The New Look of US Airways

[Miguel]

I' m Sure it's all USAirways fault.

USAirways has a high amount of express flights in Charlotte that fly under the US brand. So, if you're saying you don't like how US operates, you don't like how Mesa, Republic, ETC. operates which fly for other legacy airlines such as Delta.

If it were not for them advertisements, you would have been driving to Greensboro for a cheaper flight and still complaining about USAirways.

And USAirways has no control of whether ATC says they can fly or not...

and painting the planes is not that expensive considering when; (A) the aircraft are new, or (B) We leased the aircraft and it's not in US titles, or

[Neo]

Of course you are assuming that I fly Northwest or typically fly express flights. Considering numbers I've heard for repainting a plane (including labor, stripping repainting, cost of paint, etc.) of roughly $150k each, I'd say it adds up fairly quickly, especially for an airline that seems to have been struggling not that long ago. Yes, I am aware that cancellations are not always the airline's fault, but considering when I looked at the monitors and noticed almost all of the cancellations were USAir it makes one wonder.

USAir does have a say in planning their hubs and the way the company functions which heavily contribute to on-time flights. The Philadelphia hub is overcrowded and with USAir putting more into operations there, it just doesn't seem like a logical sense on the side of the customer.

I certainly do not have a problem with the advertisements in the tray for example, but when a company starts repainting planes just to give the company a perceived new image I think it is a complete waste. The revenue from those advertisements could be used in resolving internal matters for employees, etc. rather than changing the company's color scheme.

[Miguel]

Of course you are assuming that I fly Northwest or typically fly express flights. Considering numbers I've heard for repainting a plane (including labor, stripping repainting, cost of paint, etc.) of roughly $150k each, I'd say it adds up fairly quickly, especially for an airline that seems to have been struggling not that long ago. Yes, I am aware that cancellations are not always the airline's fault, but considering when I looked at the monitors and noticed almost all of the cancellations were USAir it makes one wonder.

USAir does have a say in planning their hubs and the way the company functions which heavily contribute to on-time flights. The Philadelphia hub is overcrowded and with USAir putting more into operations there, it just doesn't seem like a logical sense on the side of the customer.

I certainly do not have a problem with the advertisements in the tray for example, but when a company starts repainting planes just to give the company a perceived new image I think it is a complete waste. The revenue from those advertisements could be used in resolving internal matters for employees, etc. rather than changing the company's color scheme.

[Miguel]

Of course you are assuming that I fly Northwest or typically fly express flights. Considering numbers I've heard for repainting a plane (including labor, stripping repainting, cost of paint, etc.) of roughly $150k each, I'd say it adds up fairly quickly, especially for an airline that seems to have been struggling not that long ago. Yes, I am aware that cancellations are not always the airline's fault, but considering when I looked at the monitors and noticed almost all of the cancellations were USAir it makes one wonder.

[monsoon]

^Miguel no need to take such an antagonistic tone with people who have legitmate complaints about USAir. Address what they have posted and don't try to make it personal. Most of the forumers here, let alone the administrator of the site, are not going to deliberately post something untrue. Maybe they made a mistake or there is some other reason you can inform us why they might be wrong, but your accusations are unfair and really uncalled for.

[Raintree21]

Perhaps when the 3rd parallel runway finally gets built that will decrease the number of delays, along with a new ATC tower. Or is it seemingly more of a booking/computer issue inside the terminal?

[Neo]

Philidelphia is a HUGE cash cow for USAirways, why would they not add flights?

A short-term cash cow yes, but long-term I don't think many will put up with USAir and their Philadelphia hub. A couple of weeks ago my sister-in-law sat on the tarmac for THREE hours, much of that time was with the plane off, not idling so no air was flowing and the entire plane became restless. Yes, that is a problem with Philadelphia's airport I'm sure, but if I were USAir I would think the company would benefit from having the majority of their operations elsewhere at an airport in a vicinity with less dense airspace.

[kickazzz2000]

A short-term cash cow yes, but long-term I don't think many will put up with USAir and their Philadelphia hub. A couple of weeks ago my sister-in-law sat on the tarmac for THREE hours, much of that time was with the plane off, not idling so no air was flowing and the entire plane became restless. Yes, that is a problem with Philadelphia's airport I'm sure, but if I were USAir I would think the company would benefit from having the majority of their operations elsewhere at an airport in a vicinity with less dense airspace.

[Neo]

The airspace is dense in the NE because the $$ is in the NE.

Agreed, but it seems like other airports could offset connecting flights more efficiently than airports in the NE.

[Miguel]

A short-term cash cow yes, but long-term I don't think many will put up with USAir and their Philadelphia hub. A couple of weeks ago my sister-in-law sat on the tarmac for THREE hours, much of that time was with the plane off, not idling so no air was flowing and the entire plane became restless. Yes, that is a problem with Philadelphia's airport I'm sure, but if I were USAir I would think the company would benefit from having the majority of their operations elsewhere at an airport in a vicinity with less dense airspace.

[Miesian Corners]

While there are plenty of issues with US Airways in terms of the operation, issues like the ones Neo dealt with are present on every legacy carrier flying today. If the powers that be in Tempe, Arlington, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Atlanta hadn't decided that a million RJs were the way to go and began cramming the skies with them, the northeast might not be the clusterf*ck that it is today. There simply isn't enough space in the air or on the ground for 12 daily nonstops from JFK/DCA/BOS/PHL/LGA/ISP/IAD to CRW on an airplane that seats 19 people. I'm exaggerating here, but I think you get the point.

It's the "lets use these 12 RJs to make up for the three 737s that used to fly the route" mentality. Management thought that RJs would cost less via the use cheaper labor, therefore it would make more sense for (insert legacy carrier name here) Express to use, rather than legacy mainline (higher paid employees) jets.

In the meantime, the skies and ramps get all the more crowded. 3 airplanes doing what 1 used to do. The Northeast is especially impacted by this. Add into the mix bad weather and an ATC system that is beyond antiquated and we have ourselves the current state of commercial aviation in the United States. It's terrible, but in no way is it only a US Airways problem.

Edit: if you think PHL is bad, fly Delta or jetBlue through JFK. PHL is a dream comared to that hellhole.

[Neo]

I agree with you that the air space in the US is in poor condition, but airlines such as USAir contributed to that by allowing express routes. It wasn't something that was forced upon them so in essence they created the problem we have today. There is plenty of blame to go around for sure. Flying has become so much of a hassle now where it was previously a joy.

[Miguel]

I agree with you that the air space in the US is in poor condition, but airlines such as USAir contributed to that by allowing express routes. It wasn't something that was forced upon them so in essence they created the problem we have today. There is plenty of blame to go around for sure. Flying has become so much of a hassle now where it was previously a joy.

[kickazzz2000]

A legacy carrier that is based on the hub system needs CRJS. If USAirways had no CRJs, and Delta came knocking on Philidelphias door; (A) Delta can tweak the prices and make cost lower but still not lose money, (b) compete on a USAirays market where a mainline aircraft would become over-kill and hard to fill up.

(B) If USAirways put's 3 flights a day to Baltimore, and SouthWest flys 2 times a day, Then big bad Delta comes to Philidelphia and starts 7 daily flights with CRJs. Pretty soon the Philidelphia-Baltimore pairing has 7 CRJs that operate full from Delta, 2 flights from southwest, and 3 from USAirways. Pretty soon, It would get hard to fill up a mainline in a case like that, and what would USAirways have to do? Raise prices.

CRJs are good if your competitors have do not have them.

[Miguel]

That argument makes no sense. Why would Delta fly CRJ's between PHL and BWI (90 mi) when Delta has no feed in either city?

[Raintree21]

Speaking of paint jobs, USAir will unveil a jet with the Panthers logo and trademark blue, black and silver colors Sept. 21 at the airline's hangar at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. The plane will be an Airbus 319 but won't be based in Charlotte and will fly as part of the carrier's regular domestic fleet, said Phil Gee, a US Airways spokesman in Observer article.

[HopHead]

With regard to new domestic routes, does US Airways have some sort of process for adding them? Do they look at the frequency of connections to a certain destination? Just curious b/c I have to frequest the southwest fairly often and find it frustrating that if I fly USA and want to go to Austin or San Antonio I need to connect in Phoenix or Vegas. I usually just end up taking Delta and going through ATL, which I hate. While San Antonio and Austin aren't huge cities, you would think that either CLT or Philly would serve them since these airports are hubs.

[Miguel]

With regard to new domestic routes, does US Airways have some sort of process for adding them? Do they look at the frequency of connections to a certain destination? Just curious b/c I have to frequest the southwest fairly often and find it frustrating that if I fly USA and want to go to Austin or San Antonio I need to connect in Phoenix or Vegas. I usually just end up taking Delta and going through ATL, which I hate. While San Antonio and Austin aren't huge cities, you would think that either CLT or Philly would serve them since these airports are hubs.

[Miesian Corners]

Actually, from what I understand, as the Embraer jets come on line, service will be added to many destinations from hubs. SAN, AUS, OKC, and TUS will get service to PHL and CLT. PHX will get service to LIT, MSY, and BHM.

[Miguel]

Actually, from what I understand, as the Embraer jets come on line, service will be added to many destinations from hubs. SAN, AUS, OKC, and TUS will get service to PHL and CLT. PHX will get service to LIT, MSY, and BHM.

[Miguel]

The new panthers plane is here And it's not the best looking thing.......

[Miguel]

Some more of USAirways new schemes...

[cltheel.sdl]

The new panthers plane is here And it's not the best looking thing.......

[Miguel]

That's a sexy plane IMHO.

[moving uptown]

painting planes is a very expensive process and these are all custom paint jobs - its a shame usair sees value in painting these as opposed to other investments