Might as well get things off of my chest. I apologize for the excess verbage.
Although US FFers ( or Flyer Talkers to be more specific ) are sometimes overly demanding or critical of US, this A319/320 reconfiguration and especially the pending A321 reconfiguration is indeed a shoddy deal. It deserves the ire of elites and any pax who might actually pay for a F seat or UG. What else to say when you discover no overhead space, no closet for a jacket, shrinking UG slots, and dubious pricing for F?
It's beginning to look and feel to me as if the new US is slowly losing touch with the customer, especially elites who have indeed made a conscious decision to stick with US as the airline transitions to full post-merger form. Yes, it appears that the baggage nightmare in PHL is slowly improving, and front line folks have been pretty sharp on my own flights. But there remains a nebulous confusion ( or is it indifference ) amongst some agents about policy and procedures which surprises me now that we're one year into the process.
More worrisome is the product itself. The website interface is horrible and does not allow one to completely search fare classes when one is searching for those M/H/Q TA UG fares. Sure, one could call in and pay the extra reservation fee to find this out, but why? Fortunately I'm a US1 and get around that issue, but what about your other customers? Is anyone in PHX actually asking how a customers uses the website or how people fly and experience US?
Ticket prices have climbed across the industry and US is no exception. I see it mostly as being part and parcel of flying where we do mostly TAs with a few domestics sprinkled in. But US Envoy Class is clearly Sam's Club Lite, a J product which is adequate for the task, but not at what US asks for a C fare ( kudos for the advance purchase Z fares ). Yet what is US charging for Envoy during the winter? Forget the C or Z fares; they want $1780 for a winter B fare PHL-LGW -- double last year's price. If US had an Envoy product that stands up to the price, my point would be moot, but US continues to fly a weak TA product with cabins in need of remake and repair.
Throw in the Everything Counts promotion which swells the elite ranks via FTD flowers to grandmother and combine it with shrunken reconfigured F/C cabins, and just how does a flying elite do the airline calculus of which fare to purchase and how to play the UG game? Once again, US is mute and muddled when one reads the T&C of DM and upgrades etc. and one can only guess as to what is going to happen in 2007.
This is my take on US, but my point is that many of us who are DM elites are trying to find a middle ground with US which creates a reliable way for us to gauge & implement our flying strategy and develop a product relationship with US.
This A319/320 move is just the latest gaff/oversight by US which makes many of us ask how much longer should we stay with US.
. . . There's no room for coats because people who live in PHX don't really need them, so by extension, passengers of the "new" US Airways should have no need to stow them anywhere . . .
I also saw folks pissing on the side of Interstate 17 on my way to Flagstaff. Perhaps US can remove the loos to squeeze in 2 more coach seats. Of course then, I'd want to sit mid-aircraft as the takeoffs and landings could be a bit sloshy. <_<
Barry
Obviously the individual making some of these decisions has also had a hand in delaying the glasswares arrival, an onboard menu that hasn't changed much IF at all and an Airbus packout that is an adventure EVERY Trip.
