The worst? I’ve read horror stories about this airline but unfortunately it was after I bought my tickets.
I’m flying from CHS to SYR via PHL on the 20th for a vacation and to introduce my new wife to the rest of the family. My layover in PHL is 45 mins so I’m hoping that I don’t have any delays in CHS.
Normally I fly out of SAV (10 mins away) to SYR via ATL on Delta but the $390 round trip total for both of us was considerably cheaper… cheap enough to make driving the 100 miles to CHS worth it.
Plus it will be my first flight on a CRJ and Dash 8 which also affected my decision.
At any rate, please share your US Airways experiences.
My coworkers and I lovingly refer to PHL as the blackhole of baggage. Say a few prayers and do a rain dance before you leave the house.
Otherwise, it shouldn’t be too bad. Hopefully you’re not by the wing on that Dash-8, otherwise you’ll find your ability to speak clear sentences will be disrupted temporarily.
For both flights, if you plan on carrying on any sort of roller bag, they’ll make you gate check it.
Overall, in my experiences on US Air I haven’t found them to be overly terrible (relative to most others), but nothing special. Among airports I’ve had the best experience at PIT (among PIT, PHL, and CLT).
I have the same seats (13A, 13C) on the CRJ and (9A, 9C) on the Dash 8 at the left rear of the plane for all legs of the trip. Again, after I bought my tickets I found a review site claiming those seats weren’t the greatest due to the inability to recline but on a 1 - 1 1/2 hour flight that’s really not a concern of mine.
The wing view on the CRJ should be nice and hopefully the engine noise won’t be too bad. Never flown on a prop plane other than a Cessna when I was 15.
As far as the baggage, I will definitely do the rain dance!
I have been flying US Airways for as long as i can remember and have not had a problem yet. I flew on both the CRJ and Dash 8.The CRJ is nice and is quiet. The Dash 8 is pretty loud, but I always sit next to the engine.
I checked seatguru and it looks like those Dash 8 seats are ok. On Horizon 9C is the center back seat… avoid at all costs. You might ask them at check in if row 1 is available, sometimes they hold these seats until the day of flight. I’m a big fan of riding the Dash 8 especially the Q version. They really aren’t louder than sitting next to the wing of a 737 or any other commercial aircraft. Unfortunately ~rows 3-8 are next to the engine.
You will regret your choice of wanting to fly on a CRJ. THOSE THINGs suck! I had 3 flights in a row of CRJ 200s. CRJs are the worst piece of trash I’ve flown on (for the passenger, me).
I’ve only been on a Dash 8 once. I thought it wasn’t too bad for a turboprop. I’d take a Dash 8 over a CRJ any day.
Nice video. I will post some video links here when I return on the 26th.
According to the seating chart when I bought the tickets both seats are together… not sure why there isn’t a B seat but 13A/C and 9A/C are side by side on both planes.
Thanks for the advice… I’ve been on a 727, 737, 757 and L-1011 in my lifetime so I thought giving a small plane a try would be fun. Plus there was over a $300 price difference which makes driving the 100 miles to CHS worth it IMHO.
I hope I don’t regret my decision but I will definitely give you guys the update when I return.
I used to fly USAirways often in the distant past (5 to 10 years ago). They seemed okay at the time, but things can change in 5 years.
They do this because many passengers are accustomed to flying on planes with 6 seats across ABC - DEF. A is a window, B is the middle seat that nobody wants, and C is an aisle seat. Your plane does not have the unwanted middle B seat - just window (A) and isle (C) seats (and whatever is appropriate on the other side).
Man, I was ALL MESSED UP when I flew on a 767 for the first time. They’ve got 7 seats across arranged 2 left - 3 center and 2 right. The seats are labeled for people accustomed to flying 747s which have 10 seats across, so it’s like:
A - C - D - E - F - H - J
Also - unless you are going from regional jet to RJ or turbo prop - 45 min may not be enough since the ‘Express’ terminal is in a whole nuther place on the airport and you take a bus from the main terminal. But, if as I suspect, it is all USair Express, then you will be in the same terminal.
I have NEVER been through PHL without a 30 minute delay. So, you’ll have lots of time. Literally on time performance of USAir regarding DEPARTURES through PHL is very very bad - but they pad the schedule like crazy so arrivals are usually ok OUT of PHL, more or less.
You did not say what time of day, but anythng after about pm is full delays in summer.
I’m leaving at noon and arriving at 330 in SYR… I wouldn’t think CHS would hold me up since it is such a small airport… it is all USEx so even with a 45 min layover I will be in the same terminal…
Coming back is the same way… less than an hour layover in PHL. Leaving SYR at 9:30am and arriving in CHS at 1pm.
I flew USAir (when it was called that) in the '80s and '90s, so I can’t offer a real recent testimonial, but I will say that I never had a problem with USAir itself, but I hated Philadelphia. I don’t believe that I ever flew through PHL without some sort of delay. It was such common knowledge that PHL was a delay waiting to happen that a ticket agent once changed my flights home to route me through PIT instead of PHL. This was at about 0630, BEFORE Philly was experiencing delays. She said that there was rain in the forecast for PHL, and that weather delays there were extremely common in even modest rain/snow events. As it turned out, my layover in PIT was 3.5 hours in pea soup fog…but we left on time!! (Sucked for me though, trying to spot in the middle of a cloud. )
In fairness, my bags DID always make it to my destination.
I’m actually looking forward to the break in the heat. The difference between GA and NY right now is about 25 degrees so it will be some much needed relief.
The wife is actually talking about bringing some jackets… “It’s going to be 50 degrees at night!” Hahah…
Hopefully I’ll be able to get some nice shots from the plane… I"ve got a Kodak Z612. It shoots a decent quality video provided I can get by with an electronical device.
The irony… you hit the nail right on the head. I did the rain dance but all it did was bring rain and delays… and… lost baggage.
We were delayed 4 hours in leaving CHS due to the storms that stretched from Philadelphia to Chicago. That wouldn’t have been so bad except for the fact that after 3 hours they boarded us and then had us sit on the plane for 1 hour.
The flight was smooth until we started our approach into PHL. A passenger 2 rows in front of us vomited from the turbulence and the visibility was nil for almost 15 minutes.
We were then delayed 2 hours before leaving for SYR. Our 330p arrival turned into 930p. Obviously the weather isn’t something you fault an airline for and I didn’t… However, I did blame them for losing our baggage. We waited in SYR for the 11p and 12a flights from PHL just to see if we could get lucky but we didn’t… Our bags were delivered 30 hours later to our hotel but not before we spent about $40 on hygiene stuff and wore the same clothes for 2 days.
The return trip was a bit better… The Dash 8 from SYR to PHL was great. We were then delayed in PHL for 2 hours for some unknown reason. Our flight from there to CHS was nice. We had an interesting approach which included the pilot dropping the gear in the middle of a very steep banking maneuver…
My opinion of US Airways? Not bad but in the future I am going to pay the extra $200 and go back to my SAV-ATL-SYR route on Delta… Never had a problem with them before and had I done that this time we most certainly would have avoided the weather (it was clear in NY) and lost baggage.
I have video clips of all the flights other than PHL-SYR which was too dark and rainy for any decent footage.
Here’s something to expect from US Airways: They don’t know how to land at IAH (Houston Bush Intercontinental) on the first try. My brother flew from the LA area to IAH on 17 Aug. Due to rain, the plane circled then landed at SAT for several hours. Then, this past Saturday (Friday?), the same exact thing happened!
I’ve never been on a flight that has diverted yet he was on two flights within a short period of time that diverted twice while flying the same route!
Yea, I know it’s not US Airways’ fault but, then again…
Yeah the Dash 8 was a unique flight. If you looked at my PHL-CHS video you’ll see that he dropped the gear while we were banking and it was quite a nervous jolt.
I can tell you that the Us Air flights that come into Tampa ,are horrible .They are dirty with really faded paint and just look beaten up. The ramp people are all pissed all the time so your bag could wind up in God knows where. I would not fly them EVER!
I’m guessing you see a lot of the remaining 733s and 734s? They’ve really let these get shoddy looking in the past, although I’ve seen a few w/ the new paint scheme, and they look sharp as hell. The new design & the lines of the a/c must jive together well or something…though not for very long I’m afraid.
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