I’ve had an odd little relationship with US Airways for a long time. I never quite forgave the airline then called US Air for buying the best airline ever, Piedmont. That would be the Piedmont Airlines, not that Piedmont Airlines, the DHC-8 operator. That said, the truth is that US Airways Dividend Miles is the mileage program which I have been a member of the longest with my date of joining going all the way back to the Piedmont Frequent Flyer Bonus Program in 1987. Yes, I was 17. Being from North Carolina, US Airways was quite easy for me to fly, and I have. Back in 2005 and 2006, I even rose to Chairman’s Preferred status, their top tier.
Somewhere right around that time, the airline’s operational situation took a turn for the worse. Couple that with all the drama from integrating US Airways and America West, the benefit reductions in Dividend Miles and just a general malaise that seemed to surrond the airline, I made it a point to never fly them unless absolutely necessary. In fact, I didn’t fly them for several years, and when I did, I credited the flights to my United Mileage Plus account.
Moving into the District of Columbia in late 2007, Reagan National Airport (DCA) really became an airport of choice, and Dulles became less convenient. As time has gone by, US Airways has seemed to make improvements in reliability, and their burgeoning flight schedule at DCA combined with the aforementioned improvements in reliability have made US Airways more attractive to me. Coinciding with last year’s Dividend Miles Grand Slam promotion, I signed up for their Trial Preferred program. This gave me a minimal level of elite status with which I could try to ease the transition back to US and Dividend Miles.
I took several flights, and a funny thing happened….I liked them. All of my flights last year were on time, the employees were polite if not gregarious, and the inflight experiences and comfort level were good to great, especially on their newer A321 aircraft. I had access to US Airways Clubs through my American Express Platinum Card, complete with its $200 dollar airline fee credit to cover things like inflight meals when flying coach. In short, my flights were quite comfortable, and my upgrade clearance rate has been better than 60 percent, not bad for a lowly Silver Preferred.
US Airways and Dividend Miles will be my Star Alliance airline and mileage program of choice in 2012. I can’t believe I just said that!
Disclaimer: If you apply for and receive the Amex Platinum Card through the link provided above, I will receive a commission.
My Dividend Miles Membership goes back to 1996. I reached Gold or Platinum many times. I had such a repeated bad experience from 04-08 that I took 4 years off from them completely and flew anyone but them. Shame because I was a loyal client. I understand domestic travel. I just could stand the unfriendly employees any longer. I wrote a letter to Doug (CEO of US Airways) and suggested that they perhaps break from the pack and make the airline great……like Virgin. No Answer…so I suspect it fell on deaf ears.
[…] it me, or is US Airways starting to put itself together? I’ve blogged previously about my positive experiences with the airline over the past several months, and today, things got even better. First, US Airways […]
I have flown them quite a bit, mostly out of Phoenix. The ex-AmWest employees are some of the best, and with the weather here, every flight is always onetime, if not 15-20minutes early. They have improved immensely from what they were known for just a few years ago..
I have a love/hate relationship w/ us. I’m locked in in CLT so I don’t have much choice. I hit their top status via 4 (yes 4) credit cards and flying the rest of the distance…60k. I get good upgrades, but let’s be honest…their upgrades are not real upgrades. There is never any inflight entertainment unless you’re going over an ocean. The FA’s in first practice the “get the food out quickly so I can sit my butt down the rest of the flight and read” procedure. Nonetheless, I sit here in Feb trying to plan out my miles to… Read more »
[…] post on my positive experiences with US Airways really generated a lot of interest. Every word I said is […]
I live in Philadelphia, so my hand is a bit forced in terms of airline preference. Regardless, I am convinced that people who complain about US either haven’t used them recently or have unreasonable expectations (in other words, they don’t understand what our domestic airlines are like). US has served me very well and there is a TON of value in the ability to redeem US miles on their partner airlines. I have flown a lot and I can honestly say that I like flying with US.
I am also a US Air loyalist and as a Chairman, have a 99% upgrade rate. By far they have the best reward redemption for flights to SE Asia and Oceania through the Star Alliance partners.
My only gripe is that they don’t do complimentary upgrades to Europe and they only give 2 system wide upgrade certificates per year (which I always save for 1 Europe trip.)
I’m doing the trial now and have had the same experience. The flights have been on time, the staff pleasant and the fares for first class a relative bargain. Also, I think Charlotte is one of the nicest airports in the country (gotta love the rocking chairs) for waiting out a connection! Add in the Star Alliance, and there’s a lot to like with US.
Thanks for posting this. I don’t feel like I’m crazy for liking US anymore!
Thanks for commenting! Helps me feel less crazy too!