Ken

I Have never had the opportunity to use America West. Anyone out there have an opinion on this airline? Flying them from LAX to Chicago by way of Las Vegas. Appreciate your input.

cp

Ken-
They are about the same as any other airline. With Hubs in LV and Phoenix, they serve much of the West/Southwest.

I liked them MUCH MUCH better before they partnered with Continental. They used to be strictly coach in an unstiuffy kind of way. However, since Continental has 1st class passengers, AW has to have them too. Their standards have fallen greatly since then. Uncaring flight attendants and gate employees, and a compromised ontime record are my chief complaints.

Bob Brown

I flew from Atlanta to Salt Lake City via Phoenix with America West in April.
I had no complaints about the flight out. Coming back the SLC to Phoenix flight was late, so we had to take Delta from Phoenix to Atlanta. Seating on Delta was, if anything tighter, than on America West.
I frankly cannot tell much difference among domestic airlines. All put you in cattle car tightness.

Judy

I like America West for their affordability. Prices are competitive with Southwest and other "budget" airlines but AW has assigned seating if you book early enough. Although I had an inconvenient experience with my baggage a couple of weeks ago, it missed our connecting flight in PHX, hmmm I wonder how that happened , the AW rep in my hometown went the extra step to call when the baggage finally came in several hours later. And yet another AW rep called to follow up a few days later to make sure I received the baggage in good condition and to apologize for the mishap. Very rare to see this type of customer concern, and good customer service gets my vote.

Diane

About a year ago I was on a flight through Phoenix that was cancelled, but they made wonderful accomodations to make sure I got from Baltimore to Seattle -- just a half day late. In Baltimore it was the Continental ground crew who took care of us. They put me on Eastern flights (where I actually got miles) and flew me home 1st class on Air West. Having recently had a less than pleasant experience with Northwest, I appreciate even more how well they handled the situation (even though someone in line mentioned to me that the flight from BWI to Phoenix at that time of morning always was delayed or cancelled.)

April

I always look forward to an America West flight since I've never had a bad experience with them. The only complaint I have, if you can call it that, is with those crummy bagged lunches. And there was one incident I witnessed where a woman had to wait and wait and wait for someone to bring a wheelchair to take her off the plane. She probably wasn't too thrilled about their service.

Flying over the Grand Canyon, the pilot was most accommodating in that he tilted the plane from side to side so everyone could get a good view.

April

(My first message got lost so I'll try this again.)
I always look forward to an America West flight since I've never had a bad experience with them. The only complaint I have, if you can call it that, is the crummy bagged lunch. And one time I witnessed a woman who had to wait and wait and wait for a wheelchair to appear to get her off the plane.

Flying over the Grand Canyon the pilot was most accommodating in tilting the plane from side to side to give everyone a good view.

Gina

Well, unfortunately, I have a horror story about America West that happened to my father in law. His destination was Kansas City, and at his departure airport (LAX) the plane was an hour and a half late, he was bumped and given no compensation, just told to wait for another flight. (He is 60 yrs old and a stroke victim, yes I know he has no business traveling by himself, but you cannot tell that to him!) So an hour from that point the plane comes, they have to make a layover in Vegas, and he has now missed his connecting flight. He was given some food coupons to use at the airport, and they did not get him on another plane. So they gave him a taxi and hotel voucher to stay the night. Well, upon arrival at the hotel, he is told they are full, and they have no rooms. He pays for his own transportation back to the airport, by this time it is about 12 midnight. The counters are closed, but he runs into some AW employees, the same ones who gave him the voucher, explains the situation, and is told there is nothing they can do. He is forced to spend the night in the airport, and misses the family reunion that he had originally been traveling for by arriving at 6:00 at night. Again, he was given NO compensation at any time for the triple incovenience. We wrote to AW after this horrific experience, and they gave him a voucher worth the original price of his trip. NOT anything for being bumped, and nothing for having him spend the night in the airport (it was a Sat. night, and Vegas was full, he tried to get another room, then gave up after about 45 min. He was very tired, and probably disoriented due to the stress of the situation) I would never recommend AW after the callous, and most likely illegal, treatment of my father in law. Airlines are supposed to compensate you immediately when things like that happen.

Suzy

In general, AW is just as good as any other airline. I happen to fly them very frequently, since one of their hubs is here in Columbus, OH. I usually use them to go to Newark, and have had my flights cancelled several times. The cancellation thing happens so frequently, that I usually call the day of my flight expecting it to be cancelled! My advice would be to make sure your flight is on time (or still scheduled). They do not usually give a reason for the cancellation, but my bet is that the flight is empty, and would save more $$ by not running it.

When they do cancel a flight, they are not obligated to give any compensation (like a hotel stay or transportation). We usually write AW a letter to complain, and we get a $200 certificate to use on another flight.

I wish I had another choice to fly non-stop into Newark, then I would not take this totally unpredictable airline.

Good luck!