Wow- what a friendly airline, it was a much better experience than all the 'gloom and doom' reports you hear about this carrier lead you to believe.

6/26- HP 660
A320-200
N???AW
Seat 4C
Bulkhead seats are always nice- I was able to stretch out a bit more and actually sleep on this flight- something I don't normally do. Before pushback, the f/a's welcomed us aboard "Flight 666"- a mistake they quickly caught and actually got a few laughs from the passengers over. Lunch was either a calzone or chicken pasta salad. I had the calzone, which was surprisingly tasty. According to the package it came in, it was from a pizzeria in San Diego. After lunch I decided to skip the movie and sleep. When I woke up I discovered we were descending into Phoenix, and we arrived in Phoenix an amazing 45 min. early, prompting a "What? We're NEVER early with this airline" comment from the little old lady sitting next to me. I had decided not to test HP's baggage handlers, and carried my one bag on board with me, and went off to meet my ride for the short trip to Tempe, which is actually a very nice city. I must also thank the f/a on this flight- I have forgotten her name, but she kept coming back, making sure we were comfortable and everything was alright.

6/28- HP14
A320-200
N661AW
Seat 6D
Even the real coach seats on HP have decent legroom! They're not the most comfortable seats, but you're not cramped at all. Again, I decided to skip the movie- "The Wedding Planner" and read pretty much all of my book. Lunch on the flight was the same chicken pasta salad or a hot meatloaf sandwich, which actually tasted more like a burnt onion roll, but was still edible- I just refrained from kissing anyone upon my arrival in NY. Our approach was interesting, lots of turns and 360s, and you couldn't see anything because of the low clouds, but we finally touched down on 31R at JFK, and we turned off the runway practically in front of our gate at T6. Because of bad weather, we were 30 min late into JFK, but my ride was waiting for me, so not even 2 min after getting off the plane I was on the road. It's nice not having to get checked bags, isn't it?   Overall, HP isn't as bad a carrier as people make them out to be (IMHO). I had a good trip with them, and will fly them again, without a doubt.

Hi

Nice trip report. Glad you enjoyed America West. I had the same experiences with them, it's a really nice airline. Next time, try the salad, I had one of those when I flew ANC-PHX-EWR about two weeks ago.

With kind regards,
RJ100

P.S.: I always checked my baggage, and it always arrived with HP (6 flights so far, 3 connections)!

I had trouble with Air France last Summer, i arrived from LAX in CDG, my connecting Flight to DUS was cancelled so me and a friend have to wait 5 hours in CDG. When we arrived in DUS we realised that our Baggage was not on this Plane, they send it to us 1 Day later. Since this Expirience i buy a Trolley witch you can take in the Cabin. You are sure that the Luggage arives with you and you don`t have to wait on the Baggage Claim !!!

Greetings from Germany

Patrick

PS: The food on HP must be very good !!!

RJ100- I'm going back to PHX next week on HP again- I'll take up your suggestion and have the salad should it be offered on my flight.

CV990A

CV990A- great, hope you'll enjoy it. If possible post a trip report when you're back!

RJ100

Sounds like HP is not as bad as people make them look. Its obvious, because they have a partnership with CO and NW, two of the best Airlines out there.

Excellent trip report.

You probably were smart in just bringing a small carry-on with you for a 2 day trip. Sure makes things much easier for you. While HP has never "misplaced" my bag, Continental gets the most recent honor, baggage claim at T4 in Phoenix is at times absurdly slow. You'd figure the walk from A23 or thereabouts to baggage claim would be sufficient time for the bags to pop out. And when they do it is often quite a guessing game which of the 3 large carosels your bag will appear on.

Overall from the trip reports in the past month on America West it looks like things are very good. I'll be flying out to DC next week, and will drop y'all a report when I get back.

Hello...

RJ100 How was your ANC-PHX flight with HP?
Do you remember who checked you in at ANC?

I am currently in ANC with HP for the summer and I hope that you had a pleasant experience.

Prinair

Makes me want to try HP. I also saw on a pic that their A320's have ptv's.

Click for large version

Photo © Scott Leazenby

Chepos
Puerto Rico

Hey!

Maybe it was you that checked me in at ANC! How do you look like?
Wow, the world is small, isn't it?
I had a very pleasant experience with HP. You can read my trip report on this forum.

Greetings to wonderful Alaska,
RJ100

CV990A- What a wonderful trip report on HP. It really makes me want to go back to work today and provide excellent care of all of our customers. We get tons of great compliments on our meal service. and it is really nice to know that you enjoyed your meal. We look forward to serving you again, and yes do try the salad you will not be disappointed.

Thank you for Flying America West Airlines!!!

A320FA