I Had a similar thing happen to me when flying on United last fall. In the Northeast we had a really bad storm with high winds that was causing lots of flight to be cancelled even once the storm was over. Well United Airlines delayed our flight to Chicago for several hours and then the plane went MX because as the gate agent said " yo plane no fly...oil problem...mechanic needed at other plane...we cancel"!!! So while re-booking for the next day and agent was calling our names so we identified ourselves. Since our ultimate destination was Vegas they transferred our flight to Song Operated By Delta. They bags where supposed to be transferred. When we got to Vegas our bags did not and it took two days to get them.

United told me that it is the responsibility of the airline that carried us to make sure we get our bags. Song said United needed to send our bag! In the end United delivered them to Song in Las vegas and Song delivered them to me in my Hotel!


IT HAPPENS TOO ALL AIRLINES......SORRY YOU LOST YOUR COSTUMES.......I ALWAYS CARRY Things that are valuable with me!

If I may correct a statement that someone made earlier in this thread......

It was a group of INVESTORS (plus the employee's deep concessions), that SAVED US Airways...America West was essentially the management team that put it all together. If you remember, HP was in a precarious situation themselves on the revenue side and they too, were considering chapter 11. Doug Parker has stated this many times.

Quoting Flyboyaz (Reply 31): Quoting Mah584jr (Reply 31): IMO, I think the US East employees have much tougher jobs than the employees out west. I have to agree. Our employees whine quite a bit about having to run around like chickens with our heads cut off but really the east cities do work hard and encounter a lot more delays than we do.

Agreed. At PHL I see this too often and wonder what they were through.

Quoting Flyboyaz (Reply 36): Man...I gave up on Flyertalk a long time ago...at least for aviation chat. They were so rude....I got tired of it.

Quoting Itsnotfinals (Reply 35): I think the Flyer talk people are more talk and less reason that Anet and that is shocking

Agreed. It got too boring on there.

Quoting USPIT10L (Reply 43): Created by a true Piedmont person. Couldn't have been constructed any better.

PIedmont set some very good standards for US.

MCOflyer

Quoting SHUPirate1 (Thread starter): Obviously, if you don't know about "Send everybody to Camp Charlotte for three days" you've been living under a rock.

I didn't know about it, and I certainly don't live under a rock...

Quoting EA CO AS (Reply 8): I do think, however, that the frequent flier understands the passenger on the other side of the counter, and the plight they are in, better, because they have been in that situation before.

I use a lot of electricity, however that doesnt mean I should get a job at the Nuclear Power plant.
Why should a FF get a job with an airline. It's about qualifications an experience not how good a customer you are.

Quoting SHUPirate1 (Reply 16): Let me attempt to redirect this conversation.

Ha! Forget the airlines! You should teach graduate school!

Quoting StarGoldLHR (Reply 54): Why should a FF get a job with an airline. It's about qualifications an experience not how good a customer you are.

Well I think he's saying that customers can be very demanding and they get angry over things that if they were in the opposite position, they might understand better.

Honestly working in the airline industry sucks overall. It does have it's perks, but in the last few years, I've found that customers are more demanding, they complain more, they expect more, etc. Often they are unreasonable when you give them options....it's not fun.

Just the other day we had a disabled customer who was wheelchair bound. One of our customers was seated in the bulkhead seat and refused to move. He was arguing with our agent right in front of the disabled customer. Eventually our agent gave up and moved the disabled customer to another seat,something I would NEVER do. That plane would not have gone anywhere until the other guy moved. Some people can be just rude.....makes the job much more difficult.

IMO, unless US gets their act together, they will be revisiting BK court again one day. I've seen no real evidence on here or from people who fly them that much has changed since the merger. Profits? At the moment yes, but they haven't fully completed the merger. Long term profits remain to be seen. Yes, it does seem to be an east versus west thing, and it's going to be their downfall if they don't do something about it. Unhappy employees usually help to create unhappy customers. With so much competition and US still facing many of the pre-merger problems (especially from the old US side), they do not appear to have a lot of wiggle room. I've always been an opponent of mergers, and this one can just be the latest poster child of why. The last merger that really seemed to mesh was DL/WA. It's going to get much messier before it gets better.

US Airways the old airline was a disaster. They just never got it right, too many mergers. First it was Mohawk, then Lake Central, PSA, Piedmont and finally America West. All along the way the airline never properly folded all the employees together and got them on the same track. Each hub is almost like a different airline. The differences from CLT to PHL are night and day. Their is no consistency in product or expectations from employees, and then you fold in America West which is a completely different animal all together. US Airways has alway had a weak position, as their route structure suffered from the same problems that doomed Eastern. They dominated the east coast but that was about it. US Air, US Airways whatever name is and will continue to be a nightmare because no one has taken the time to bring the employees together and get them to buy into the same vision and implement consistent policies. Plus the carrier neglected its employees especially PHL for so long. All you have to do is fly into PHL and see the sad state of the terminal there and you will understand what I mean. So the employees have a deep held resentment for the airline brass and that will take years to overcome.

Quoting Lincoln (Reply 38): Then boarding stareted -- by zones, of course -- and the gate agent was peeved that had the aducacity to ask what zone I was in. Well.... HOW THE HELL ELSE AM I SUPOSED to know what zone I'm in?

Basic literacy would of done the job, since the zone is usually clearly printed on your boarding card twice. If you had a CO boarding card (for what ever reason), then if all else fails just wait till the end to get on.

Quoting Mah584jr (Reply 41): After seeing what I've seen from both sides, I felt it necessary to go that far. You should be proud(I'm sure you are) of the job you guys do. You never seem understaved to me.

Agreed! The guys out west do an amazing job! I've always been duely impressed by the America West folks. Now, the eastern operation on the other hand.....

Quoting Flyboyaz (Reply 56): Well I think he's saying that customers can be very demanding and they get angry over things that if they were in the opposite position, they might understand better.

Thank you, Flyboyaz, for understanding my point, and rewording it for everybody else.

Quoting Flyboyaz (Reply 56): Honestly working in the airline industry sucks overall. It does have it's perks

The honest truth? I don't want to work in the airline industry for the free travel. It's more so that the process of moving hundreds of thousands of passengers from point A to point B, with point B being halfway across the country or further, has always been so fascinating to me, and being a part of that would just make me feel so much better...

December 27, 2004, Charlotte, North Carolina. I had just come off a flight from LaGuardia, and was going to Houston. US Airways was facing a January 15th "drop-dead" date at the time, and this was fewer than 72 hours after the nationally-publicized "Fiasco at Philadelphia", and my flight is in an oversold situation. I volunteer, and the agent spends the next hour, on-and-off, trying to get me on a flight to Houston. Finally, he pulls up an itinerary with an American Airlines flight to Dallas-Fort Worth, connecting to a Continental ExpressJet flight to Houston. Gives me my voucher, my itinerary, boarding pass, the whole nine yards, and I'm on my way to that gate at the very end of the A-concourse at Charlotte from B-5. Alas, I get to the American gate, and they tell me the flight is full, yet are clearing non-revs to get on the flight (another story entirely).

Wearily, expecting absolutely nothing from US Airways, I run back to B-5, and what do I find? The plane is still there, they had some last-minute misconnects, found me a seat on my original flight, and LET ME KEEP MY DENIED-BOARDING VOUCHER!

Fast forward a couple of months, to April 10, 2005. I'm scheduled to connect in Charlotte again, but my inbound flight (on Mesa, unfortunately) from Newport News is delayed, to the point where my connection is hit-and-miss. Further, this was the last flight of the night, so I'd be stuck in Charlotte overnight. I start running, clear across the airport (from the E-gates to the far corner of the B-concourse), and get to my gate just in time to watch them start to pull the jetway from the plane.

What happens next, alas, is something I NEVER, EVER, have seen, nor would have expected. The gate agent calls down to the jetway and the plane, they put the plane back into position, reset the jetway, open the door, let me on, and close the door behind me and off we go to West Palm Beach. I've never, in my life, seen that happen, and never thought I would until that moment, and honestly, if they had kept the plane moving and told me to take a flight the following morning, I would have understood completely. It's for reasons like the above, that, regardless of the circumstances, US Airways always has a place in my heart, whether I'm happy with their management or not. US Airways' frontline employees deserve my business and my help. The management, at the present time, does not.

Trust me when I say this, that if any other airline company offered me a job, I'd go to Publix Supermarkets, my current employers, first, and ask them what they'd be willing to do (ie. raises, promotions, etc.) to keep me working for them. US Airways? I'd give my two weeks, take the lesser paycheck, and move on, all without giving it a second thought.

Quoting SHUPirate1 (Reply 61): Trust me when I say this, that if any other airline company offered me a job, I'd go to Publix Supermarkets, my current employers, first, and ask them what they'd be willing to do (ie. raises, promotions, etc.) to keep me working for them. US Airways? I'd give my two weeks, take the lesser paycheck, and move on, all without giving it a second thought.

Knowing how long you've worked there, it would be a moot point anyhow, since you would basically have no seniority at US if you DID work there. You are young and educated; however, you are still naive and inexperienced. Common sense would dictate that if you had a lot of seniority, a family, and a house with a mortgage, you would stay where you are becuase of the massive paycut, greater loss of benefits, and loss of quality of life for you and your family. No one wants to start over again once they've built up years of seniority at a company—especially if the paycheck they would earn would not pay the mortgage, and feed the family.

Quoting StarGoldLHR (Reply 54): Why should a FF get a job with an airline.

Quoting EA CO AS (Reply 8): Being a FF really doesn't have much bearing on your ability to perform a job. Besides, in customer service most companies hire for attitude and train for skill.

To put it simply, if the management and employees of an airline had a lot more actual FF experience (not as non-revs) I think that perhaps they would be able to operate in a manner that was embraced more by passengers. After years in industry, I worked as a "Big 6" management consultant alongside MBA's who were hired for their education and/or attitude/interviewing skills. It's incredible the HUGE gap in credibility and in the effectiveness of the programs we developed that existed because I had previously been in the position of my clients and knew their pain points first hand, so I was better able to address their needs and issues than were my counterparts who had to have every little point explained to them in depth because they had never experienced it for themselves. I would love to deal with a gate agent or supervisor who understood first-hand the issues and frustrations I face when I have a client expecting me for a critical meeting and I can't get there because a crew availability delay.

I often think that many companies (airlines included) hire for the wrong type experience. It is not difficult to train someone on a CRS system or how to operate a jetway, but it is impossible to "train" someone to fully understand/appreciate the issues, pain points and emotions that affect customers if they have never experienced them.

Quoting SHUPirate1 (Reply 61): Trust me when I say this, that if any other airline company offered me a job, I'd go to Publix Supermarkets, my current employers, first, and ask them what they'd be willing to do (ie. raises, promotions, etc.) to keep me working for them. US Airways? I'd give my two weeks, take the lesser paycheck, and move on, all without giving it a second thought.

Please help me understand something... I love US Airways. I was a CP FF for many years and always felt I was well treated, but there are many good airlines out there, many of which pay better than US Airways, have higher ratings/won awards as employers, etc. Why do you seem unintersted in those possible employers in an industry you seem to have a big interest in? I am not saying that if a career with US is what you aspire to that you shouldn't pursue it, but in all fairness, I have seen time and time again that employment decisions that are based on strong emotion (which is what seems to come through in your posts in this thread) often leads to disappointment and clouded judgement. I would just advise you to not limit your options. (BTW, I think Publix is the crown jewel of supermarkets.)

Quoting PExDCA (Reply 63): Please help me understand something... I love US Airways. I was a CP FF for many years and always felt I was well treated, but there are many good airlines out there, many of which pay better than US Airways, have higher ratings/won awards as employers, etc. Why do you seem unintersted in those possible employers in an industry you seem to have a big interest in? I am not saying that if a career with US is what you aspire to that you shouldn't pursue it, but in all fairness, I have seen time and time again that employment decisions that are based on strong emotion (which is what seems to come through in your posts in this thread) often leads to disappointment and clouded judgement. I would just advise you to not limit your options. (BTW, I think Publix is the crown jewel of supermarkets.)

Number one, thank you for the kind words. Charlie Jenkins would thank you too.

Number two...I'm not limiting myself. I've applied for jobs at every currently-flying legacy carrier except Northwest, plus airTran, Frontier, jetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, among others. To say that I wouldn't leave Publix for any of the above carriers under any circumstances would be a flat-out lie. But were the opportunity to come along, leaving for US Airways would be a fair amount easier than leaving for any other airline that may offer me a job.

Further, I also know that my bosses would just about go through a wall to keep me. The irony is, I probably spend more time in my supervisor's office than any other bagger, being "coached" (jobspeak for reprimanded). However, the fact that I work my tail off, combined with the fact that I genuinely care about each and every one of our customers that walks through our front doors, is certainly not lost on my supervisors. (I even went in three hours early one Sunday and made a directory of the entire store, off the clock, because I was struggling to remember where everything was...my excuse was that I accidentally set my clock ahead to Greenwich Mean Time rather than Eastern Daylight Time, and thought I was coming in an hour late!)

america west acquired usairways not the other way around as the poster above mentioned. still a lot of people out there that think it was the other way around.

Quoting Itsnotfinals (Reply 65): still a lot of people out there that think it was the other way around.

Many people assume that the surviving name is the surviving corporate entity. And it's not an awful assumption since it typically is true, just not in this case. It also explains how we end up with corporate names like ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco and PricewaterhouseCoopers. I'm just glad we didn't end up with AmericaWestUSAirways!   

When I was in the Bahamas, US flew in a recruiter personally and took a taxi over the bridge to meet me at the Ocean Club on Paradise Island to offer me lets see what was it... a janitorial position in FLL!   but I turned it down... hehe. I took another Station offer.

Quoting SHUPirate1 (Reply 11): 800 on the math portion of the SATs

I had 750 on the Math, but I am still not where I should be in the Industry and yes I have a degree in Aviation Management. I get the overqualified looks on applications then I get the discrimination looks when being short listed. Then when on job, I get the discrimination look all the time, so my overqualifications fly out the window and are never considered before my disability for moving up the ladder. It is really the wrong type of business based on EOE, but as Acker said, "Once you get hooked on the airline business, it's worse than dope."

And yes so far to date, US recruitment still has discriminated me and not provided me a chance to move up. I have increasing evidence piling up based on countless internal interviews. (They dont know my disability at first, but once the interview comes..... nobody told me this candidate was.....)

SAT scores only are to complain about a College not accepting you, not the Airlines.

Quoting Malaysia (Reply 67): When I was in the Bahamas, US flew in a recruiter personally and took a taxi over the bridge to meet me at the Ocean Club on Paradise Island to offer me lets see what was it... a janitorial position in FLL!

I"m going to call that a boldfaced lie, although I'm not sure if you actually expect anyone to believe it or not.

Quoting Malaysia (Reply 67): When I was in the Bahamas, US flew in a recruiter personally and took a taxi over the bridge to meet me at the Ocean Club on Paradise Island to offer me lets see what was it... a janitorial position in FLL! but I turned it down... hehe. I took another Station offer.

Please learn to lie better. US Airways does not employ their own janitorial staff at Fort Lauderdale.

Quoting PExDCA (Reply 66): I'm just glad we didn't end up with AmericaWestUSAirways!

Funny you say that. I often will call the carrier America WestUS Airways if I'm trying to avoid confusion...

Anyway, back to the topic. Let's get this whole conversation off of SHUPirate1 and onto US Airways. Fair enough?

Well it is THIS bad......

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/07087/772998-66.stm

And this from a relatively high profile vip.

And THAT was a nonstop flight, avoiding Philadelphia!

Quoting Flaps (Reply 71): And this from a relatively high profile vip.

Yes and he's "aggressive" !

Quoting Flyboyaz (Reply 73): Yes and he's "aggressive" !

US Airways needs employees like Mike Tomlin! (remember, US Airways, SHUPirate1 still has outstanding applications with you...)

Quoting HPRamper (Reply 45): Quoting PExDCA (Reply 45): Bottom line is that PHL is a MUCH stronger O/D market than PIT will ever be And there we go. PHL is the 4th largest market in the country. PIT....is nowhere close. As long as PHL remains the massive cash cow it is, it will never be de-hubbed. Sure, I think more east-west transcon connects should be routed through PIT and that may happen, but not to any great extent.

And yes...all of this is true, I'm sure. I don't blame US by any means for most of the problems @ PHL; after all, DAL also has a some-what run down terminal, and yet it still is a great place to connect with WN. The problems with PHL are AIRSIDE, which US probably has some say, but not a lot of say, in fixing.

I've been flamed for this type of comment before (in regard, at the time, to BOS), but PHL needs either additional flightline capacity or an entirely new airport (probably built on the NJ side, gasp! gasp!) Until they get there, PHL will remain over-capacity and delay-prone.

Quoting Flaps (Reply 71): Well it is THIS bad...... http://www.postgazette.com/pg/07087/...6.stm

This is hilarious. There are few ways for US to get a worse press here in Pittsburgh. Since the incident happened in PHX, I'm sure the Cardinals must be involved. Sour grapes from Whiz and Grimm  

Quoting Flyboyaz (Reply 73): Yes and he's "aggressive" !

Like Belichick and the Tuna would have done something different.

Quoting Whappeh (Reply 59): Basic literacy would of done the job, since the zone is usually clearly printed on your boarding card twice. If you had a CO boarding card (for what ever reason), then if all else fails just wait till the end to get on.

No. "Basic Literacy" would have done nothing for me, as the CO boarding pass does not have a zone number on it. Hell, it didn't even have a PNR number on it which is strange for a CO-issued boarding pass -- It had name, seat, flight number, eticket number, time/date, gate, and baggage claim numbers but no zone number.

And especially after not one but two US agents told me that the CO boarding pass had all the information I needed to board, I will not wait to be the last one on board the aircraft just because they can not correctly answer a simple question. But c'est la vie -- US had an opportunity to impress me and failed. Hey, I know I'm not big busienss (only about $2-3k a month in full-fare domestic revenue), but you would think that they would at least act civilly twoards the customers.

Lincoln

Quoting UPS Pilot (Reply 49): US Airways CLT Ops suck too. I have experienced and seen first hand. Lost luggage, piss poor customer service, rude employees, delays, and oh yeah don't bring a dog. I have seen them abuse dogs including my own on the ramp.

US Airways no longer carries any animals larger than insects in the bins...the post-merger management realized it was little more than a liability especially with hubs in Vegas and Phoenix, where accidental misplacement of a pet would probably equate to death. However, Shuttle cities are exempt on nonstop flights.

Quoting Flyboyaz (Reply 56): Just the other day we had a disabled customer who was wheelchair bound. One of our customers was seated in the bulkhead seat and refused to move.

I thought wheelchair pax were basically reserved bulkhead? Or that upon booking, a wheelchair pax would "bump" the previous occupant into another seat?

Quoting SkyyMaster (Reply 57): At the moment yes, but they haven't fully completed the merger.

The only things that aren't completed are things that can only help efficiency.

Quoting Coa747 (Reply 58): US Airways whatever name is and will continue to be a nightmare because no one has taken the time to bring the employees together and get them to buy into the same vision and implement consistent policies.

Yea, that is something I've noticed...it's almost like with every merger, management seems content to sit around and wait for normal attrition and retirement to bring all the work groups into a single entity.

Quoting Coa747 (Reply 58): Plus the carrier neglected its employees especially PHL for so long. All you have to do is fly into PHL and see the sad state of the terminal there and you will understand what I mean.

US can't do much about the terminal. I was there not too long ago and I didn't think it was that bad. It's just another airport. It is owned by private parties who frankly don't give a crap about remodeling or renovating.

Quoting Itsnotfinals (Reply 65): america west acquired usairways not the other way around as the poster above mentioned. still a lot of people out there that think it was the other way around.

Well, kinda. I thought it was more that America West Group changed its name to US Airways Group and then acquired BOTH airlines.

Quoting PExDCA (Reply 66): Many people assume that the surviving name is the surviving corporate entity.

Unfortunately, in some ways it is. The Railway Labor Act includes the little detail that the union of the entity with the surviving name automatically takes control. Which is why the US ramp union took over without much of a fight to speak of.

Quoting SHUPirate1 (Reply 70): Please learn to lie better. US Airways does not employ their own janitorial staff at Fort Lauderdale.

I was joking... stop taking it seriously

Quoting HPRamper (Reply 78): I thought wheelchair pax were basically reserved bulkhead? Or that upon booking, a wheelchair pax would "bump" the previous occupant into another seat?

Yes that's true...our agent just gave up the fight basically...something I would never do! lol

Quoting SHUPirate1 (Reply 74): US Airways needs employees like Mike Tomlin!

We have Anthony Mule...I wouldn't get on his bad side for anything!

Quoting HPRamper (Reply 78): Unfortunately, in some ways it is. The Railway Labor Act includes the little detail that the union of the entity with the surviving name automatically takes control.

I can't actually offer an opinion on what the deatils of the RLA are, I'm just not familiar enough with it provisions, but I would respectfully argue that there is a significant difference between union rights of representation, and the term "corporate entity" as it relates to legal corporate structure of a publically traded corporation(s) (airlines or otherwise) as well as the management of the corporation(s) in question.

Quoting HPRamper (Reply 78): I thought wheelchair pax were basically reserved bulkhead? Or that upon booking, a wheelchair pax would "bump" the previous occupant into another seat?

At least under the applicable federal law, it's only legally required if they've given notice at least 24 hours before the flight....

The Air Carrier Access Act, 14 CFR 382.38 (b) (1) (iii):

If an individual with a disability does not make a request at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the flight, the carrier
shall meet the individual's request to the extent practicable, but is not required to reassign a seat assigned to another passenger in order to do so.

Since it sounds like the passenger was already seated on the aircraft (or at the very least in the gate area, which unless they are crazy would be less than 24 hours before the flight) the airline is under no legal obligation to give the disabled passenger a seat that is already assigned to someone else. Airline policy could differ but that could also get messy depending on what the policy says, what's in the contract of carriage, etc.

Lincoln

Quoting Coa747 (Reply 58): All you have to do is fly into PHL and see the sad state of the terminal there and you will understand what I mean

Huh? They started in August and have since completed the project of completely remodeling all waiting areas in B/C.

Edit: What you should see is our units (breakrooms) and the hallways underneath B/C. I saw a rat one day and a cockroach the next! Tony Grantham just sent out an email stating that after hearing reports of folks seeing them that he is getting on Airway managements (contracted cleaning company) case to keep better standards for cleaning and just do it more in a single day. There was actually an 18 wheeler today parked on the ramp by the B/C connector and it looked as if they were taking drywall and misc remodeling materials into the terminal.

Maybe the next thing to fix up is the units unless that what those materials are for *crosses fingers*. But as much as folks still want to talk crap on the PHL operation. You just have to work down there to actually see that there is a major movement to change things or start a culture change. New bag running positions, timed restrictions for running PHL local bags or else your team gets written up. Hell, local bags are making it to that belt about 10-15 minutes after the engines shut down.

Just yesterday some moron made a 180 degree turn with three carts (with curtains open) and lost five bags. I knew that they would wind up sitting there for a day or two before anything would be done with them. So I got a tug and cart together and ran them from B all the way to F (2 to ELM, 2 to ALB and 1 was an interline bag with UA goin to DEN) So I made sure that all were takin care of while one team member was pissed at me because he we just starting to do the onload for an MSY flight even though I knew I had plenty of time and knew it wouldn't take me that long. Unfortunately, the ELMs and ALBs missed by a smidgen, but atleast they made the next flight rather than show up the next day.

I just wish everyone would do that kind of stuff. I don't pay any attention/listen to people that are still operating as if this is the "old US Airways" still running PHL. Here's another example of a lost bag. I found a bag today sitting on a beltloader at B3. It was a BA bag (LHR-PHL) that came off 67. I looked to see the date just wondering how long it had been sitting there even though I figured it had been there atleast a day since 67 had not come in yet at the time I found this bag. So I looked and yup is came off the previous days flight. Who knows how many more days it would have sat out there. So I had it ran up to the bag claim and hopefully lost baggage would get it. The person lived out in State College so it would have to be shipped. Just crazy stuff that happens. I can only hope when that culture change is completed.

That was a long edit there  

[Edited 2007-03-30 00:15:42]

Quoting PHLapproach (Reply 83): Huh? They started in August and have since completed the project of completely remodeling all waiting areas in B/C.

Yeah, that was the one complaint I didn't have about my recent USAirways/PHL experience -- the gate areas were relatively nice. A bit "unfinished warehouse"-feeling, and there were some rough edges, but I have seen much, much, worse.

Lincoln