Kinglobjaw's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘us airways’

Is Delta:

a) D+?  b) Disgusting? c) Delayed? d) Dumpy? e) ALL OF THE ABOVE?

How about F- All of the above and more?

This past weekend I was practically forced to fly Delta Airlines. It’s a city that only offers Delta service. I won’t complain, I was able to book the ticket just 8 hours prior to the actual flight. Throughout my travel “career”, I have never bought a ticket this close to departure, so the experience was interesting, a little chaotic, but I was very enthusiastic. At the end of the day, flying is flying and techinally, I should tell myself that I am excited regardless of the airline, right? Wrong! I will keep reminding you readers, the airline is key to flying experince. Flying is more with a certain airline!

Friday morning started out with the usual. Go to the airport, print boarding passes at the kiosk and clear security. The Grand Forks airport is tiny, so it’s foolish to arrive more then 15 minutes prior to boarding if you are flying without bags. Interestingly enough, Delta offers Breezeway boarding, which is the equivalent of a United red boarding carpet for elite members. Not that many elites on the 5:10AM Pinnacle CRJ-200. A few minutes later, mechanical! Off the plane, rebook myself on Delta.com website since the Delta reservation number is temporarily disconnected. Next attempt at flying: a DC-9 to Minneapolis. Flight full, very full. Sold out full. Last row on the DC-9. I’ve never been on a DC-9, but I know Northwest has 3 versions- this was the 2 flight attedant version of the DC-9. Missed my connection to O’Hare. Minneapolis airport? Nice, very nice. Except- not a single  Delta Red Coat all the way from C to G. For those who ask what is Delta Red Coat? It’s one of Delta’s iniatives at better customer service. It’s a portable gate agent. He or she can rebook you, print boarding passes and vouchers. Still, as nice as it sounds, it’s absolutely irritating to walk throughout the aiport and not be able to find a single one.

 The only thing in red was a Delta Amex credit card hawker who told me Delta does not offer special services counters. I think to myself- “and people actually complain about US Airways in Philly”?! What I do like about Delta is their computer rebook system. You scan your boarding pass at this kiosk type device and it lists the flights you have been rebooked on. Of course, I managed to learn about one of these machines, because the gate agent would not assist me until he saw me play around with the machine for a “decent’ amount of time. Made it to Chicago about 5 hours late.

Return was interesting. Chicago to Minny was an A319. I got exit row and ”flew into” FlyerTalker td_in_training. He was one of the nicest FlyerTalkers I’ve met so far. Delta actually did good on this flight. Aside from it being over an hour late, coach cabin was provided a full beverage service and even tiny bags of peanuts. I do miss peanuts on US Airways flights. I had enought time to make the connection back to Grand Forks, ND, although G to C is a bit of a schlepp, but the people movers are a nice touch. The Grand Forks flight didn’t even beging boarding, so I was thrilled about the prospect of not missing class the next morning. Had myself an exit row on this CRJ-200. Only about 60% full. Quick taxi to de-icing pad and then something unexpected,  yet something probably expected from Delta. While rolling down the runway, at about 40-50 knots, the plane comes halting to a complete stop and exists the runway utilizing the closest taxiway. Apparently, a warning light lit up in the cockpit indicated a problem with the apu/engine generator. Taxi back to gate, but not let off the plane, the mechanics end up fixing the problem. A few more minutes of paperwork and we’re on our way. The flight attendant, Athena was excellent. While in the air, she provided a full service on this rather short flight and even comped alcoholic beverages. I just had water. No ice, no lime.

Overall, I found Delta very poor, and I’m excited to say I’m only stuck with them for a few more months. I’m in the process of matching my US status to Delta, which should make me Delta Gold Medallion, so we’ll see if my experiences improve for the few remaining months. Flight attendants are much, much better at US Airways. I cannot wait to fly with US Airways again next month. Only have to deal with Delta on Grand Forks to Denver via Minneapolis!

Three positives about the trip: 1) FlyerTalker 2) F/A Athena on Minny to Grand Forks 3) Delta’s rebooking machines are pretty cool

Proudly flying with US,

-Kinglobjaw

Here’s the US Airways Fax number I promised. 480-693-8024. The receiving end is located in Tempe, Arizona.

Proud to fly with US.

-Kinglobjaw

So my Mom’s miles didn’t post for a United flight she recently took. I haven’t had a mileage discrepancy for years- at least not regarding flight miles. South African Airways, Air New Zealand, Lufthansa flights posted very quickly. Whenever I have to “send” something in, I always use fax as a means of communications with US Airways. And since the merger, Winston Salem, NC is no longer the fax “center”, so it was about time to find out the new number anyway.

 I dial the Chairman’s number and press #3 so I don’t have to go through the machine process of entering my number. An agent picks up very quickly. No sooner that I mention my name, the agent responds “Ahh, Mr. Kinglobjaw, nice to hear from you again. How’s it going?” When I asked how he recognized me since I had not entered my DM # or provided him my phone, he responded “You travel alot. You’re known around here. Over the years, we have really learned so much from you”.

Sure, I’m flattered and yes, award bookings are much for fun, for the agent and myself since I’m know the rules of the game, but was this necessary? I’m just a loyal customer happy to deal with, speak with and most of all, fly with my favorite airline!

Still, at the end of the day, it’s nice to be known here and there!

About that fax number. I’ll post it later tonight since I don’t have access to my cabinet right now.

Proudly flying US Airways,

-Kinglobjaw

I remember the moment distinctly- I was at the gym. It’s that email ding on the iTouch, that makes me pause for a moment and check my email. Usually, it’s the regular, ie newsletters or updates or sales or spam. This one was different. It’s subject? – “Worldwide access- over 250 clubs“. Very catchy!

Basically, US Airways has improved their already decent Club product by getting rid of pricier membership tiers and offering a single, “all-inclusive” membership. A simple US Airways Club membership will now include:

• Unlimited access to Continental Airlines President’s Clubs with any Star Alliance flight (does not have to be CO)
• Unlimited access to all Star Alliance lounges when on a Star Alliance member flight
• Unlimited access to United Red Carpet Clubs (you must however be flying on United which is what the old rule stated and frankly, I think it’s horrible they kept this requirement since I avoid UA like the plague, among other things :] )
• FREE alcohol! Unlimited beer and house wines. You still have to pay for the premium drinks, but US Airways Clubs are now ahead of United and American lounges. I know this benefit doesn’t do me any good until October 17, 2010, but the benefit is there!

On the other hand membership prices are changing and rising up slightly. Let’s take a look at the new cost structure.

Chairman’s- OLD: $315; NEW: $325

Platinum/Gold/Silver- OLD: $315; NEW: $375

Non-elite member: OLD:  $450; NEW: $450 (correct if this comparison is incorrect).

While the new membership fees are higher, they are still cheaper than United’s membership option. What is neat is there is no application/activation fee. Also, the fact they now offer free alcohol and access to all partner lounges is definitely worth the $10 or $60 increase.

I just wish that they would drop the requirement for the same-day United flights, since I could really use the United RCC at O’Hare’s T2, but I’m always flying out on good ‘ol US Airways.

Just so you know, benefits kick-in on October 30, 2009 and the new Club cards with United’s, Continental’s and Star Alliance’s logo will be sent out in December 2009.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

Charlotte to Rio de Janeiro. It was supposed to start on 12/2. I know it by heart; I was going to fly that inaugural flight all the way down to Rio de Janeiro. Initial information I received mentions Brazil denying US Airways acess to serve Brazil for the first two weeks of December 2009.

That would make sense since I scanned availability and everything is zeroed out in both direction and both classes of servcie until 12/15.

The 15th of December shows an unsually early 8:30PM departure from Charlotte. The 16th (interestingly enough, two weeks after the Rio service should have commenced) shows a scheduled departure time. The first northbound flight would operate from Rio back to Charlotte on the 16th of December.

Since I still have plans to fly the inaugural southbound flight, I am eagerly waiting to confirm with Scott Kirby, the new inaugural flight date and the reason behind the change.

I will update as soon as I have more information.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

Just got a letter from US Airways MasterCard informing me that my card has been upgraded to Dividend Miles Select benefits. This is really nothing more than a snazzy way to tell me that I have two new benefits associated with my card. Benefits that make this great card a truly awesome and one of a kind airline miles card. Very similar to what Continental does with one of their credit cards by waiving bag fees for card holders. No bag fees waived here, which I don’t really care about since I already hold Preferred status, thus all my bags fly free.  Here’s what I can look forward to:

• A 5,000 mileage discount on all award tickets booked. This would indicate that a Domestic Saver coach award round-trip would cost 20,000 miles instead of 25,000
• Award processing fee waiver which equals to $ savings

I don’t feel like going over the full rules and restrictions, but I’ve attached a detailed scan of the brochure. It’s large and clear enough so you can read through all the rules here (2.2MB size).

Here’s a smaller version of the front and the back of the brochure,

Unfortunately, there isn’t a promo code one can mention when calling US Airways, so it’ll take some time for an agent to locate information for the new benefits. Involving a supervisor would be the best procedure, for now at least. A supervisor was able to assist and pull up information quickly, while a basic agent told me he never heard of this before, which is understandable given the benefits haven’t even started.

My Mom also carries this card, but hasn’t received this letter yet. I’m wondering if I should call Barclays bank to find out whether she is also a DM Select card holder.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

Ever day at the gym, I can’t help but notice ABC’s various commercials that mix in characters from multiple shows. I’m sure it’s been done before, but I love this approach and find it very catchy since there’s something for everyone. US Airways did this sort of thing with their US Airways/ different brands commercials, just like their west coast predecessor- America West Airlines. Remember this?

How about taking it up a notch? Wouldn’t it be neat for alliance carriers to partner up and do this sort of thing? Instead of house it could be airport. Ads could involve humor and promote coordination between member carriers. Check out what ABC did? Very clever, and Sally Field with Jimmy Kimmel is over-the-top hilarious.

And now for the full house…

Brilliant, in my opinion!

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

Charlotte, NC to Honolulu nonstop on US Airways is supposed to start in November 2009. The extra 767 for this route will come from one of the three now officially downgraded to seasonal European routes (Brussels, Milan, Zurich). Apparently, this will be a seasonal route that will operate until Summer 2010 and resume in fall 2010 again. It will most likely affect Delta’s nonstop 747 service from Atlanta, GA to Honolulu, HI.

Charlotte, NC to Honolulu, HI. 4,678 miles.

I will definitely take this flight into consideration when I go to Kauai next year. I’m assuming the meal service will be lunch or dinner followed by pre-arrival snack westbound, while the east bound will most likely offer dinner, followed by breakfast prior to landing. That’s in First Class, of course. In coach, I’m going to guess that meal service will be complementary to compete with Delta.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

US Airways is introducing snacks for purchase on shorter flights over 1 hour in length. Details can be found here.

But, I do wonder- will they be complimentary in First Class? Or does this change also indicate that the snack basket will see some kind of snack rotation? Looks like I’ll find out soon!

I’m willing to say US Airways will offer this up front at no extra charge. This hypothesis is based on a recent experience on USAirways’ Hawaii flights offering complimentary premium/energy beverages in First that are for purchase in coach. No, I don’t mean wine/spirits- I mean Mai Tai’s and other premium alcoholic/energy beverages which cost $7 in coach on the Hawaii runs.

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark

If you look into the Delta Shuttle operation, you’ll realize US Airways is king in the shuttle market.

First, Delta decided to add First Class to lure more passengers. Then they added WiFi internet. Didn’t really help. A few months later, Delta downsized the fleet, from the maddog (MD-88) to the Delta Connection outsourced EMB-170 cutting seats by almost half. That move doesn’t seem to help either, now does it?

Currently, Delta is offering 3,000 miles for each segment instead of the usual 500. US Airways hasn’t matched yet, but do they really have to?

The fact of the matter is US Airways rules the shuttle market. They are far more convenient, offer a better product and a much more reliable service. Since Delta is merging with Northwest to become the world’s largest airline, I doubt it will drop the shuttle operation entirely, but DC to New York La Guardia seems to be Delta’s weakest of the three shuttle routes. They’d be foolish to downgrade the aircraft further as they’d loose any remaining premium traffic, but I see them reducing flights. To be fair, Northwest was never a big player in Boston, DC and New York, so they can’t bring in that many loyal customers to the new Delta.

Me? I’m just glad US Airways has a solid shuttle operation I can rely on. Including weekends! And those twelve First Class seats on every flight? They’re icing on the cake!

Have a nice clicK life,

-Mark