Well based on current news reports, American and US Airways are set to merge operations with an announcement very soon in the near future.
Any thoughts good or bad as to what this might do for the MIA to POP flight
Green since 11/17/2013 & BoD 7/28/2017
Well based on current news reports, American and US Airways are set to merge operations with an announcement very soon in the near future.
Any thoughts good or bad as to what this might do for the MIA to POP flight
I am the pussy lickerLet's have some fun. Not invisible. Snitches are pathetic little people!
Disclaimer. This post may not be in response to a post by Greybaby. So Greybaby doesn't need to cry about it. Rover has you pegged to a T
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Who are these Mickey Mouse airlines? Surely Pan American and TWA are the only ones that really matter?
Paid subscriber of I.S.O.C. & member of the Stash.
I heard that Pan Am is buying a Concorde.. so us NY Players can get to the DR North coast in Style. and in record Time of about 45 mins, from JFK....Originally Posted by weyland
Junior Member
As far as I know American has been the only airline flying to POP out of Florida.
So hopefully it should not raise prices but someone has to pay for that crazy new American Airlines paint job.
I just hope they honor/transfer the worthless US Airways miles I have.
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amazing....one day AA is filing for bankeruptcy, and the next they are becoming the world's biggest airline. Gotta luv it!
Shuffling and Muff'n
Chica Aficionado
I'll be shocked if this plan gets around antitrust reg's. Which routes and hubs will they have to forfeit to pull this off? The logistics are impossible.
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
- Benjamin Franklin
B o D 12/08/2014
I wonder the same thing. Shouldn't an airline that filed for bankruptcy get free and clear of that little nastiness before being eligible to even have talks about merging with another airline?
Is US Air in that bad of shape to contemplate such a move? Perhaps some stock holders would be in for a financial windfall if this were to happen. But...maybe a mid-morning departure from Miami to POP would be added. It's hell waiting for that noon takeoff when you arrived from the left coast at 5 am.
An 8:00 am cocktail at the Islander Bar followed by a 9:15 am departure for POP. Be sitting at Rockys and ordering up a bleu cheeseburger by noon. Sounds good to me!
Tu Saaaabe
That sounds like the perfect day to me Smooth. But I need to make that a double Bloody Mary!!
Besele la mano a su tio!
It's a little more complicated than that. US Airways is basically buying AA out of bankruptcy. It's being called a merger so that AA directors and management can save face (even though most of them are going to be out of a job). AA has been resisting a US Airways takeover for at least 2 years and petitioned the bankruptcy court to block a forced merger with US Airways. The US Airways management will basically keep control of the entire company, but rename it American Airlines. So American Airlines will become the largest airline in the country again, but only because it's being bought out by US Airways and integrated into US Airway's existing operations.
Most of their hubs are not competitive, so it shouldn't affect flights and service.
Chica Aficionado
The read that I got on this started shortly after AMR (AA Parent Company) signed 10 years of conracts on their brand new fleet of jets (which have already started rolling out). AMR called in their unions and announced intention to file bacruptcy, demanding wage and benefit concessions, kind of like a mugger with a hand grenade saying "give me half your money or I'll blow us both up". It was the AA employees who approached US Airways with the takeover deal as soon as the filing was completed. After that, the other airlines started floating proposals while AMR resisted a hostile takeover by US Airways but nothing stuck so here they are, full circle with a shitload of bills coming in during a depressed "high" travel season and fewer and fewer options other than the hope for a gentle capitulation to and ass fucking by US Airways.
Having said that, I will add that my experiences with AA over the years have been generally B+ Good while my experiences with US Airways have been D+ Poor. Just like I know to plan extra money for both check and carry on luggage and seat assignment when travelling with "discount" carriers, I know to plan to pay for an overnight stay at the layover point wherever US Airways flies. They are terrible at scheduling equipment and crews and have cancelled flights on me and blame it on the weather when none of the airlines at those airports were cancelling flights at that time. I actually walked away from a lying-ass US Airways "customer Rep" who was blaming the cancellation of my flight on non-existent weather conditions, went to the Delta ticketing counter, bought a seat on the next flight and got to my destination relatively on time.
Another thing. 1st Class on AA is a premium travel experience whereas 1st cass on US Airways is only "coach-plus". If this merger goes through only the travellers will lose.
B o D 12/08/2014
Greydread, I tend to agree with you on the US Air scheduling problems. I have considered a trip back to Jamaica and when I checked their schedule leaving MoBay, the connection in Charlotte on to my final destination left barely an hour and 15 minutes to the departure time.
That is the time it takes for taxiing to the gate, departing the plane, getting through the line at immigration, the bs at customs, and trying to find your departure gate. And since they close the doors 10 minutes prior to pushing off from the gate, you might actually only have 45 minutes to get through all that.
I can only imagine that the people working at Charlotte with US Air, have a busy day trying to either reschedule a flight for passengers later that day, or giving them hotel vouchers for the night and rescheduling them for the next day.
That is the main reason why when traveling with a connection, I look for something that allows for a 2 hour layover to aleve any potential problems. I don't want to be OJ sprinting to different terminals and jumping over barriers to get to my gate on time.
I'm on vacation after all, and I much prefer a leisurely stroll through the airport. Kind of like walking on the beach.
Chica Aficionado
I agree. I will never book a US Airways trip through PHL or Pittburg again, howevre CLT is a breeze. It's probably my favorite connection location and I've only ever had smooth sailing through there. I also love that US Airways has a direct IAD-AUA. But I much prefer the daily nonstop Airtran from BWI-MBJ. There are many customers at DCA who are totally dissatisfied with US Airways. They won't be doing us any favors in the near future.
US Airways honored my (free miles) flight from IAD - SXM but I had to book almost 6 Months in advance.
B o D (Probie - 11/18/2014)
US Air sucks. Even with AA in Bankruptcy their name looks better than US Airways, thats why US is keeping the AA brand. Its kind of funny though that AA has already been rebuilding itself in 2013 even before the merger news was officially out. The new logo, the new airplane, the commercials...New program coming up?? I hope they keep it 3 tiers and don't go the United/Continental Route of 4 Tiers.
I'm set to fly my first ever US Airways flight at the end of the month and i'm only flying it because I can get United Miles for it. Otherwise I'd never even think to fly US Airways...Actually a RT to Macau or Hong Kong is only 60,000 but thats the only upside i've ever seen to US Airways. In a way it is them rising from the ashes, not AA.
Don Rico & "A Designated Diver"
I asked a senior US-Airways pilot friend of mine about it, last night. His reply?
'Nothing plus nothing still equals nothing.'
I don't care too much, as long as 'the equipment' gets me to POP on-time, and the return trip gets me home on-time. If the schedule gives me enough hours to dine at La Carreta (the Cuban restaurant) in MIA between flights, so much the better!
I'm still "Just A Lurker."
The Chinese virus infected the Western world with Chinese-style totalitarian politics. - Gladiator
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary. – H. L. Mencken
Green since 11/17/2013 & BoD 7/28/2017
I enjoy that place to eat on my way to POP as wellI asked a senior US-Airways pilot friend of mine about it, last night. His reply?
'Nothing plus nothing still equals nothing.'
I don't care too much, as long as 'the equipment' gets me to POP on-time, and the return trip gets me home on-time. If the schedule gives me enough hours to dine at La Carreta (the Cuban restaurant) in MIA between flights, so much the better!
Usually hit The Counter a custom built burger place and sports bar on the way back
Moderator
i flew usair once, it is really a discount airline pretending it isn't, good riddence from star alliance.
BOD
What was the exchange rate US Air to United?....I've got 40,000 I don't see me using soon.Can I just change the miles any time or do I have to be purchasing a ticket through United???
B o D (Probie - 11/18/2014)
No exchange rate. I bought a US Airways flight and when you book there is an option to enter your dividend miles number, but it drops down and it has the other programs of the star alliance in it....which includes United's Mileage Plus program. I selected that option and chose to have the flight miles credited to my United Mileage plus account.
I don't know that you can convert US Airways miles to United miles, if you can then for sure there is a fee involved. Points.com allows you to trade with other people but it has a fee too.
I still have close to 120,000 US Airways miles I don't see myself using. I'm waiting to hear official news regarding the merger with AA and then an explanation on how they plan to merge the two frequent flyer programs. If the US Airways miles become AA miles after the merger you'll be able to transfer your miles over like when Continental and United merged.
B o D (Probie - 11/18/2014)
I'd never fly them but they had a RT to Las Vegas for $160 from NY. I couldn't pass it up. I booked another one to California too but i'm getting kind of scared of what kind of Traumatic experiences I may go through flying US Air from all the bad things i hear about them.
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The anticipated marriage of American Airlines parent AMR Corp. and US Airways Group Inc. would represent a departure from other airline mergers in recent decades, aimed more at creating a huge route network that leapfrogs the competition, rather than at culling money-losing and overlapping flights.
The prospective deal could restore American, which has suffered billions of dollars of losses in recent years, to its former status as the world's biggest carrier.
The new American would have hubs at seven of the nine busiest U.S. airports and boast a strong presence in Europe and Latin America. It would suddenly become a major player in Boston and Tampa, Fla., and at New York's LaGuardia Airport and Reagan National Airport near Washington.
The merger would be good news for frequent fliers of both American and US Airways, offering them dozens of new destinations and a healthier, more stable airline industry. But the deal wouldn't solve a crucial problem for the airline: a lack of service to Asia, the world's fastest-growing air market.
American's main rivals, United Continental Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc., are the two biggest carriers between the U.S. and Asia, accounting for nearly a third of the seats on those routes, according to Innovata LLC, which analyzes airline- schedule data. American accounts for less than 5% of those seats, and US Airways doesn't fly to Asia at all.
"China is the flashing red light this merger doesn't address," said Bill Swelbar, an airline researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
United and Delta also enjoy partnerships with big Chinese carriers, but the Oneworld airline alliance, in which American is expected to remain after the merger, lacks a member in mainland China.
As reported, AMR and US Airways are ironing out the final details of a merger. The plan still could fall apart if they can't agree on economic and management issues. And any such deal would require approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Judge overseeing AMR's reorganization and the U.S. Justice Department.
The expected merger poses potential disadvantages for fliers. Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com, said less competition, both now and in the future, means an overall increase in airfares over the long term. But other analysts say that because American and US Airways overlap on just 12 routes—nearly all between their hubs—the merger wouldn't significantly increase fares.
Jonathan Kletzel, head of the transportation practice at accounting and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, said mergers don't necessarily lead to an increase in fares, and that from 2004 through 2011—a period that includes some of the biggest airline mergers—domestic airfares actually decreased by nearly 1% a year when adjusted for inflation.
But he expects fares to rise over the next several years, with or without the merger, as the industry has gotten better at making fare increases stick.
There also are questions over whether the combined carrier could support eight hubs and, if not, which U.S. city might be on the chopping block. In most recent airline mergers, at least one hub has suffered deep cuts to its service, such as Cincinnati following the 2008 merger of Delta and Northwest Airlines.
In the expected American tie-up, analysts point to Phoenix as the likely target, partly because it is sandwiched between American hubs Los Angeles and Dallas.
A merger would give American's frequent fliers greater flexibility. "American has been squeezed out east of the Mississippi" River, said aviation consultant Mike Boyd. "So for frequent fliers at AA, you'll have a lot more options."
The merger also would be a boon for US Airways fliers from its three hubs—Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Phoenix—who could connect to one of American's five hubs—New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Miami—to fly on to more than 125 new destinations, many in Texas, the Midwest and Latin America, according to Innovata. US Airways would contribute nearly 60 unique destinations, mostly clustered in the northeastern U.S.
US Airways would boost American's service to Europe, with near daily flights from Philadelphia to 11 European cities, including Amsterdam, Brussels, Munich and Rome, four cities not served by American.
The deal also would bolster American as the No. 1 U.S. carrier in Latin America, buoyed by its 71% market share in Miami. US Airways would add more flights to the Caribbean and, more importantly, would allow American to pull traffic from dozens of new cities in the northeastern U.S.
Combining American's and US Airways' traffic would make the combined carrier a strong presence at several important U.S. airports, including Boston and Tampa, which could help the airline win new corporate contracts.
At LaGuardia, where Delta has built a 40% market share, the new American would increase its market share to 31% from less than 20%, according to Innovata.
At Reagan National Airport, nearly half of which is currently controlled by US Airways, the new American would offer 62% of departing seats. However, in its antitrust review of the expected merger, the Justice Department could force the carrier to divest some of those slots at the flight-constricted airport.
The recent wave of consolidation has meant higher profits and more stability for the industry, which has led airlines to invest in technology, new airplanes and better customer service. "It's not all bad news," said Mr. Seaney of FareCompare. "A healthy airline industry means a better flying experience overall."
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