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| - I mentioned in a review of Southwest my outlook and understanding of the airline industry, which I will not repeat now. But to recap, there are generic problems with air travel, the airport process and the airline industry in general that is unfair to an airline to use as a standard, including lines, security, crowds, delays, etc.
As for US Airways, I can't say I have many complaints from the consumer perspective. For non-stop options out of Phoenix, your best bets are Southwest and US Airways, unless your destination is a hub of another airline, i.e. Dallas and Chicago for American; Denver, San Francisco, Washington and Chicago for United; Salt Lake City, Atlanta, JFK and Cincinnati on Delta, etc. With Phoenix as a hub for US Airways and Southwest (though the latter insists it's a "focus city") the former offers a large number of non-stop options from Sky Harbor.
The seats are about average for American carriers, they have rescinded charges for in-flight beverages and they are great about getting out on time. Last time I flew with them I went to San Francisco. The flight into Phoenix was running late, which would have put me in the City by the Bay an hour later than I was scheduled. Anyone who has tried to change an itinerary before knows that most airlines charge hefty penalties to do so. However, the check-in agent let me switch to Oakland at no charge, getting me in earlier than I expected.
Yes, US Airways has its downsides as well, but I must admit they're mostly on the back-end of things. It would be nice if they would expand international service out of Phoenix, giving us non-stop options into Europe, Asia, South America, maybe even Australia, as Phoenix is easily within a large aircraft's range of all three continents. From a local perspective, it's bad they instead focus more on their Eastern hubs of Charlotte and Philadelphia, as they will expand to Brazil and China within the next year, though only those two cities will benefit. From a civic standpoint, it could benefit the city and area to expand Phoenix' options, especially considering that many cities smaller than Phoenix offer more international destinations including Portland, Salt Lake City and Charlotte.
I'll admit Sky Harbor will be lacking for some time until this recession relents to a bull market... maybe. But in sum, US Airways' tickets are pretty reasonable, often cheaper than other carriers. Out of Sky Harbor, Southwest is its biggest competition and I would gladly pay a little more to fly US Airways domestically than I would Southwest.
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