US Airways

For those of you who enjoyed the first brief, here's the second one. If you want to subscribe to the brief in your podcatcher, our podcast only RSS feed is here.
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We did want to followup on last week's story, where a religious Jewish teen caused a plane to be diverted by praying using his tefillin. In case you missed it the first time, the above is an Associated Press video of the initial announcement. Note the police referring to the device as an...
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This week's latest in route developments.
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Image via Wikipedia US Airways announced it would lay off 1000 people, approximately 3 percent of its workforce, and focus on four cities and the shuttle service. Here are the details: Reducing Las Vegas from 64 to 36 daily departures – No one is really surprised by this. Las Vegas was a big hub for America...
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Yesterday, we were reading Chris Elliott's Travel Troubleshooter blog. He posted excerpts from letters sent and received by a regular flier and US Airways. And we started contemplating the issue of how airlines might handle things when the airline and the passenger cannot see eye to eye.
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The Middle Seat Terminal blog reports that the rate at which passengers were bumped in the second quarter of this year increased forty percent compared with the same period a year ago. As carriers have slashed capacity to the bone, and with overbooking a common practice, there are too many people crammed onto...
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A lot happened while we were away. As we said in our Virgin America trip report, Every Plane should have In-Flight Wi-Fi. But, we felt there were a few things we didn’t mention during the trip report. There was actually a lot we didn’t mention. We wanted to touch on everything, but we’ve left...
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Image via Wikipedia As part of our continuing coverage of Slotgate ‘09(just kidding), we’re going to review some of what is going on down at National Airport. US Airways is gaining slots for 42 additional daily roundtrips at the airport. They will be adding new service to fifteen destinations, eight of which are new to Washington. Birmingham,...
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Image via Wikipedia Due to the discontinuance of US Airways Express service(Wilmington, NC excepted) from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, the following routes will be discontinued unless Delta picks them up. Albany, NY Hyannis, MA Raleigh / Durham, NC(Served by Delta and American) Baltimore, MD(Still served by Southwest) Indianapolis, IN(Already served by Delta, soon by Airtran) Richmond, VA Bangor, ME Ithaca, NY(Although they will...
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Image by mtsofan via Flickr So, now Continental has gotten AirTran out of Newark in exchange for slots at LaGuardia and National, where they are hardly a powerhouse. Delta is taking over US Airways extensive regional slots at LaGuardia, and US Airways is getting international route permissions and greater dominance at Washington National. It allows Continental,...
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The saga of LaGuardia Airport began when Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia struck a blow for all proud New Yorkers when he refused to call Newark Airport New York. LaGuardia was flying on a TWA flight which arrived into Newark, and pointing out his ticket said New York, refused to leave the plane until he was...
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Image via Wikipedia US Airways will be transferring 125 pairs of slots currently used to provide US Airways Express service at LaGuardia to Delta Air Lines. They will be getting 42 pairs of slots at Washington National. The plan will allow US Airways to expand service at National Airport and acquire the rights to fly...
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Image by caribb via Flickr Charleston International Airport is having some major repair work done on its 7000 foot runway, which last received major repairs forty years ago. The airport will be closed from 12AM to 6AM till August 9th. The work has been going on since June 9th, and the airlines were well aware...
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For those of us who love the airline industry, sometimes we wish to show our interest by buying airline-related merchandise. For those of you with children, who wouldn’t be tempted to send their youngster to school with an airplane bookbag(seen left)? “This completely custom backpack features an airplane shape, US Airway colors and logos, with see...
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View Larger Map US Airways flight 4423 was scheduled to leave Lynchburg, VA for Charlotte Airport at around 2:30PM yesterday, but was delayed due to an Act of God. God in this case was a 23-year old man who was overheard talking on his cell phone(we wonder what service provider He uses) commenting that the plane...
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British Airways will be adding nonstop service from London Heathrow to Las Vegas on October 25th. The service will be operated with Boeing 777 aircraft. Virgin Atlantic currently operates service from London Gatwick to Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic is launching service from San Juan, Puerto Rico from London’s Gatwick airport via Antigua. The service...
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The Boston Globe theorized last week that JetBlue would soon match other airlines in charging for a first checked bag. Southwest and JetBlue are the only major carriers who do not charge for the first bag. Dave Barger, CEO of JetBlue advised that no decision had been made and that he was “wary of being...
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Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenburger , the pilot who landed a US Airways plane on the Hudson River, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the new Yankee Stadium. Last month, it was announced that he was writing two books, one on his life up until the events of flight 1549, in a deal worth $3.2...
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AirTran Airways announced new nonstop service from Milwaukee to Washington’s National Airport. Beginning June 11th, they will offer two daily nonstops between the two airports. This continues AirTran’s buildup in Milwaukee after their failed attempt to merge with Milwaukee carrier Midwest Airlines. AirTran also announced service from its Atlanta hub to Atlantic City, NJ. Service...
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Mr. T, we’re sure, would say, “I pity the fool airline who mistreats their passengers.” Once again, here are some recent tales we’ve noticed of travel experiences. When a man tried to check in for his flight on Spirit, he was told the flight was oversold. When he tried to fly the next day, Spirit...
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Image by Getty Images via Daylife A Yale student is suing US Airways, claiming that they stole an Xbox 360 from his luggage. He is requesting $1 million in compensation. Jesse Maiman claims that when he took a Dec. 17, 2008, flight from New Haven, Conn., to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, he checked his Xbox 360,...
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Image by James Willamor via Flickr Our friend, Chris Elliott announced the news, to be reported by press release tomorrow, that it will bring back complimentary sodas, juices, tea, water and coffee to its flights starting next month. Charging for water especially, considering the dry atmosphere onboard airplanes and the liquid restrictions, seemed especially unfair....
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US Airways has announced it will charge $7 for a pillow and blanket beginning February 16th. The service will not be offered on US Airways Express flights, but can be purchased immediately on their website. In a recent BNET article, Barbara Hernandez commented on the subject. She incorrectly identifies US Airways charging for this...
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Image by Getty Images via Daylife We, unlike some elements of the media(if we can call ourselves that), do not like to milk a story until its becomes too old. Until there are more developments, we intend to update you on a few items of interest, and move on to new topics. The cockpit voice recorder...
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Image via Wikipedia In a press release, US Airways confirmed the downing of Flight 1549, and advised information requests for those who may have had family members onboard may call 1-800-679-8215. The Middle Seat blog over at the Wall Street Journal reports that if you are going to ditch a disabled plane in a city, a...
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