US Airways- flying the flag for a very boring victory! (US Airways)

Member Name: theabster

Product:	US Airways
Date:	16/07/09 (165 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, quicker than anticipated flights, very friendly cabin service, good frequent flyer scheme

Disadvantages: Drab and dull decor, very dated, no in-seat entertainment/movies

I have flown on quite a few carriers over the years. At the beginning of June I flew Economy class transatlantic for the first time, flying to Phoenix on US Airways via Philadelphia.

US Airways are the 5th biggest airline in the States, operating hubs at Phoenix, Charlotte and Philadelphia as well as focus city operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Las Vegas, LaGuardia Airport in New York and Logan International Airpory om Boston. It operates two brands in the US as subsidiaries to the collective US Airways Corporation, with US Airways Shuttles offering hourly services across the North Eastern United States and the US Airways Express, operated by contract and subsidiary airline companies. They have had many economic problems of late: failed expansions across Latin America and the Carribean, failed mergers, passenger decreases and if you remember, the aftermath of the extraordinary landing of one of their aircraft into the Hudson in New York in which everyone survived and the plane was landed safely on the water.

I chose this airline purely because of the price- since I generally have no preference between carriers. Long haul flights are exhausting whatever! Unless you can afford one of those sleeper seats in first class perhaps! I hate flying and avoid it domestically wherever possible, but was visiting my brother in Arizona so a bit impossible to avoid flying without hours and hours and hours on a boat.

I used price comparison sites to try to get the best deal, like travelsupermarket.com, flightcomparison.co.uk, cheap-flights-finder.com and so on. Expedia ended up being the cheapest route- offering me a £364 return ticket from 26th May through to the 13th June, flying out from Glasgow International Airport, Scotland. Booking through Expedia will you get 1% back on the cashback site Quidco (which isn't that great but it may tip your balance over into claimable monies!) as well as 200 Nectar Card points. Since I was flying to the US, there is now a form you have to fill after booking your flight, a few days before you fly, stating where you will be staying on arrival. This happens with whatever carrier you are going with. This could be the address of the hotel you are staying in or the house etc. If you forget to do this you can potentially be barred entry into the States, which would be a little bit counterproductive. So take a few minutes to do the form online (I have heard you can do it at the airport too, but I wouldn't rely on that). You get a response pretty much immediately as to whether your application has been successful or not.

So what were US Airways like?

Comfort: They had leather seats rather than fabric which I dislike as you can stick to them a bit and moving around makes those unavoidable squeaks that become really irritating after 5, 6, 7 hours...especially when the people around you manage to wake you up with their amplified fidgeting. The seats were leather on both the transatlantic Glasgow-Phili route as well the domestic US flight. That said, the flight from Philadelphia to Phoenix was infinitely more spacious than Glasgow-Phili. They obviously try to maximise efficiency with regards to space/capacity on longer flights, but the effect on comfort is noticeable and pretty trying. I flew on a Boeing 757-200 on the first leg, an Airbus A321 on the second. However, I flew Emirates to Bangkok via Dubai a while back and that was much more spacious and the blankets and pillows much thicker and fleecier. US Airways was akin to First Choice, though the plane décor was really drab and dated.

In-flight entertainment: You have to pay for a headset to watch a tiny little screen at the end of each cabin, which is very surprising for a long haul flight. I am a terrible sleeper on aeroplanes so I tend to like wasting time watching movies I might not otherwise watch, or keeping up-to-date with one of those digital maps that tells you how very slowly you are edging across the globe and how freezing it is outside! This was a big downside in my view.

Food: The food choice list for special requirements is extensive when booked online. Since I am vegan and quite health conscious I was keen to see what kind of food they might seem to offer. I ordered 'raw fruit/veggie' (yes, they are that specific!) as I was planning to fast for the flight anyway but could nibble on this if it actually was provided. I am usually very sceptical. I was fasting because of 'the jet lag diet' that reckons you can cure jet lag by fasting on-flight. I can vouch for it! Google it! I was not very surprised when I was approached about half hour into the flight asking if I had ordered a special meal of raw food- to which I responded yes and the flight attendant apologised profusely saying it had been accidentally cooked and that she had followed a raw food diet once too and could sympathise. It was a classic failing on special meals provision with most airlines, but the actual way the flight attendants dealt with it was lovely and I didn't mind at all. You get free meals with US Airways flights that are over 3.5 hours and snack boxes are available on flights over 2.5 hours as part of their buy on board program, "Easyjet style". This happened on the second leg of my flight, but I didn't buy one so couldn't rate it for you all. One great aspect of US Airways is that their soft drinks, water and coffee are free on all flights, throughout the flight, not just at mealtimes.

Time-keeping: Were they on time? All of the flights were not delayed except the final flight of my return journey. This involved a 2 hour wait at Phoenix, but cut down my waiting time in Philadelphia so was not really an issue to be honest. After this wait we also had to wait on the tarmac for about an hour due to really heavy rain and a huge queue of planes waiting to leave. After 45 minutes we were still 10th in the queue! One thing I would point out is that they tend to overbook every single flight! Each one I took they were asking for volunteers to give up their seats for a later flight in return for $350 vouchers for use on any US Airways flight. If I didn't have connections, I would have happy to give up my seat for this kind of reward. So it pays to be flexible!

US Airways Dividend Miles: I wouldn't describe myself as a 'frequent' flyer but since signing up for the Dividend Miles scheme is free, I think it is quite a good scheme. You basically accumulate 'miles' according to the miles you have already travelled with US Airways. I got just over 10,000 miles from the flights I just took, and I think 25,000 miles is the first time you can use your miles to get a free ticket. Apparently you get priority check in, mileage bonuses and other benefits, though I have yet to experience any of these benefits.

All in all, it was a very pleasant journey that wasn't hindered by too many delays or bad service. Other than a distinct lack of space that I have come to expect on economy long haul, it wasn't too harrowing an experience. Paying for headsets is irritating, so didn't bother and read a book instead. If you are going to book the cheapest ticket you can find, then it has to be the destination rather than the airline travel that counts! I had the most wonderful time away, so the air travel was manageable and irrelevant!

For the lack of in-seat tv screens and the cramped, super drab interior, I am rating it at 4 stars.

Summary: Fine for the price- always use price comparison sites!