Unlikely as it may seem to those who have suffered the worst that US Airways has to offer, I am back home, not only on time but ahead of schedule.
I was on the last leg of the trip, and feeling a little wobbly, when I started to write up the story for tomorrow's paper. I was about to say, hey, well, US Airways may have its problems, but it did a great job - at least as far as I can tell - the past two days. Maybe it only treats passengers like crushed ice in a blender when the weather is bad.
A bad reputation, ask any 15-year-old kid who's been unfairly labeled a mess-up, a dork or a slut, is a hard thing to reverse.
In some ways, US Airways may be better than it's said to be.
Two days in the air is not much evidence. But when those two days are some of the highest volume of the year, it's worth taking seriously.
Turning critics even into skeptics, let alone fans, will take a lot more extra-fine performance.
Exhibit Number 9,348: Dave Gardner, a 49-year-old construction worker who commutes weekly to Charlotte, NC, on US Airways, told me he regularly has trouble getting out of Philadelphia. Today, he was on his way back to spend Thanksgiving at his mother-in-law's house in South Jersey.
"Once you get into Philadelphia airspace, they make you do the loop-de-loop for awhile. It's almost always late."
So we touch down at 12:25 p.m., a lovely flight. Friendly service. The pilot wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and safe travel.
So, Dave. I guess it's not so bad taking US Airways on a heavy traffic holiday.
He cocks his head.
"Maybe," he says. "But it's still early."
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Tom Belden, a former Inquirer business writer, has written about Philadelphia International Airport, airlines, the travel industry, the conventions and meetings business for 25 years. He has traveled to all 50 states and extensively in Europe and Mexico.
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