The Assimiliation begins: A319 / A320 Reconfigs

[US1YFARE]

You got that right.

I like how the sign in PHX says INTERNATIONAL CHECK-IN: Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica. I think of USCREW everytime I see that--Tempe and Brittany Spears think the same way. Hey guys in Tempe, you better go get a passport, Canada and Mexico are really going international in 2007!!!!

 

[SegmentKing]

... and this is the same airline that wants $1500 for an F seat while WN charges $399 for a full fare Y seat.

At least on Southwest, you have a fighting chance at overhead space and only 2 inches LESS legroom.

WN at least charges a value for their product... HP is charging Nordstrom prices for a Costco product (as seen in another article from another website)

 

[BuffaloJoe]

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. Remember, if something doesn't happen in Maricopa County, AZ, it really doesn't seem to matter, so US doesn't need to be concerned with the warmth of people from the Northeastern USA.

Let's start rationing AZ's water. We'll see how fast they move out of there. I'll take my 4 seasons any day.

 

[Travelpro72]

I just don't understand how management keeps making these changes yet call them cost competetive. What is competetive about ANY of our product. Food, seats, cabins as a whole, personal space. It all lacks behind other carriers. Yet we still charge a fare right up there with our competitor. It makes absolutely no business sense. I guess we little folk just don't see the big picture. We'll just be classified as baby's and told to put a cork in it.

 

[PHX PHLyer]

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. Remember, if something doesn't happen in Maricopa County, AZ, it really doesn't seem to matter, so US doesn't need to be concerned with the warmth of people from the Northeastern USA.

Even though HP has been based in Phoenix, they have flown to BDL, JFK, BOS, EWR, PHL, PIT, etc. for a long time. It's not like no one has ever needed to wear a coat if you've flown HP. All of the HP A32X birds that I have flown have little coat racks on the partition between first and coach. They usually have hangars waiting on them for people's coats. They end up being between the two seats and the wall behind Row 3 First. Did they not add the coat rack hook things on the partition on the new configuration A32X's?

 

[AstroLounge]

Even though HP has been based in Phoenix, they have flown to BDL, JFK, BOS, EWR, PHL, PIT, etc. for a long time. It's not like no one has ever needed to wear a coat if you've flown HP. All of the HP A32X birds that I have flown have little coat racks on the partition between first and coach. They usually have hangars waiting on them for people's coats. They end up being between the two seats and the wall behind Row 3 First. Did they not add the coat rack hook things on the partition on the new configuration A32X's?

US already had a metal hook installed on the bulkhead wall of all the AB equipment but was not allowed to use these hooks per FAA, another classic case of stupid decisions made. This coat issue will NOT go away....people in the East can be REAL Demanding when it comes to expecting and down right rude when their coat isn't hung up PRONTO, and then of course you have the occassional person in Coach who "tries" to hang his coat in the closet and thinks there isn't an Issue. And let's Not forget about Mrs. Steinbaum and her fur coat that requires a whole closet all to herself 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.

 

[NCFL]

Even though HP has been based in Phoenix, they have flown to BDL, JFK, BOS, EWR, PHL, PIT, etc. for a long time. It's not like no one has ever needed to wear a coat if you've flown HP.

Not trying to flame a newbie (goodness knows, I've been flamed aplenty). Fact is, most decisions made in the Sand Castle seem to have blinders on to ANYTHING that occurs outside PHX. Two or three flights per day to somewhere cold doesn't exactly make an airline a pro at cold-wx ops. US East, Allegheny, etc. have done it for years.

Don't need coats because you live in AZ? Great. We'll take out the closet. The heck with the Northeasterners who freeze all winter, let alone the business customers on the BOS-LGA-DCA shuttle who will want to hang up their suit jackets. Let alone Ms. Schwartzenrosenbaumbergsteinawitz who wants to hang her fur for the flight to PBI. I could list plenty of examples of PHX-centric thinking. DP and company need to get their heads out of the sand and start thinking globally if this is really going to work.

 

[US1YFARE]

. Two or three flights per day to somewhere cold doesn't exactly make an airline a pro at cold-wx ops. .. I could list plenty of examples of PHX-centric thinking. DP and company need to get their heads out of the sand and start thinking globally if this is really going to work.

uh these are the same people whp think that flying to canada and mexico makes u international. I was told by a US East FA that an HP f/a insisted that you need a passport to go to hawaii!!!!!!!

 

[iheartairbus]

Lets keep all differnent airbus configurations and then try and mash them all together come mix-up time! I really really wish we had the config east has... much much better config, infact when I first stepped on our west ones after being used to the east airbus I was like WTF?! but I'm used to them now... the coat thing is a major pain for sure on the east! I wouldn't say we need all the galley room that is on the east, but we def. should have done it THEY other way, put the closets back in the west... but it's okay, it'll all figure a way to work out.

 

[BoeingBoy]

I was putting some numbers together for an answer to a question over on FlyerTalk and got hit with a bolt out of the blue, and it's appropriate to this discussion.....

Suppose you were the head of a large company that had two major divisions - let's call them something like East and West. These two divisions operated differently in many ways and you needed to bring the operations in synch so that they operated identically. Given the following info, which divisions model would you choose for the benchmark?

The West division has 38.5% of total capacity and produces 39% of the product.

Despite West divisions's capacity and production statistics being pretty close to the same, West division only produces 31.1% of revenues while being responsible for 32.5% of expenses - the difference grows.

West division uses 80.3% of it's capacity (1.5 points higher than East division), but unfortunately sells a less expensive product and receives 16.5% less than East division does per item. Fortunately, West division's cost to produce each item is also less, but by only 12.1% - meaning that West division makes less profit per item.

Which brings us to the bottom line - net profit (loss). This is where all those little differences add up. Despite producing 39% of the company's products, despite having 12.1% lower costs per item, West division produces only 8.9% of net profits.

So you're "boss for a day" - which model would you use as the standard for the entire company?

Oh yes, one last thing. These are the actual numbers for the 1st 9 months of this year at good old US Airways mainline (unless I fatfingered the keyboard, in which case someone please correct me).

Jim

 

[crusher]

The reconfig for the East 319's was 12/108 to 12/112. For the 320's it is 16/126 to 12/138. The 321's are 26/143 to 16/168 I think. The bigger change is 330's going from 41/220 to 29/259.

 

[jerseyfinn]

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

 

[UWCactus]

For the record, US West has always had the cabin configuration and always flown to the east on a regular basis. Flight Attendants have dealt with the coat problem for many years, but only during the cold weather months. We survive just fine without the closet..yes it would be wonderful to have, but they took them out many years ago and we adjusted. I think the equipment situation on the east a/c is a bit more challenging and although i know there is a problem, I'm not certain of the specifics. Here are some solutions for the FA:

Larger, bulkier coats, leather, can be in the overhead bin, folded up nicely. Suitcoats should be saved for the hooks.

If a passenger in first class has no room to place their carry on bag, use the "gate valet" tag and the bag will be brought up to the a/c on arrival. Its much better than baggage claim and this is reserved for first class passenger use only.

I know this may sound ridiculous to some, but like i said..this is not new to the industry.

 

[USFlyer]

I know this may sound ridiculous to some, but like i said..this is not new to the industry.

Someone has been drinking the Kool-aid. US is the only major carrier with a First class cabin that cannot hang coats up.

 

[US1YFARE]

Someone has been drinking the Kool-aid. US is the only major carrier with a First class cabin that cannot hang coats up.

No kidding and he's drinking more than Kool Ade. What a load of crap. But remember, just be patient...they'll continue to screw if you are patient.

I'd like to see Doug Parker, Travis Christ and Scott Kirby travel in our shoes for a week. Let's see one of their coats folded up and put in an overhead. Let's see them wait in lines for an hour. Let's see them try to use a kiosk on an East reservation. Let's see them wait for their bags in PHL. Let's see them eat that crap we have in FC. Let's see them drink the wine they serve in FC. Let's see them get barked at by an agent in PHX about the "correct" line for East and West pax. Let's see them put up with some of their own crap. YEAH RIGHT.