I just got off flight 408 a couple hours ago. Came in from DIA to PHX (it continues to PDX). Be aware, this is still the U.S. Airways side of the equation- the merger won't be fully complete until later this month. The flight crews and airport personnel are all U.S. Air, not AA and they still use separate ticket counters and baggage handlers. Most people refer to U.S. as trailerpark airline, it has sucked ass since they bought America West, which used to be a decent airline. Nobody really has any pride in their job or gives a shit about customer service- half of them probably figure they'll be unemployed once the merger is complete. Today they managed to screw up my ticketing by leaving off my TSA Precheck info from my return flight (went outbound on the AA side) out of sheer incompetence. Being Reagan airport where no one speaks English or will even acknowledge you unless you force the issue, by the time I noticed the mistake it was too late to deal with.
Also too, Sky Harbor (US national hub) is a shithole airport- about half the moving sidewalks are broken, half the restrooms shut down for maintenance, half the concourse area is blocked off so they can retile the floor, making an already pathetically overcrowded airport even more difficult to navigate. Fortunately I get priority boarding, but if I had some jackass flying waiter pull that shit I'd tell him to go fuck himself (and I'd laugh my ass off at a $250 voucher, only suckers let themselves be inconvenienced for less than $500). I will grant that people who don't fly much are a pain in the ass because they are clueless and have no idea what the etiquette involved is, but they shouldn't have to know all the ins and outs of dealing with what has become a miserable experience. And it's the attendant's job to deal with the rookies in a civil, or better yet friendly manner and keep things moving without being a dick about it. Southwest manages to do it every day without making things worse and without nickel and diming the passengers to death by monetizing every aspect of your flight experience. Want to check baggage? That'll cost extra. Want to not be the last person to board (and be guaranteed no overhead space)? That'll cost extra. Want a seat with any legroom? That'll cost extra. SW charges $12.50 each way for early bird check-in, which is always good enough to get you A 30-45 boarding and your choice of seats. AA, US or United will charge you easily $50-$100 extra for a decent seat and even more for priority boarding if you haven't already earned it. SW WiFi is $8 a day, US wanted $30 just for the DIA>PHX leg, with a warning that heavy traffic would cause it to be slower than normal. Maybe if the other airlines tried a little harder to not be so shitty they wouldn't have to offer those rock bottom prices. Every flight I've taken recently has been 100% full, so coupled with the cheap fuel prices these days, the whining about profitability gets a little old…
If they needed to bump someone, they could have asked before everyone had boarded.
I've been close to getting a free flight and hotel a couple of times (stopover via Toronto), but some bastard always gets there before me.
I just got off flight 408 a couple hours ago. Came in from DIA to PHX (it continues to PDX). Be aware, this is still the U.S. Airways side of the equation- the merger won't be fully complete until later this month. The flight crews and airport personnel are all U.S. Air, not AA and they still use separate ticket counters and baggage handlers. Most people refer to U.S. as trailerpark airline, it has sucked ass since they bought America West, which used to be a decent airline. Nobody really has any pride in their job or gives a shit about customer service- half of them probably figure they'll be unemployed once the merger is complete. Today they managed to screw up my ticketing by leaving off my TSA Precheck info from my return flight (went outbound on the AA side) out of sheer incompetence. Being Reagan airport where no one speaks English or will even acknowledge you unless you force the issue, by the time I noticed the mistake it was too late to deal with.
Also too, Sky Harbor (US national hub) is a shithole airport- about half the moving sidewalks are broken, half the restrooms shut down for maintenance, half the concourse area is blocked off so they can retile the floor, making an already pathetically overcrowded airport even more difficult to navigate. Fortunately I get priority boarding, but if I had some jackass flying waiter pull that shit I'd tell him to go fuck himself (and I'd laugh my ass off at a $250 voucher, only suckers let themselves be inconvenienced for less than $500). I will grant that people who don't fly much are a pain in the ass because they are clueless and have no idea what the etiquette involved is, but they shouldn't have to know all the ins and outs of dealing with what has become a miserable experience. And it's the attendant's job to deal with the rookies in a civil, or better yet friendly manner and keep things moving without being a dick about it. Southwest manages to do it every day without making things worse and without nickel and diming the passengers to death by monetizing every aspect of your flight experience. Want to check baggage? That'll cost extra. Want to not be the last person to board (and be guaranteed no overhead space)? That'll cost extra. Want a seat with any legroom? That'll cost extra. SW charges $12.50 each way for early bird check-in, which is always good enough to get you A 30-45 boarding and your choice of seats. AA, US or United will charge you easily $50-$100 extra for a decent seat and even more for priority boarding if you haven't already earned it. SW WiFi is $8 a day, US wanted $30 just for the DIA>PHX leg, with a warning that heavy traffic would cause it to be slower than normal. Maybe if the other airlines tried a little harder to not be so shitty they wouldn't have to offer those rock bottom prices. Every flight I've taken recently has been 100% full, so coupled with the cheap fuel prices these days, the whining about profitability gets a little old…