US Airways to cut 1,000 jobs, trim flights from Las Vegas

[Lexy]

Originally Posted by PhillyRising

I know it's cool to bash the Scareways...but remember...they had the pilot that got a plane in distress into the water without any fatalities. Other airlines had far worse incidents in Denver and Buffalo I believe..........

If I got on a plane and heard Sulley was flying it...I would be very happy.

I agree with that totally. But it was just pure luck, divine intervention, and pilot professionalism/training that got them on the Hudson without a death. Sully is certainly a special person, but every pilot is trained to deal with things like he did. Sully and his First Officer just happened to be the pilots that day and they did what they were supposed to do in that situation given the circumstances. US Airways really has nothing to do with the accident outside of being the airline involved.


To me, its always been "Useless Airways" because they really don't offer anything over the rest of the airlines out there. Quite honestly, they are at the lower end of service both in destinations served and the quality of service onboard. I have no need to fly them, but I certainly would if the need arose. If there was an airline that essentially "had to go" so the others could survive, it would be US Airways. I say that because of the reasons given above. They offer nothing that really makes them standout from the Delta's and American's of the USA.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by mwadswor

I thought LAX sucked for transfering, but that was because I was going from Southwest to Thai Airways... so I can't really blame the airport

Sky Harbor terminal 4 is huge, but as frustrating as the huge terminal can be if you're in a hurry, how else do you build a terminal for an airline that's a major carrier at the airport? It's certainly a simpler transfer than if you had to transfer between terminals because US Airways had 2 or 3 smaller terminals.

I like the faster moving walkways idea, but I'm sure some moron kid would hurt himself and the parents would sue for the walkways moving dangerously fast. One of the problems with Sky Harbor terminal 4 is that the moving walkways only go between concourses, it might be helpful if they had some running down the concourses too.

Oh, and I'm jumping on the US Airways blows bandwagon. I live in Tempe, I understand the economic impact they probably have on me, and I still don't think I'd miss them if I never saw one of their planes again. I never fly them anymore, Southwest goes everywhere I need, it's always cheaper, I always get an exit row seat, and they don't nickle and dime me.

I agree completely with having some moving walkways down the concourses themselves rather than simply being in between them.

As far as how to make it easier to transfer, it's not possible with the current configuration of the terminal. The problem is that having 4 concourses in one terminal spread apart by the taxiways like they are is that it's inherently inefficient for passenger movement. You could have all of the gates on one single long concourse with the moving walkway running the length of the concourse, that's probably the most convenient approach. Similar to the way Denver or Atlanta's airports are, quite frankly. But yes, I'm very aware that Phoenix cannot do the same, mainly because of space constraints.

Aaron (Glowrock)

edit: Concerning Southwest, funny thing is that I've NEVER found them to be less expensive than any other airline! Sure, their "Ding" specials are very cheap, for about 10 seats per plane, and maybe they're cheaper for those 21 day and further out advance flights, but for every flight I've taken in the last few years, United, Continental, USAir, or Frontier have always been cheaper for me...

[JMancuso]

never flown SWA but I don't think they nickle and dime for things like baggage and drinks.

[vertex]

Originally Posted by mwadswor

I thought LAX sucked for transfering, but that was because I was going from Southwest to Thai Airways...

Agreed, LAX is lousy for international transfers (either arriving or departing).

And what's with the inter-terminal shuttles there (or the lack of them)?

[Buckeye Native 001]

LAX has shuttles, but god help you if there's ever one when you need it. The shuttles from the economy lots to the airport are the absolute worst. You're almost better off cutting across the parking garage if, say, you need to get from Terminal 2 to 6, or something like that.

Like Plinko said, for O&D its a nightmare, which is why I usually flew out of Ontario (so much less hassle) or John Wayne (on the few occasions when it was cheaper to fly out of there than LAX or ONT)

[Lexy]

Originally Posted by JMancuso

never flown SWA but I don't think they nickle and dime for things like baggage and drinks.

I have flown them a bunch and no, they aren't the nickle and dime type. You get what you pay for. Luckily, I have been able to take advantage of some just rediculous fares on a few flights out of Nashville to places that would typically cost me two or even three (on some airlines atleast) times what I pay Southwest to get me there. El Paso being one of those flights in question here. It cost me around $200 round trip as a Business First passenger. That's just awesome when it was right at $600 round trip on American Airlines. That's obviously just one example for me. Their "Ding's" aren't the only way to get cheaper flights on them.

[DallasTexan]

The cheapest flight I've ever gotten to ELP was $12.50 on CO.

Oh wait... every flight on CO is $12.50 for me

[Buckeye Native 001]

Originally Posted by Lexy

I have flown them a bunch and no, they aren't the nickle and dime type. You get what you pay for. Luckily, I have been able to take advantage of some just rediculous fares on a few flights out of Nashville to places that would typically cost me two or even three (on some airlines atleast) times what I pay Southwest to get me there. El Paso being one of those flights in question here. It cost me around $200 round trip as a Business First passenger. That's just awesome when it was right at $600 round trip on American Airlines. That's obviously just one example for me. Their "Ding's" aren't the only way to get cheaper flights on them.

Isn't Nashville LUV's second-busiest airport for O&D behind Midway?

[Krases]

I for one think United Airlines has the right idea.

[Lexy]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

Isn't Nashville LUV's second-busiest airport for O&D behind Midway?

For pure O&D traffic, yes I believe it is. Nashville has an average of around 9 million folks using the airport each year. Of that number, roughly 4.5 million is pure O&D and with Southwest operating close to 90 flights a day out of here to 27 different cities. Take those numbers and one can only assume that a large chunk of the Nashville O&D is going to three seperate airlines, Southwest, American Airlines, and Delta/Northwest (in that order). For a city our size, Nashville is really a standout in the LUV route network. I just wish they would give us a bit more "LUV" instead of sending it all to Denver but that's a whole different discussion. LOL!

[mwadswor]

I think this would go in the negative column for sky harbor.

Police: Couple stole thousands of bags from Phoenix airport
Reported by: Katrina Wessman
Email: kwessman@abc15.com
Reported by: Lori Jane Gliha
Last Update: 5:41 am

Officers continue to investigate Sky Harbor luggage theft
Police: Couple stole thousands of bags from Phoenix airport
Police: Couple stole thousands of bags from Phoenix airport
Sky Harbor Airport Spokesperson talks about arrests


Slideshow Related Links
Irvin: A watchful eye
Luggage theft has passengers questioning airport security
PHOENIX -- Two people have been arrested for stealing thousands of baggage items from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Phoenix Police Detective James Holmes said the arrests were made Monday night, three weeks after an alert police officer first observed suspicious behavior near one of the airport's luggage carousels.

The officer apparently watched a man approach the carousel from the outside the airport.

According to Holmes, the officer then followed 61-year-old Keith King to the parking lot and was "able to determine that he did not come from a current flight, and yet he had removed baggage from that carousel."

Holmes said officers started looking at airport surveillance video and determined King could have been involved in baggage theft on more than one occasion.

"In the meantime," Holmes said, "Mr. King was released from jail on his own recognizance."

On Monday, King was accused of stealing another bag at the airport, giving police enough probable cause to conduct a search warrant at his Waddell home near 175th and Glendale avenues.

"There's suitcases everywhere," Holmes said. "Floor to ceiling. Everywhere."

SEE PICTURES FROM THE SCENE IN THE ABOVE PHOTO SLIDESHOW

Police arrested King and his wife, Stacy Legg King, for theft and possession of stolen property.

Stacy King is also facing charges for tampering with evidence after police caught her allegedly trying to destroy some items inside the home when they arrived to conduct the search warrant.

On Tuesday morning, police pulled dozens of pieces of luggage from the home and placed them into a large moving truck parked in the street.

Crime tape blocked off the road to neighbors, many of whom were not surprised by the arrests.

According to Eugene Honeycutt, who lives down the street, things always seemed a little "weird" at the King household.

Honeycutt recalled times when he watched King come and go from his home at 4 a.m. with a horse trailer packed with all sorts of items.

Honeycutt said some of the items could have been luggage, but he couldn't remember.

He said it seemed strange, however, because the Kings did not own horses.

"There was something not right going on there," said Honeycutt. He added that he had purchased items from King during one of his recent garage sales.

Honeycutt said he purchased several children's videos from King but later grew suspicious.

"I wondered, what would a man like this [would] be doing with all these videos for little children," Honeycutt said.

Police said it is possible that some of the items from the luggage was sold in a swap meet or a garage sale.

They have identified some of the victims connected to stolen luggage, but they said the investigation could become international and could have affected travelers from years ago. Police are still trying to identify all the goods.

Holmes said detectives would take pictures of the items for evidence purposes.