per class -- doesn't do it -- need to know before I buy that I can at least try to reserve a particular seat.
Wondering if this is a function of me being fuzzy-brained this morning, or of USAir's new relationship with United (couldn't get the seating chart by going to UAL, either, despite codeshare), or of USAir's generally precarious situation.
Feb 19th, 2004, 09:39 AM
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soccr.....here's as far as I got and since I dont need to send them an email, I stopped...
http://www.usairways.com/customers/contact/
Howver, I think you might be spinning your wheels.Why not call them?I know, eternal hold.Now, in a bit I can link directly into my TA's computer and I'll be happy to look at the flight date and where you are going and get back to you if your particular looks to be available....S
http://www.usairways.com/customers/contact/
Howver, I think you might be spinning your wheels.Why not call them?I know, eternal hold.Now, in a bit I can link directly into my TA's computer and I'll be happy to look at the flight date and where you are going and get back to you if your particular looks to be available....S
Feb 19th, 2004, 01:36 PM
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soccr, try this tool:
http://www.flyaow.com/classamex.htm
You can go all the way through the process, including view the available seat selection, without purchasing. (I just tried it with a U.S. Air itinerary to test it.)
http://www.flyaow.com/classamex.htm
You can go all the way through the process, including view the available seat selection, without purchasing. (I just tried it with a U.S. Air itinerary to test it.)
Feb 19th, 2004, 03:22 PM
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Well, BeachBoi, you got further on the website than I did. Thanks. I'll be writing to tell them I'm going with Delta because it's so incredibly easy to see what seats are available from the get-go. But thanks for the offer re: TA's computer! Very much.
Flyboy, I'm danged if I can get that website to pull up the specific USAir itinerary I was after, which involves a connection through Charlotte (going RDU-LAX). In fact, no matter how many variables I toggle (re: choice of airline, time of flights, etc.), they keep throwing the same Delta, Northwest, etc. flights at me, with connections in all kinds of other cities I don't want to go through. Just for kicks, I went ahead and accepted a connection through PHL, filled in the blanks, got error message telling me they couldn't quote a price, please select another flight.... Arghhh.
As a side note, I've found it increasingly the case that if I use one of the AmEx or Sabre tools, it can't pull up the seating charts for flights shared by USAir and UAL.
Since I'm sick to death of DFW, I didn't want to fly AA this time, so Delta it is.
Flyboy, I'm danged if I can get that website to pull up the specific USAir itinerary I was after, which involves a connection through Charlotte (going RDU-LAX). In fact, no matter how many variables I toggle (re: choice of airline, time of flights, etc.), they keep throwing the same Delta, Northwest, etc. flights at me, with connections in all kinds of other cities I don't want to go through. Just for kicks, I went ahead and accepted a connection through PHL, filled in the blanks, got error message telling me they couldn't quote a price, please select another flight.... Arghhh.
As a side note, I've found it increasingly the case that if I use one of the AmEx or Sabre tools, it can't pull up the seating charts for flights shared by USAir and UAL.
Since I'm sick to death of DFW, I didn't want to fly AA this time, so Delta it is.
Feb 19th, 2004, 07:51 PM
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Try entering single legs of your trip according to the same times and carrier choice as the connecting itinerary that you are trying to examine and you may have better luck coming up with the info that you want. (I find the tool to be pretty reliable, but I don't use it for U.S. Air.)
Feb 20th, 2004, 04:36 AM
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soccr...You are most welcome....my TA has Sabre (in dallas, go figure!!)..and I always have to remember that if I am booking a US/UA codeshare, the only way to get the live seat map is to go in and make the long entry going into the actual UA or US seating chart.Just an extra step...I am curious as to whether you email to USAir will get any attention.IMHO, that is exactly why they are in a nosedive..lack of attention to customer service.My TA had a problem with a corporate week b4 last..He booked a segment TPA PHL,got the usual ticket within 24 hour response.....went to ticket it the next day,boom the fare was gone.He called USAir and their response.."We don't do that", trying to get a waiver to issue the fare at $325 even tho they had taken it off the shelf...He booked on AirTrans instead...They just dont get it do they??
Feb 20th, 2004, 05:26 AM
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Flyboy, that does work sometimes, but I've noticed that it's substantially less successful for USAir/UA codeshares than otherwise. And it's so time-consuming that after a while, if I have reasonable alternatives on other airlines for the same money, it's not worth it.
BeachBoi, I did email them (although I'm still curious as to the chain of links you used to get to the link you gave me -- I started from home, "contact us," and kept ending up with their stock FAQ page, which is a dead-end), and got a response from "Cheryl" at USAir.
She explained I could see the seats once I entered my credit card number and if I didn't like them could "cancel" (at the last possible moment) the transaction. That is one step later than it used to be, which means you have to go rather far down your choosing-and-booking trail without knowing anything about seating.
And I've notice UA now matches that process -- won't give you a seating chart until you give them a credit card number. That's assuming they'll give you a seating chart at all -- half the time they say it's unavailable. What that may mean is that the flight is overbooked, but it seems also to mean sometimes that it's a shared UA/USAir flight that neither wants to give information about.
"Cheryl" also went through that yadda-yadda about being able to enter seat preferences in your personal profile, which is useless if you want anything more specific than a generic window or aisle, or if you are traveling with someone else.
Of course she did not respond to my comment that I preferred Delta's and American's provisions for seeing seats before chosing flights and was therefore inclined to fly with them.
I have very mixed feelings about USAir's problems. They serve a lot of cities that would be underserved otherwise, and if they tank, it's not likely that the airlines that take their place will provide the same depth of coverage to places like Pittsburg or Charlotte or Philadelphia. But as far back as I can remember, there has been a chronic, abiding problem with 'Tood! They seem to have personified the myth that if you run a shop that sells middle- or low-end merchandise for a narrow profit margin, surliness toward customers is justified.
Now they have so little money that I suspect "Cheryl" has a wind-up key in her back and she is also responsible for answering the phone and putting people into automatic-response-menu-hell.
That's my rant for today. Thanks again, BeachBoi.
BeachBoi, I did email them (although I'm still curious as to the chain of links you used to get to the link you gave me -- I started from home, "contact us," and kept ending up with their stock FAQ page, which is a dead-end), and got a response from "Cheryl" at USAir.
She explained I could see the seats once I entered my credit card number and if I didn't like them could "cancel" (at the last possible moment) the transaction. That is one step later than it used to be, which means you have to go rather far down your choosing-and-booking trail without knowing anything about seating.
And I've notice UA now matches that process -- won't give you a seating chart until you give them a credit card number. That's assuming they'll give you a seating chart at all -- half the time they say it's unavailable. What that may mean is that the flight is overbooked, but it seems also to mean sometimes that it's a shared UA/USAir flight that neither wants to give information about.
"Cheryl" also went through that yadda-yadda about being able to enter seat preferences in your personal profile, which is useless if you want anything more specific than a generic window or aisle, or if you are traveling with someone else.
Of course she did not respond to my comment that I preferred Delta's and American's provisions for seeing seats before chosing flights and was therefore inclined to fly with them.
I have very mixed feelings about USAir's problems. They serve a lot of cities that would be underserved otherwise, and if they tank, it's not likely that the airlines that take their place will provide the same depth of coverage to places like Pittsburg or Charlotte or Philadelphia. But as far back as I can remember, there has been a chronic, abiding problem with 'Tood! They seem to have personified the myth that if you run a shop that sells middle- or low-end merchandise for a narrow profit margin, surliness toward customers is justified.
Now they have so little money that I suspect "Cheryl" has a wind-up key in her back and she is also responsible for answering the phone and putting people into automatic-response-menu-hell.
That's my rant for today. Thanks again, BeachBoi.
