Posts Tagged ‘PHX’

Double connections are getting harder to work with in terms of price, when it comes to US Airways domestic! This is not a complaint, nor a legit one, even if I tried, but it seems that when I force a double connect, US really bumps up the price. I mean really! I can’t do Chicago to San Diego via Vegas and Phoenix. I can’t do Seattle to Miami via Phoenix and Philadelphia. I can’t even do Boston to Ft. Myers via DC and Charlotte! It does change when I put in San Juan or international destinations- I can suddenly do up to 4 per direction keeping the same price!

Another exception is a flying from a “West” city to an “East” city. For example, a flight from Portland, Oregon (an America West only city) to Miami, FL (a US Airways only city). I have to route via both Phoenix and an eastern hub.

With the decent fares from Chicago to Ft. Myers, I’m looking at doing a leg from Ft. Myers out west-  maybe Denver or Salt Lake City? Definitely a ski destination so I can get 2,500 bonus miles and 5% off the fare to further maximise.

I’m planning to visit another friend in San Diego in November or December. I wonder how I can work a simple Chicago to San Diego trip to my advantage, or should I say to my DM account’s advantage. Hehe…

One final tidbit. I just realized the 757 I’m flying from Philly to Phoenix later this month actually an Envoy configuration! Must clear the upgrade on this one!

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

I was able to hold my US Airways flights for my trip to Phoenix & Los Angeles. Those are the “positioning” flights for my African journey in July! I’ve decided to stop in Phoenix for a few days to enjoy the 120+ F temps in Scottsdale. I have to say, the outbound is a little bland in terms of creativity.

I’m on the 5:15AM nonstop from Chicago to Phoenix. It’s a very convenient flight and gives you the whole day in Phoenix, but it’s just unbearable. I have to get to Prescott, AZ by 10AM as I have an appointment there, but I detest that morning flight! The good thing- upgrades, they’re so easy on that flight!

A few days in Phoenix, then on to L.A. Again, another boring nonstop flight. Still I shouldn’t complain- there’s always Southwest to complain about. I’m taking the nonstop flight, because it’s the responsible thing to do. I really can’t afford to miss my Frankfurt connection on Lufthansa.

Saving the best for last… Return is interesting. I was able to find a ‘U’ fare through a very odd connecting city on my way from L.A. back to Chicago- Raleigh-Durham! Can you believe it? I’m flying Los Angeles-Phoenix-Raleigh/Durham-Charlotte-Chicago! Triple connect! The first two return legs are West flights, followed by two mainline East flights. I haven’t been to the Raleigh airport yet, but fortunately I hear there is a nice club there. Better check it out now before US Airways switches terminals and and finds itself Clubless. My other option is to fly L.A-Phoenix-Washington-Philly to Chicago, but mixing DC and Philly in one day is too much to handle- especially on a Republic E-170 with summer weather delays.

I have to ticket this over the phone as I’m using an old US Airways Air Check Plus (E-TUV) voucher, but a recent US Airways memo now waives fees for all voucher related ticketing both over the phone and the ticket office locations. By ticket office I mean airport counters and the Company Store ticketing location at the US Airways Headquarters in Tempe, AZ.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

Off course you don’t find that out from the email that US Airways sends you. The email reads: “Tell US how we’re doing. We want to hear about your recent overnight flight. We know your time is valuable and we appreciate your feedback!”

I’m not sure if it’s targeted or not, but my recent overnight flight took place in late April from Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii to Phoenix. The survey really did take no more than five minutes of my time and it only focused on in-flight entertainment (IFE) during overnight flights. It asked me what things I do on board to make the time go by (read, sleep, listen to ipod- funny they didn’t mention take photos and chat with crew members). It then asked if I would enjoy IFE on all flights, later if I would pay $5 for IFE on all flights . Later, it asked me if I would do both on overnight flights specifically.

The final page offered me a text box to input comments. I shared with them how I would enjoy of real meal service on overnight transcon/Pacific flights.

I’m pretty sure this has to do with their ongoing seat back entertainment system trials. They’ve just completed the Lumexis trial and are in the midst of testing the LiveTV trial. Since those systems would be available anytime on any flight, they are trying to figure just how many people would watch them on overnight flights. It could also have something to do with the Pacific return flights which are all overnight flights and whether or o not people will pay for a movie on the ceiling TV display on the 757’s. Personally, I wouldn’t, but that’s just me.

Here’s some food for thought. Once installed on the entire fleet, would a Lumexis or LiveTV system be complimentary in First Class? I’m not 100% sure, but I think Delta comps it for First Class passengers. I know internet is for a fee regardless of whether you’re in First or on a premium ticket, so I’m sure US will follow that if & once they install internet capabilities on their planes.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

This was posted on FlyerTalk a few hours ago. A grad school student is conducting a survey for passengers who fly US Airways and/or Southwest been Southern California and Phoenix or Las Vegas. You can learn more about the survey here. Mr. Victor Farn’s contact information is also there.

There is a $100 gift certificate incentive, but I recommend helping the guy out anyway! Aside from your name and email address, no personal information is requested.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

If you remember posts from my blog from over a year ago regarding Hawaiian airlines, you’ll know that I was generally happy with them. Friendly service with smile? Check! Miles earned with US Airways Dividend Miles program? Check! No hassle baggage policies + interlining (passing of bags between carriers)? Check!

I don’t know if it is because Aloha Airlines no longer flies, or there is growing hostility toward Go! airline, but Hawaiian Airlines has taken a turn for the worse. And it has nothing to do with closed counters to which customers are still directed to, poor signage that to forces you to change lines three times or agents that won’t check you in, becuase you’re not flying First Class all the way.

When we were checking in with Hawaiian for the Honolulu to Chicago via Lihue, Phoenix and Philadelphia (HNL-LIH-PHX-PHL-ORD) portion of the trip, we were fully aware of baggage fees. It was explained to us from the beginning- since we were flying interisland on Hawaiian, we were only responsible for the 2nd bag fees.  Immediately after arriving, the “kind” lady barked at me saying I have to pay for each and every bag I am checking. “Doesn’t matter what reservations or US Airways told you, you have to pay for all the bags you check. I simply don’t care that it’s on US Airways stock or their rules. You’re on Hawaiian Airlines and we decided what we do with you!” Here’s the juicy part. A supervisor and a second agent sided with me. They told me I would only have to pay the bag fee for the second bag since I’m flying US Airways back to the mainland. A few minutes later as the supervisor’s shift ended (or maybe he just took a break), the original agent told me I would still have to pay up since she couldn’t get in touch with the supervisor and that the supervisor didn’t go into the record. She also told me the second agent that sided with me was not a supervisor and she couldn’t listen to him. Funny she said so. Isn’t she just a regular agent? So why can she make rules, but the, the second agent can’t? I keep telling her I want to talk to the supervisor in front of her. She says he’s gone, puts her hand in the air covering the area face and direct vision at her and storms of for five minutes.

After about five minutes, she returns in a slightly better mood and says she has a special deal for me. I thought, what, a bribe? She says she’ll only charge for the second bag as the rules state, but she will only tag it to Lihue where I have to leave security during my connection, pick up all bags and re-check with US Airways. Ha! This is after I told her that my Mom lost her only photo ID and that she would need about 30-40 minutes of additional screening time. In the end we had to pay the $55 dollars since there’s no arguing with a lady which probably finished drinking some acid. She was pure spite! Of course, while gathering information about the supervisor, second agent and her, all I got was first name. No last name or initial or badge number. Agent should have been fired on the spot.

Erase the friendly service with a smile and the no hassle baggage policies on the spot. Also erase the automatic miles postings. I had to contact a USAirways.com live chat agent in order to get the miles posted. I am going to write a complaint letter to Hawaiian Airlines, but I’m also going to try and question the charges with the credit card since techinically “I was charged for a service I did not use/request”. We’ll see where that takes me.

There is good news however which is what the second half of this post is dedicated to. While “arguing” with the agent, I noticed a new airline  nearby with a small counter- Mokulele Airlines. I did some research after I returned from my trip and I’m thinking if they do well, they could be the next Aloha Airlines. Mokulele Airlines has their own website. I also emailed them with a few questions and here’s what I can tell you so far without flying with them.

• First Class- 2 bags free of charge on each flight, Coach Class- first bag free on all fares, second bag $17
• Fleet of 3 Embraer 170’s and Cessna Grand Caravans 208 B’s
• Complimentary juice/water in coach, alcohol/soft drinks/juice/water in First Class
• Working on a in-flight snack program for sale
• Operate two lounges (one in Honolulu, the other in Kona)- annual membership costs $79.95 + tax
• Each flight will earn you 500 Alaska Airlines miles
• No additional charges for passing bags two two interline carriers, Alaska Airlines and Continental Airlines (more to be added in the future)

What’s neat is that with only three EMB-170’s they still offer a generous amount of flights between the different islands. The Cessna’s add to the experience by offering service to smaller destination, and for aviation enthusiasts, a nice “ride”.

I am seriously considering switching to Mokulele Airlines for all my future inter-island travel. I’ll likely miss out on my 500 miles, but I’ll be able to see which “pineapple” tastes better! Cause we’re not comparing apples to oranges here.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

I’ve also found the new Hawaiian themed meals to be a much needed upgrade from the previous flights. Kudos to US Airways for this change!

Finally, KOA has no gates, which is what I love! I just love air stairs!

Kinglobjaw says Aloha from Kona, Hawaii!

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

Just got in to PHX on US180 from ORD. Aside from breakfast, I slept through most of the flight. To follow my weight loss ”regime” I took the fruit plate instead of the tasty, yet guilt tripping omelette. Glad I did.

Anyway, my Kona flight leaves from A13, so I’m staying in the lower A concourse US Club, which is the club with that horrible storm damage that took place here in August 2008.

The furniture here looks very nice and modern, but it did get crowded around 7AM. Now, it’s empty as majority of the folks left to SNA- Orange County, CA. Just looked up the flight, it’s US652, a 757 as usual!

More to come later, so stay tuned!

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

Just got off the phone with an US Airways Club agent to renew my annual membership. Since I wasn’t flying in March or early April of this year, I waited until today to renew. My membership is now valid through April 16, 2010. Same price as last year, $315 + no tax for basic Club membership. Was a pretty long hold until I got an agent (usually they pick up right away- very convenient 1-800-828-8522 with no menu tree, an agent picks up), so maybe a flurry of new members with the two added renewal promotions (either 2 months extra for free or 1,500 preferred qualifying miles, I chose the latter). Both promotions expire July 1, 2009. RNW15 is the code you use for 1,500 preferred qualifying miles which I blogged about a few weeks ago.

As usual, I asked them to email me a receipt and a printout of my membership just incase they want to card me (by card I mean, Club card, not driver’s license/ID). That actually happened to me once in a US Airways Club in PHX. Luckily I had the printout. Was promised card would arrive within 3-4 weeks.

While I connect in PHX next week, I will try out the re-opened lower ‘A’ gates Club (above A7/A9) which was severly damaged during a thunderstorm back in August 2008. Apparently they have brand new furniture in the Club. Anyway, here’s evidence of the damage. When I spoke to the Club agent a few days after the incident, I was told someone could have been seriously injured. Apparently, just seconds before the impact, a snob had to be repeatedly told to move to a different seating area away from the windows. After multiple pleadings, the agent yelled “Move away from the windows, NOW!” to which the passenger finally obliged. Literally seconds later, a big blow came in from outside and the result was this:

Something's Coming! US Airways A7/A9 Club in PHX damaged after August 2008 thunderstorm

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

I’ve had the hardest time buying tickets for my upcoming trip. You see, I am going to Hawaii in April and I need to fly into HNL. My plan was to purchase a revenue coach ticket on US Airways and upgrade using my Dividend Miles as it’s just 17,500 miles each way. The good thing about the mileage upgrade is that it clears you into First at the time of ticketing, and more importantly from the city of origin, which in my case would be Chicago- ORD.

US Airways Hawaii flights are all operated by America West B757’s which offer 14 First Class seats. I say not bad, given that the East B757’s have only 8 in First or 12 Envoy if configured with Envoy!

I planned a simple ORD-PHX-HNL-PHX-ORD, but as you know with my trips, the way they are booked resembles nothing how they were planned. PHX-HNL has two flights a day per direction on US and there were absolutely no upgrade seats. None! I’m not flexible at all, so I politely declined the agent’s offer to look around.

Now the good part. US flies nonstop to four cities in Hawaii: HNL, Maui (OGG), Kona (KOA) & Lihue (LIH) are all daily from PHX. US Airways used to offer LAS (Las Vegas)-OGG, but let’s not get into that. It’s just no longer there and what a shame!  Anyway, PHX-HNL/OGG are both double daily. In fact, last year, when I needed three upgrade seats to HNL and back I had to return from Maui, since HNL-PHX had none.

What I did differently this year. I looked at everything. When you’re desperate, you’re desperate. Or may I should call it creative?

The good thing about Hawaii is that the islands are relatively close to each other, and while competition is no longer the same without Aloha Airlines, inter-island fares are still pretty low if booked ahead of time. In addition, Hawaiian Airlines (HA) codeshares with almost every USA based airline and quite a few international ones too. They have baggage and ticketing agreements, and most importantly during these times of a-la carte pricing, they do not charge for the first bag you check. After all, if they did, tourists would not hop around the islands, HA would loose customers and islands would loose potential tourists and the revenue they could scrape off of them. In return, the Hawaiian Islands would be pretty upset with HA.

Another idea to digest is that US Airways (and I’m sure many other carriers) will allow HA segments at no extra charge (aside from a few $ in taxes). I mean, if the ORD-HNL fare basis is, say $505 round trip, in most cases US Airways will let you route it via multiple stops, meaning you don’t have to fly ORD-PHX-HNL, you can fly ORD-PHX-OGG-HNL using US up to OGG and then HA on OGG-HNL. It depends on the fare rules, but sometimes you can do 3 or 4 stops, meaning ORD-PHX-OGG-KOA-HNL and the base fare is still $505. Remember, all you end up paying extra is a few more dollars in airport and other taxes.

On my dates, only PHX-KOA had upgrade availability, so my outbound was ORD-PHX-KOA-HNL. Of course, as with all mileage upgrades, they only upgrade you on your frequent flyer carrier, so in my case US Airways. Still, I don’t mind a short KOA-HNL where, as a preferred, I still earn 500 miles and another 500 miles bonus for being a Chairman’s Preferred. Return wise, HNL-PHX was also not avalable for upgrades. Only OGG-PHX and LIH-PHX were available for that evening. The LIH schedule fit me better so I routed myself HNL-LIH on HA, and then US from LIH-PHX-PHL-ORD. Why not nonstop from PHX-ORD? Not available, but PHX-PHL-ORD was and the fare only went up by a few dollars, again due to taxes.

In conclusion, I booked ORD-PHX-KOA-HNL-LIH-PHX-PHL-ORD while confirming everything in First instantly (except KOA-HNL and HNL-LIH since it’s operated by HA). What is good is that I paid only $31 dollars more in taxes than I would have paid for ORD-PHX-HNL-PHX-ORD and would have to ride in coach. Plus, think of all the miles I will earn! I told you, the way I plan flights is never similar to how I book them.

Makes me think of last year’s ORD-LAS-SEA-LAS-PHX-HNL-OGG-PHX-SEA-PHL-ORD method of getting to Hawaii.

Now for some thoughts about using miles to Hawaii:

• Just like with the upgrades, think about flying into one of the other islands. You may not be able to have HA on your ticket as an award, but purchasing a seperate coach ticket between the islands shouldn’t cost more than $39+ tax one-way if planned in advanced. Check Hawaiianairlines.com for that! Whatever you do, don’t fly Go!
• If using miles and wanting to fly United, think about United’s flights from DEN, LAX, and SFO which are high in frequency. ORD-HNL will be hard to get.
• Soon you will be able to use miles on Continental Airlines as they will join Star Alliance.
• Not many people know this, but USA based members can use their miles on Air Canada. Air Canada flies daily to HNL, OGG, KOA nonstop from Vancouver, Canada (YVR). They use larger B767/A333 aircraft where coach is easier to book, yet business class more difficult. Air Canada’s B767’s and A333’s now feature fully flat business class seats, so they’re considered “hot”!
• Two other Star Alliance carriers server Hawaii. Air New Zealand flies a B767 three times per week from Auckland, NZ (AKL), while ANA flies a B767 daily from Tokyo-NRT. If ever in that region or you want to stop in Hawaii and fly onward, you can use them. Both offer coach and business class on those specific flights.

Have a nice clicK life, Aloha,

-Mark

Take a look at select seasonal transcon services from PHL, CLT that were added in the last two years. Find out what will operate this summer.

Aside from PHX, LAS, SAN, LAX, SFO, SEA, DEN nonstop from both PHL and CLT, here is some information regarding the seasonal transcon flights.

From PHL

PHL-SMF (Sacramento, CA)- From May 10, 2009- August 17, 2009

US375 PHL (5:55PM)  - SMF (8:56PM)
US376 SMF (8:30AM)  - PHL (4:31PM)

PHL-PDX (Portland, OR)- From May 10, 2009- August 17, 2009

*Only 1 daily service per direction- Summer 2008 saw 2 daily per direction*

US927  PHL (5:55PM) - PDX (9:02PM)
US1180 PDX (8:45AM) - PHL (4:51PM)

PHL-YVR (Vancouver, Canada)- Does not operate. Connections available via PHX, LAS

From CLT

CLT-SMF- From June 2, 2009- August 17, 2009

US927 CLT (8:20PM)  - SMF (10:40PM)
US377 SMF (10:30PM) - CLT (6:10AM +1)

CLT-PDX- From June 2, 2009- August 17, 2009

US977  CLT (6:10PM)  - PDX (8:33PM)
US1180 PDX (10:30PM) - CLT (6:21AM+1)

CLT-TUS (Tuscon, AZ)- Does not operate. Connections available via PHX

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark