Winging It

As soon as I got this stupid email from USAir I sent a complaint. I hope I'm not in the minority and that they are getting flooded with emails. I also plan to mention it the next time I check in and when board for flights. I think everyone at the airline has to hear from their loyal customers. I'm "just" a Silver (36 segments last year and already 12 segments this year) and I've seen them move to smaller jets, less service in terminals and planes that are not cleaned or maintained well inside. The service on USAir continues to decline. I've seen more odd flight cancellations recently. It makes you wonder. I live in Charlotte, so I'm pretty much captive. But there are choices. To charge people extra for trying to use the miles they've earned is penalizing their best customers. That move has nothing to do with the cost of fuel. And, they already have high ticket prices and have added fuel surcharges. Frequent Flyers are already paying for these fuel costs. This is a nickel and dime approach from a nickel and dime airline.

I received this email today from USAir and laughed. This is so funny for the fact that they won't give 500 miles per segment any longer. What does it even matter?? You can never use them anyway. Now it'll just take longer to get to the 50,000 miles you usually need to get a flight at a decent time without flying to Charlotte at 5:30 in the morning to use an award for 25,000. They are a complete joke when it comes to customer loyalty. I was always under the impression that they made more money charging jacked up fares on short flights. The least they could do was give you a measley 500 miles for your overpriced fare. I really hope they get bought at some point. Someone do the calculation for me because I'll be sick if I do it on my own. How much will it cost you now on roundtrip flights to boston for $1000 to get an award ticket?? $12,500 spent wasn't enough for them to award you a free ticket.

Tom, what do you not understand about USAirways' "continuing efforts to provide valuable benefits?" The sarcasm?

The continuing effort means that they haven't got to where they want to go... I guess that they have a lot of customers with a lot of miles piled up. ( I have over 200,000)..The next item will be to charge for each piece of luggage ( baggage) a $20.00 fee.. I wonder how they can get around the fact that is cost nothing for employees to smile and tell the truth about delays.?? eh..

Typical US Air. I would like to charge them $50.00 for everytime they have lost my checked luggage.

Why do they have miles? You can't ever use them. My wife and I have taken many trips back and forth from the east coast to the west coast and we can't get anything for our miles. NOTHING! This is why we now fly with other carriers.

They got me last summer by declaring they are holding my 76,000 "inactive", till I pay a hostage fee of $300.

You would figure that this airline has alienated it's East Coast customer base so much that it would not dare thinking about pushing more of their customer base away. However, these clowns aren't thinking about keeping their best customers. And they wonder why people like my boss keep asking about flying Southwest? Not a big surprise, people. When you are trying to climb from abysmal to bad, why would you take this step backwards? They try to tell us that they're "fixing" the airline. Some fix!

Tom

I called USAirways and spoke to a supervisor to voice my outrage at this change. These people just don't get it. I asked the supervisor to explain how I can fly PHL to BOS for $1,000 and earn less than 600 miles +/- and spend less then that to fly to Europe and earn 7,000 miles. What has me outraged is that I earn Platinum or Chairman every year by planting my butt in their airplane seats and not by buying flowers or some other give away method.
I will also call/email Tempe headquarters to complain. I understand the problems the industry faces but it is flatout stupid to constantly charge your bets csutomers the highest fares (and even more if you are hostage of a hub as we are in Philly) and then nickel and dime those same customers by reducing the benfits that almost always motivate me to often times be inconvenienced to fly them exclusively.
jack f

On the heels of my rant from last week about the lack of hangers in First Class, comes this week's on the changes in their Dividend Miles program. Slowly they are pulling back from what used to be the most liberal to what is becoming the Silas Marner of programs. I wrote to them to complain, pointing out that they will give any passenger who takes one of their Visa cards 25,000 miles plus access to priority check-in and boarding, while us every week customers have our routine earnings slashed.

I was flying back from Orlando last Friday, again on an Airbus with no hangers, and my seatmate and I were commiserating on this recent change. The typically miserable US Airways flight attendant snapped "You feel bad? They took away my pension!" Guess what, I am on her side and I told her so.

She went on to ask me if I had seen an article in the New York Times that referred to US Airways as the company that is disliked equally by both employees and customers.

After years of flying this airline and trying to be an advocate and taking up for them when there is a meltdown, I begin to agree...They care nothing about employees or customers.

Bad news is, who domestically is any better these days?

Paul