Complain about a product or service

US Airways

Pratibha of New York NY (07/01/08)
This actually happened in 2006, app. 2 years ago. For me to describe what happened at the Philadelphia airport, US Airways terminal today,2 years later, speaks for itself the frustration and sadness I endured at the hands of the US Airways employees at the luggage screening.

My husband , baby and I were taking the 5:00AM flight to Boston from Philadelphia airport. We were like a 35 minutes short of boarding the plane and the lady at the baggage check in counter wouldn't check it in as it was too late, according to her to check in the bag. We insisted on checking it in as we had some items of value that were liquid or part liquid to carry on board. I had expensive cosmetics that ranged from $400-$450 and my baby's body cream as he was suffering from eczema at the time.

As it is we were late and at the screening area I told them that the bag wasn't checked in and that we had intended to; and had some items of value and requested for a transparent plastic bag for the items; the employee at the screening area took one look at the items and I almost saw her eyes gleam with delight. At that time I had no time to argue with her and even looked around if we could find any transparent ziplock packet for the baby's items. They didn't even allow us my baby's Aquaphor cream aboard even after I told them about my baby's skin condition.

I think that because airlines has this rule about puting liquids and semiliquid items in clear packets, it is justifiable that they should be able to provide these, at least during emergency cases? I am quite sure that instead of going to the customs dept. my expensive stuff got swiped by these very staff. So, now I am very careful about carrying stuff with me that could get rifled under my very nose; even if its my baby's skin cream!!

The loss..well a good $450 drown the drain.

Jyoti of Santa Rosa NM (06/21/08)
We arrived at the airport at 4:50 a.m. I was in a regular line where there was no one ahead of me or behind me. The US Airway agent asked me to get into the group line since there where 6 of us traveling. He asked us to get into line behind a group of 9 people that were checking in, in the group line. By the time the agent (Sean) got done with the group of 9 it was 5:20 a.m. He got stuck checking us in because it was an international flight. He asked for help and by the time he got done it was probably 5:35 a.m. We took our boarding pass and headed towards security.

When we arrived at the security we found that he had forgotten to give one of us the boarding pass. We had to run back down and pick the boarding pass. He said he would call the gate and let them know that we were on our way, because of his mistake. By the time we finished security and got to the gate it was 5:55 a.m. and they had closed the gate. The agent at the gate said, they sold our tickets to stand by since we did not make it on time. He said he did not receive a call from downstairs saying we were on our way up. We asked for a supervisor and once she arrived she informed us that the agent (Sean) that had checked us in was under training. How could he be checking in a group of 9 people ahead of us and then a group of 6 by himself when he was being trained?

The supervisor gave us our options of traveling the next day (Which would mean our hotel reservations would be cancel in Cancun) or catching a 6:30 flight from Southwest Airlines, but at our own expense. She was very loud and rude. I dont know what happened to the Customer First Service that US Airways talks about. We went to Southwest Airlines gate, purchased our tickets. When we went back to US Airways gate to ask them about our luggage the agent said he did not know where it would be and laughed. He thought it was all very funny! I emailed US Airways customer relations and still have not heard from them. From reading all the US Airways complains, seems like this is no big deal to them.

Michael of Schenectady NY (06/19/08)
My son Tyler was born in 1994 and since 1995 he has been flying USairways and has been enrolled in the Dividend Miles. Since Tyler has been above 20,000 Dividend Miles we have tried numerous times to get him a seat on a flight only to be told the time/date(s) are blocked out, was off peak or the flight is sold out. When I asked when is a good time and what should we do I was told to try again in a week or two. Then it is the same old thing when we call back. On 6/12/2008 I called only to only find out that Tyler, and myself had ZERO miles left! He EARNED 25,721 miles only to have them taken away by USairways without warning! I was told h/wee FORFITTED them! To forfeit something would require an action wouldnt it?

I was then told by USairways Representative Victoria-#0167 that we were notified, by E-MIAL! Then she went on to say he could have checked his account online. Why would anyone do that when they know their balance? And I did check back in the e-mail and no where am I told we have ZERO miles on our account(s). But wait, it gets better! We were then told that we could BUY our miles back for $200.00, apply for a USairways credit card and /or buy a first class seat on our next USairway flight! I have to ask, how is that not a form of extortion? Dictionary: extortion: Illegal use of one's official position or powers to obtain property, funds, or patronage. An excessive or exorbitant charge.

Was denied a free earned flight,estimated value as much as or more than $3000.00

Jennifer of Tacoma WA (06/14/08)
I had a flight booked from seattle to philidelphia with a connection to salisbury maryland right after. When I arrived at SEATAC airport, I was told that my flight was delayed 20 minutes but I will have no problem reaching my connection on time. Well my flight was scheduled to leave seattle at 1:40pm, but the plane didn't even arrive at the gate until near 3pm. Once landed in Philidelphia, some passengers who missed their connecting flight, myself included, were told that they would be taken care of at the agent counter. I missed my connection by 30 minutes, and this was at 11:20pm.

The agents who were handling the problems of this delayed flight were all extremely rude and mean to all of their customers. They couldn't get me on a plane until 10am the next morning. They said they can give me a voucher with a discounted rate which would cost me $82.00. The agent snapped at me and said I can either take the voucher or she doesn't know what to tell me. This was completely unacceptable for me. I was then told that I need to go out to the ticketing area if I wanted to get my baggage so I had my clothes, etc. She neglected to mention that the airport would not allow me to return to my gate until 5:00am the next morning. So I had to stay out in the ticketing area for 5 hours because she didn't give me the voucher and the cheapest hotel was 100.00. Plus I couldn't get my bag.

My whole experience with this airline just baffles me. I told the agent the next morning that I believe I should be refunded at least my cost to fly one way since this was such an inconvenience and the treatment was completely uncalled for. But they said it's not US AIRWAYS fault because the tower was the cause of the delay. Well my husband works for boeing and he told me that the reason they were so slow is because they laid off a bunch of people and grounded 80 or so of their planes. So I would like to know how this whole thing was my fault when my trip was booked and paid for over a month in advance? I do believe that I am entitled for a refund of at least the one way expense due to the unfair treatment and harassment of the people employed with USAIRWAYS and for my inconvenience.

Megan of Sylva NC (06/12/08)
I have been on the phone with US Airlines for the past two days trying to resolve a dispute. Yesterday evening (June 11, 2008) at 5pm EST I called a US Travel Representative asking about a flight from Asheville NC to San Francisco CA and back. I saw in my dividend miles account that I had about 28,000 miles that were expired. I asked the representative if I reinstated these miles for $200 if I could use it to purchase a ticket to California. He told me you only need 25,000 miles for a ticket and proceeded to look online for a round-trip ticket for $610 that I could purchase with those miles. But first, he told me to reinstate my miles first before purchasing a ticket, which I could do online.

Trusting him, and US Airways, I reinstated these miles for $200 only to find that my cumulative mileage (32,000 miles) could not purchase ANY ticket to California. This information has been misrepresented by US Air and I want my $200 back. I have been on the phone all last night and all morning speaking to the entire nation of the Philipines. No one can help me cancel this transaction because of policy. I want to know if misreprestation is in the policy as well.

I have sent several emails and I have told everyone I have talked to (Honey Mirales, Carla, Louis, John, Chris, Keira, Prinzel [who is the supervisor of customer relations in the philipins], Derrick who actually tried to help, and many more) about this situation. I am starting to think all these names are made up. No wonder US Air is going backrupt. I understand the rising cost of gas but I am dissapointed with the lack of costomer service. I am currently waiting on the phone with costomer service and the automated voicemail is telling me email is a faster way to get in touch with [these] people.

David of Lake Wylie SC (06/10/08)
I booked a Roundtrip Flight From Charlotte to Denver, My meeting changed on the day I was to fly back, therefore I called US Airways to try and reschedule my Flight. I needed to fly out 4 hours later from Denver back to Charlotte. I expected to pay the Service Fee($150.00), but what I did not expect was that they wanted me to cancel my current booking so the could rebill me at over $600.00 more. I undersatnd that the price of fuel is way up, but we are only talking about flying out 4 hours later.

If this were a new reservation, I could understand paying more, but I have been flying US Airways for the last 8 years (I am even a US Airways Visa Card member and a dividend miles member)and I have had US Airways change my flights like this numerous times, and there was never any type of increase for moving a flight time within the same day, just the service fee. This is a clear cut case of price gouging. It is completely unethical, and I can not belive that the United States Goverment puts up with these type of business practices.

If I am to be at my business meeting (as required by my job), then it will cost me $ 787.00 out of my pocket for 4 hours....

Gayle of Bellmore NY (06/05/08)
On March 6 I made nonrefundable reservations to fly roundtrip from New York's LaGuardia to Charlotte, N.C. On May 13 I realized I booked my return trip home for the day after I meant to. My mistake. I called US Air to see what I should do. The very nice rep gave me two options: I could change the flight with him by phone for a $100 change fee (as stated on my e-confirmation as well), or I could just go to the airport on the day I needed to leave and fly standby for a fee of $25. At that time, he said there were plenty of available seats, so based on the information he gave me, I made the deliberate decision to fly standby.

We left on time for Charlotte and even arrived early--a perfectly smooth flight and the in-flight crew were as nice as can be. The night before I was ready to return home, I called the airlines to make sure seats were still open on the flight I wanted to take, and was told there were. The next morning I was dropped off at the airport at 6:45 a.m. I waited on line, then when an agent became available for me, I explained to him the situation and that I wanted to fly standby. This is when everything went downhill. He told me I could only fly standby on the same day of my original flight and that to change my flight that day would cost me $150. I reiterated what I had been doing by the US Air rep in mid-May, but the agent told me there was nothing he could do, that he was beholden to the computer.

Well, there was nothing I could do either--I had to get home, so I charged the $150 and figured US Air would right the wrong once I got home. Wrong again. After holding for a full hour with customer relations, the woman (Kiki) refused to refund me down to the standby fee because nowhere in my files did the agent I spoke to in May record that he advised me of the standby option. The records did indicate he told me about the $150 change fee, which wasn't correct either. He told me $100, and that's what it says on my e-confirmation as well. I was on the line with Kiki for 20 minutes, but she refused to budge. It boils down to my word (the customer) against what a file (allegedly) says.

Needless to say, I feel outraged about how I was treated. I own my own business and have plenty of things I could do besides sitting on the phone for an hour waiting for someone to pick up on the other end. I am not looking to get anyone in trouble or to get free tickets or anything like that -- all I want is to be refunded $125 of the $150 I had to pay (and why that's $150 and not $100 is beyond me as well.

Economically, I'm out $125. This should have only cost me $25, not $150.

John of Glenmoore PA (06/05/08)
I volunteered for a voluntary bump off of a US Airways flight in January for me and 2 other members of my family based on receiving a e-voucher good for 1 free roundtrip flight, based on the fact that I had used an e-voucher on Air Tran 2 years before with very little difficulty for a free roundtrip flight for my family. When it came time to look for a flight in late January for May or June, there was not 1 single flight out of Philadelphia going anywhere in the western part of the country.

The main point on taking the voluntary bump was to go somewhere in the western part of the country. I allowed for 3 or 4 months notice, looked at all of May and June, and also considered going out of Baltimore. It seems like US Airways automatically isn't allowing people to use the e-vouchers.

Sofia of Montreal Canada (05/13/08)
My complaint concerns the #650 flight from Philadelphia to San Francisco on May 2nd 2008. It was by far the worst flight I have ever experienced.

We initially were suppose to leave at 4:25pm after boarding at 3:55pm. Everyone got on the plane, which wasn't packed and got ready to fly.

Around 5:25pm, still on the ground in the plane, the pilot finally lets us know that there seems to be a paper problem and we are not allowed to leave yet. Things should be fixed real soon.

Around 6:25pm, we get told that a passenger on our plane has heart problems and that we need to go dock to the airport so that a doctor can come see him. Finally, he's feeling ok but is taking out of the plane.

Around 7pm, we get told that there is no gas left in the plane from all the waiting so they have to fill up the tank again. Finally around 7:30pm, the pilot says that we are ready to leave but discovers we are 31st in line. We finally fly a little past 8pm.

During those 3.5 hours, only water was brought to us and only twice. No juice or food to accommodate us.

Once we're in the air, ready for a 5h flight, the crew lets us know that food will be served shortly for a cost of $7. They are actually making us pay after keeping us stuck on a plane for 3.5 hours! After serving 2-3 clients in the front, the crew lets us know that there is no food left. They filed the gas tank twice but never thought about bringing more food in.

So 90% of the people were basically stuck on a plane for 8.5 hours straight without having food, which was my case! Instead, they gave us tons of dry and small pretzels as if it would make a change in our stomach.

The crew sure didn't know how to take care of us. They also played a movie, which got stopped 10 times.

I contacted US Airways after this to complain about the very late flight and the fact that a lot of us weren't ready to be stuck on a plane for 8.5 hours without food thinking we'd be in San Francisco shortly to enjoy our evening. All they could offer was a $50 voucher making me think that I was being difficult. As if I ever want to use their services again!

Barbara of Indianapolis IN (05/12/08)
May 12, 2008 my family and I were at the Las Vegas Airport making our return flight home to Phoenix, AZ. Our son who has flown with US Air for many years was in a wheel chair because of a neuralogical disease. He was told to hold out and would be the last person to board the plane. Peter is in a wheel chair for a reason. His balance is very unstable, but able to hold on to things and manage to get to a seat. The gentleman (I use that word loosely) asked him if he could walk. If he could walk he wouldn't need a wheel chair! I personally think he was quite insensitive for making him be the last in line and making such comments.

To make things worse when a person who has a disability is the last to board it is harder for them to get to their seat, especially when people are having problems getting to their own seat. The airline stewardess because of our sons inbalace thought he was drunk. Our son doesn't drink and I think it was presumptious of the stewardess to make such an assumption. She also accused him of swearing, which he did not. She had a security guard come and talk to him. I don't mind the fact she asked a security guard to come speak to him, but I don't like her assuming anything. I always thought people were presumed inocent until proven guilty. Questions are good! She was an older plesant Asian lady with shoulder dark hair and had a shoulder problem.

She couldn't help our daughter-in-law put her carry on luggage in the over head. Our daughter-in-law had recent back surgery and with our son disabled this was a bit too much. I know this sounds petty, but if help and stewardesses keep up with this kind of attitude [this] airlines will be in trouble. The gentleman who was so rude to Peter at the gateway was around 60-65 years old, over weight with graying hair and wore glasses. We were on flight 398 to Phoenix from Las Vegas at 7:30am. Handicapped people are becoming more prevelant in our society and people need to be aware of that and sensitive to the fact that they don't like be handicapped anymore than they would. Thank you for your time.

Cody of Crofton MD (04/28/08)
I voluntered to give up my seat because my direct flight to DCA was over booked. I was promissed a free ticket but I was quickly rushed to the gate that my alternate flight was taking off from.  When I arrived in Charlotte (where I was routed through) I asked the ticket agent about my free ticket.  I was told that I should have received it in New Orleans and there was nothing that could be done now.  I told the agent that I didn't even receive a ticket for the new flight out of New Orleans and I was escorted directly to the gate.

I never recieved the free ticket I was promissed.

Gloria of Olive Branch MS (04/24/08)
The consumer complaint avenue must be a REAL JOKE. I filed a complaint with US Airways the first week in April and to-date I have received nothing except a canned e:mail response. The experience was a nightmare -- four (4) airplanes - four (4) delays or cancellations - due to mechanical problems. I lost two (2) weeks of production causing me several thousand dollars to my wallet. WHAT A JOKE! and no one wants to hear it...

Fidelia of Arlington TX (04/23/08)
On jan 22-2008 I purchased a ticket online @usairways & received 2 emails confirming my purchase. It meant that my credit card got charged 2x for a trip costing $429.85 plus $10.00 processing fee & ticket costing $424.50 I called & talked to a rep she confirmed it was their system malfunction.And that records show that their system charged all who visited the site same time I did. She advised I inform my credit card coy & also to watch my statement with 2-3mths. I'm being chrg'd % on the amt in question.

I'm very upset & frustrated no one cares to help my resolve the issue. In the meantime this is causing me & my family financial stress. This is why I'm forwarding this mail to my credit card coy, Consumeraffairs, BBB, my family lawyer. I don't need any more hardship, it's hard enough to be unemployed. I have no name & direct ph#, but recorded vmgs. I need someone to investigate my claims. This is serious. Thanks.

In the meantime this is causing me & my family financial stress.Since I'm unemployed & struggles to make payment. My credit card coy The JCPenny Rewards Master card (cust Serv # 1-866-227-5213) is not helpful. Of course if I ever payoff, I will never charge it again, EVER! I'm very frustrated, sicj & tired of these big companies making customers lives miserable.

Marc of Swampscott MA (04/14/08)
I was returning home to Boston on US Air, from a business flight in South Carolina, when they asked if anyone would voluntarily get bumped for a two free round trip ticket vouchers. Apparently they had over booked the flight and there were a few people who were on standby that had to get back to Massachusetts for a family emergency. The assured us that we would be on the next available flight back to Boston that day.

It was a very difficult decision for me to delay my arrival home to see my wife and children who I had not seen for the week I had been away on business, but I thought that the tickets would make for a nice surprise trip for my wife and I. I was then put in a taxi and driven about an hour to another airport where I had to wait in the terminal for another hour for a flight. I was not given any food vouchers or other compensation outside of the vouchers - but I had two free round trip tickets, so I felt pretty good about my decision to get off my original flight, on top of the fact that I was helping out my fellow passenger.

Over the last year I have tried multiple times to use the voucher and they never accept it. Over the past week I have spent over an hour a day on the phone either waiting for someone at Customer Relations to pick up the phone or speaking to various agents who could not tell me one place that I could actually use this voucher to get to. Not only that, but they wouldn't provide a comprehensive list. I had to ask over and over, 'what about Philadelphia, what about Denver, what about New Orleans, what about this date, etc.'

I feel like there should be an investigation into how many people truly get a round trip ticket out of these stupid vouchers. I have been as flexible as humanly possible and truly believe that at least from Boston, where I live, there are no available round trip tickets for these vouchers. Also, I have to say, US Air does everything possible to ignore complaints like mine. No one from Customer Relations has responded to my emails (3) in over a week.

My vouchers are due to expire at the end of next month and I don't realistically expect to be able to use them. If this sounds like the email from Drew from Seattle, posted here in March '08, it is probably due to the fact that this is a common business practice by this most deceptive company. I guess the moral here is that there is no such thing as a free ride.

No compensation received as promised for what ended up being a 6 plus hour delay and countless hours of my time on the phone trying to get what I was promised. On the US Air website they claim to put customers first. If this is the way they put customers first, I'd hate to see how they treat customers if they put them last.

Thomas of Chicopee MA (04/07/08)
I called up the 1 888 phone # for US AIR. 7 days before my flight to Las Vegas, for April 10,2008. I told them I was terminally Ill. And had a letter from my doctor stating that. I asked them if I could have and aisle seat. I told them that I was on morphine for the pain. I was told I could have a wheel chair. But an aisle seat was not there problem

I have to suffer a long flight, with leg cramps. And they could careless about it !!!

Renee of Sedro Woolley WA (04/06/08)
Our family of 4 was booked on US Airways flight 193 departing from Seattle at 8:34 PM on 3/29/08. This flight had two connecting flights (also US Airways) ending up in Puerto Rico where we would be taking a 7 day Caribbean cruise. At about 8:15 PM we noticed on the screen that there was a 9 minute delay. No communication from US Air employees. At 8:30 finally an announcement about a small mechanical problem that it should only take a few minutes to fix and they would update passengers in 5 minute. Aprox. 20 minutes later a call for families with children under age 5 to line up. They stood there for 30 minutes waiting. Passengers start lining up at the counter (at that time one staff person)with concerns about connecting flights. We were told that since there were more than 15 people catching our connecting flight that they would probably hold the plane for us. 15 minutes later it was announced that we would miss our connecting flight but should still go to Las Vegas where there were more employees to help us and more flights to get us on to PR. 10 minutes later another announcement that there are NO outgoing flights from Vegas and no hotel room for 2 days.

We went to the loading door to ask about our luggage. We were told No luggage had been loaded on the plane. No announcement on what we should do or offer any help. Another passenger was giving everyone the 1-800 number for US Airways. Aprox. 15 minute later there was a last call for Vegas. We again, concerned about where our luggage was, asked the same employee who now said it was on the plane and screened and there was no way to get it off. As we were asking employee Darren Karley what to do he closed the door in my husbands face. We also got conflicting info. on where our luggage would end up. Robin on the phone telling us it will stay in Vegas and Darren saying it would go on to PR. After calling the 1800 number and working with Darren he told us he had us booked on a flight out of Seattle the following morning on American Airlines which also had two connecting flights. We then asked (were never offered anything) for a hotel voucher. Darren said it would be quicker to go back to check in.

We asked Penny at the check in counter for a voucher and she was out of them. She said she would have call security to close down the counter to go get some as again only one employee was working. My husband offered to go back through secirity to get some vouchers for Penny. While he was gone our daughter went to AA to confirm our tickets. She was told that Darren had never confirmed with them and that the flight was full. We then told Penny who got on the phone with AA and got a record locator number. She suggested that since AA check in was now closed that we find a computer at the hotel to confirm. As soon as we got to the hotel our daughter got online and found us confirmed on the two connecting flights but not on the one out of Seattle.

Again we called the 1-800 # and found out by Stacy that we were booked on Hold Wait and that Darren should never have rebooked 4 people on that flight. After 7 hours on the phone we realized that there was no way we were going to make it on our cruise. At 3:30 AM we were told by Stacy that they were refunding our flight cost but that is it and that we could call customer relations on Monday. We called and talked to Anna who said our cruise would not be refunded. We asked to speak to a supervisor and were told that she would pass on our info. and a supervisor may or may not choose to call us. That was a week ago and we are still waiting for a call. Ana was also the first and only employee to apologize to us.

This trip ended up costing us over 7,000.00 in expenses for preperation, airfare, cruise and unpaid time from work. A refund of airfare (2,150.00) is hardly payment for our priceless missed family vacation considering the way that we were treated by US Airways and their employees.

Linda of Newtown CT (04/06/08)
Just went onto the USAirways, Dividend Miles site to check to see how many miles were in my account and saw that they have listed ALL of my miles earned from America West as forfeited for lack of activity! DUH! America West is no longer - aquired by none other than USAirways! However, I can have my miles reinstated for a $200 charge OR if I'm willing to sign on for a loyalty program credit card!

The ironic thing here is my husband and I flew on USAirways in September 07, just six months ago! How can they claim my account is inactive? I'm sure many others are in this same situation. My husband has the same problem, but he's forfeiting 48,000+ miles. He can reinstate his miles too but he must pay more since they have a sliding $$$ scale which is determined by how many miles you have to reinstate. I guess it cost more to type 48,000+ than 26,000+. I will NEVER choose USAirways again if they don't reinstate these miles. This is NOT the way to run an airline!

Stephanie of Queen Creek AZ (04/04/08)
I booked a flight for Dec 2007 and due to unforeseen circumstances, I had to cancel the flight. The flight was Non-refundable which I knew. I was credited my $1900 for future flight use. Recently April 2008 I went to book another flight using my credit and I was told it would be 400 for my family to reissue the tickets! This to me is just a crime. I paid the money for the flight and I should be able to book another one for the same price if not less without charges. The kicker is the new flight is only $1600,l no problem I thought, they can add the 400 in fees and I would pay the difference of what was left over from the credit. WRONG.. they said that my credit ( Money I have paid them) cannot be used for the 100 change fee. are you kidding me?

So I called and spoke to a manger, basically I have to pay $400 to use my money that they have already squeezed out of me. To me, I am being ripped off! Oh and here is the best part. Since they would let me use the credit towards the change fee, if my flight comes out to less then my credit, the remainder of my money is forfeited. Yep that's right, they in a sense steal the rest of my money and I have to pay them $400 more dollars. I am not asking for much from them, just to have that $400 added to my credit and let me pay the difference. They said NO way.

Out $400 dollars and also loosing any remainder of my credit due to a lower fare.

Mark of Flint MI (04/03/08)
The major airline lost my luggage. I loaded my luggage in Flint, MI on my way to Maui. I was going there for work. My plane landed in Honolulu where I needed to catch a flight to Maui. I was suppose to report for work on March 10th. We waited for 2 hours and never saw our luggage. We then were told our bags would probably be on the next flight. I was hopeful and waited in Honolulu until the next day hoping to see my luggage. The biggest problem was that all my work tools were included in the missing bags.

The airline kept promising the bags would be on the next flight for two days and we never saw them. We decided we may never see are belongings again and proceeded on the next flight to Maui. I could not work without my tools so all we could do was wait. The airline did say they would reimburse us for our loss but I didn't have enough money to replace my tools and clothing etc... The problem has since been resolved and after 5 days our luggage was returned.

Because of the delay I was put on an assignment that was working 40 hours a week when I was suppose to be working 56 hours a week. At nearly $40.00 per hour this turned into a huge loss over time. I asked around and was amazed at the answers I received about missing luggage. Seems this is a huge and acceptable problem with the airlines. One taxi cab company in Honolulu has a contract with US Airways just returning lost luggage. The driver said that they stay busy all day everyday returning lost luggage.

Now I see Aloha Air out of business and most airlines having financial problems. I just wonder how much money the airlines are loosing each Year because of this problem. And how much extra we pay for a ticket for the inconvenience of our lost luggage.

Maria of Falciano OTHER (04/02/08)
I am an american citizen living in the EU and spent my Easter holidays in Florida with family and brother. I had many connection flights to get back home and the most important one was Phliadelphia-Frankfurt. Now, on April 1st at Tampa, our flight was delayed for an hour, we were worried that we wouldn't get there on time for the connection but the hostess aboard told us not to worry because all flights were delayed in Philadelphia for the weather and we would be able to catch the connection, so when we landed at Philadelphia my brother flew to the connection gate too let them know we where there while hubby an I got stuck on the plane with old people that had no hurry and yes...you guess it, we missed the plane, they wouldn't wait for us even if my brother was there with my children and my bags where on the plane, the plane was there, visible to my eyes, but she wouldn't open the gates, at my remostrations that the hostess on the Tampa flight told me that there was no problem catching the plane the lady told me that wasn't true and that she would get me bound out or something like that so I had to shut up,

we went to the guest services and the lady here didn't even try to help us out, we where in 5 and wanted to give us a flight to Munich but had only 3 seats! Said that they don't fly in the morning and the only thing she could do was to book us for the day after, with no accomodations for the night!! At 5,30 pm. feeling miserable and angry, we started looking around to get to Europe with another company and found Lufthansa departing at 6.05pm for Frankfurt!! We told them our problem, they told us to stay in standby, then asked us our passports, our US airways tickets and booked us on the Lufthansa plane without asking us a penny! Luckily at Milan we found our luggage too.

No economic consequence, but a big mental damage, I'm still angry and, besides not flying again with US airways, I don't even feel going on holidays anymore, specially with airplanes!

Darlene of Ft Garland CO (04/02/08)
Our return trip started in Barcelona without a hitch, we got to the airport in plenty of time, checked in, were not told anything was awry, but we were sent to a different desk to pay for overweight carry-on bags. (Span-Air does not have the same rules as US Air.) When we finished there, we went back to the check-in desk with our receipt, to be told that it looked like our flight from BCN to Madrid was on schedule, but the Madrid to PHL leg had been cancelledshe thought. We walked to the US Air ticket office at the BCN airport, no one there. Went to the US Air check in desk, no one there. Asked the SpanAir clerk if she could call US Air in Madrid, no they couldnt. So we flew to Madrid. Deplaned in Madrid, checked the departure board, our flight to PHL is listed as scheduled and on time, but we were suspicious. We had been previously told that we had to retrieve and re-check our bags in Madrid, so we did so, then found the US Air ticket office to check to see what was really happening with our flight.

There were about 300 people in line ahead of us, and yes, our flight was cancelled, no reason given. (Were all just cattle anyway, so why give us an explanation?) We stood in line for 6 HOURS. No food, no water, no place to sit. We tried taking turns going outside to breath some fresh air, only to find that thats where all the smokers were, so no fresh air to be had. They had 3 people trying to assist? this huge line of unhappy travelers. To pass the time, some of the folks started timing the people at the desk to see how long it was taking to get people rescheduled. The record was an hour and a half. The average was about half an hour. When we finally got to our turn, the best offer they could come up with was that we were to stay in Madrid, in the hotel that US Air would pay for, with food vouchers, from that day, 3/14 until Thursday, 3/20.

We tried everything we could think of, but all flights out of Madrid, back to BCN, to Lisbon, anything that made any sense, were fully booked. So we went to the hotel. A huge convention hotel, right on the freeway, in the industrial section of Madrid. Nowhere to walk outside, nowhere to eat, other than the hotel. We were starving, asked about food that we had vouchers for, and were told that dinner service would start at 8PM. It is now about 5:30 PM and we havent had anything since a pastry at the BCN airport at 7AM. We were told we could have a sandwich at the bar if we couldnt wait till dinner, but it wasnt included in our voucher, wed have to pay for it. We just looked at our statement and see that the AWFUL, greasy club sandwich? (which included a fried egg?) we each had, with a beer for Mike and a coke for me, cost us just over $77. Such a deal! Thanks US Air!

I lay in bed that first night until about 3 in the morning and decided that I could not stay in that prison, on the rock hard bed, for 6 days. So we called US Air from the hotel. Gave them the entire sob story, and had the agent coldly informed us that nothing could be done, the flight out on Monday was overbooked, nothing available until Thursday. So we then call Travelocity. Travelocity did a conference call with us and US Air. The US Air agent told us the flight out on Monday had plenty of seats, and she got us two. Go figure So, we finally made it out on Monday, stayed overnight in Denver and here we are, both sick again (we both relapsed after the 6-hour airport ordeal) and back at work without the weekend rest that we had built into our schedule. Today, after 5 emails and 4 or 5 attempts to get this resolved by phone, a US Air rep calls us and says the best they can do is offer a voucher for future travel on US Air. Imagine how thrilled we are at that prospect... We are travel agents, and will no longer fly US Air ourselves, and will only book clients on this airline if the client insists.

Lost two days at work, spent money on food and transportation in Madrid that was not in the budget, and had no time to recover once home, as we got home mid-week instead of on a Saturday.

Olga of Minneapolis MN (03/30/08)
Twice in the last couple of years I have had things stolen from my luggage when checking in curbside at US Airways in Philadelphia. I have reported it both times, the first time also filling a police report. Both times I was told that because it was a camera, there was nothing to be done. But I cannot carry all my cameras and have to check them in because I have a lot of equipment to carry around and theft is theft any way you look at it. The second time, they removed the camera and left the bag. So, they must have seen it through the screeing device, reached in, and pulled it out.

The first time I received an apology etc. the second time because it was half NW airlines I received 1000 worldperks miles. I reported the cameras and collected insurance because both were insured. However, I prefer to avoid that and not have people stealing from my luggage. It impairs my work which is lecturing on cruise ships worldwide.

Kara of Lincoln NE (03/29/08)
My husband and I were flying to Boston for Christmas and our contacting flight via Midwest Airlines was canceled. We made other flight arrangements which switched us to US Airways. When we arrived to Boston, our baggage was lost. My husband called the baggage claim every day asking if our missing bags were located. They were not until ONE MONTH LATER. During this time, I wrote letters to numerous departments in US Airways to complain about our missing bags.

On January 28, 2008, they sent us four electronic air check plus vouchers. It said no where in the letter how these vouchers were defined. Since they gave us so much trouble, I assumed they were free flights. I called them today. They are not! However, it did say in the letter in order to be qualified to use the voucher, the flight must be booked through Reservations and not through a travel agent or online. If the ticket is $500, we only get one hundred dollars off. If it is around $400, it is only $75 off. Do not fly US Airways!

We are still missing items from our bags. Also they gave us vouchers that are worth little to nothing!

Terri of El Paso TX (03/27/08)
We were scheduled on a flight out of Maul on Tuesday evening at 9:40. Upon arriving at check-in, we were asked to step aside and let other passengers proceed on to other flights because our plane was having mechanical issues and we were delayed. The flight was now scheduled for a 12:30 AM departure. We got on the plane, taxied out and were on our way to Phoenix. About 40 minutes into the flight, the pilot came on the line and stated that they were experiencing a mid-air mechanical failure and that we needed to return to Maui. Unfortunatly, the plane was too heavy because of the fuel and the air strip at Maui was too short so we were diverted to Honolulu. Upon arrival at 2:15 AM we were asked to deplane and wait for a decision to be made regarding the flight. The young woman who arrived to assist with our flight indicated on the loud speaker that she felt for us because she, too, had been awakened to come to the airport and assist. This did not calm any of us down who hadn't really slept since Tuesday morning fully thinking we would sleep on the flight back to Phoenix. At about 3:30 they decided to put all the passengers up in hotels. (Maui, Spring Break, hotel rooms available to accommodate all the passengers?)

Anyway, when someone finally showed up to get our bags off the plane and we boarded the shuttle to the hotel, it was close to 5:30 when we walked into our room and flopped into bed. We received a call from the front desk indicating that we were to return to the airport this evening, now Wednesday, for check-in at 9:30 PM. Upon checking in, we were informed that mechanics had been working on the plane all afternoon and evening and we were scheduled to leave sometime between 11:00 and 12:30. We noted that the plane left the terminal shortly before boarding and returned from a successful test flight; the pilot stated we were good to go. We boarded the plane at 12:30, taxied out and were once again on our way. It only took 20 minutes this time before we felt a shart turn to the left and the captain came on again and stated that we were returning to Honolulu with the same mechanical failure indication. One person on the plane stated that he had overheard it was a fuel pump but we are not sure. We returned to Honolulu and were asked to deplane and hold in the boarding area. I successfully reached their displaced passenger department and was successfully rescheduled both of us on a flight out of Honolulu with United.

The customer relations department of US Airways asked that we proceed directly to the counter at United as our ticket had already been processed and would be waiting for us. We attempted to lay on the concrete wall outside of check-in until it was time to check-in. Nothing being easy at this point, United counter said they saw our reservation but could not find our ticket. We proceeded to explain to the agent the ordeal we had been through with US Airways. Eager to resolve the problem, and stop the tears that were running down my face, she said she would issue boarding passes, check our luggage, and she would resolve the ticket situation with US Airways at a later time. Needeless to say, we got on the 7:30 AM flight to San Franciso, as scheduled and arrived, as scheduled. We returned home in Texas at 12:30 AM Friday morning.

 All in all, we calculated that between Tuesday night when we were supposed to check-in at Maui and the time we walked off the plane in Texas, we had displaced 51 hours either in aiports, hotels or on planes. To my knowledge, given that it was Spring Break and the fact that US Airways had no additional planes on the islands, only 8 or so people were rescheduled on flights leaving on Thursday. One young lady said she has been rescheduled for Friday and someone else said they were scheduled for Sunday. We can only hope and pray that the remaining passengers have returned to their homes.

We were both to return to work on Wednesday afternoon. As a result, we missed work on Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and with Friday being Good Friday, our offices were closed and we did not return to work until Monday. We lost wages, commissions and the stress of knowing that we boarded a plane, twice, and experienced the same problem each time was mentally and physically exhausting. Not to mention the fact that boyfriend has fused disks in his neck and the damage he incurred having to sleep on airport floors, window sills, concrete flower beds and in boarding areas waiting for a resolution.

We have been trying to contact the airlines but their customer service line states that they are too busy to accept calls and we need to either submit an email or try to call at a later time. We expect some type of compensation for the stress, mental exhaustion and lost wages of being displaced for two days. Relieving the stress and pressures of demanding jobs was the point of our week-long vacation, one that was full of massages and calming days at the beach, one that would allow us to return to work refreshed and rejuvenated. Unfortunately, it only took US Airways 51 hours to reverse all our efforts and send us home mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted.

Tom of Mount Airy MD (03/26/08)
We had booked a trip for our family of four via US Airways to meet with our cruise. US Airways overbooked the flight by 20 people including us and 8 others destined for the same cruise ship. Of course we were traveling with another family of 5 (who booked after us) and they made the flight along with our luggage. We booked these flights 3-4 months in advance. Fortunately they did get us on a later flight after upping the ticket offer to two (2) round trip tickets for people to give up their seats. For our inconvenience, they provided us with four (4) roundtrip flight certificates. A lot of good these are doing me.

I'm staring at screen full of US Airway flights and called to redeem just one for a relatively short flight from their hub (Philadelphia) to Boston. Checking multiple days the agent kept coming back saying that flights elgible for certificate use were not available (at all) on any of the days.  I fly Southwest a lot and never ever have issues with them. I use Southwest vouchers on ANY flight. I will never ever fly US Airways again! Oh, and while we were being bumped, I looked around at other US Airway counters. All agents seemed to be busy dealing with similar issues of not being able to put their PAID patrons on flights. I can understand slight overbooking for business flights, but we were flying on a Saturday morning from northern winter weather to a southern warm weather popular destination. This was not a flight carrying business travelers. Also, US Airways made me jump through hoops to get the flight certificates in the first place.

A lot of unnecessary stress. Arrived at destination late. I just tried to plan a trip around using the free flight certificate only to find out they will not allow me to use it on any of the MANY flights available on the days I want to travel. I'm going to fly into another city just so I can fly on an airline I trust.

Elaine of Rochester NY (03/26/08)
Our original flight was cancelled when the plane clipped wings at another location. We were placed on stand-by for the next available flight, 5 hours later. We were not offered anything in the way of food vouchers, but other customers (100,000 mile members) were.

We went to the assigned gate, told the attendent that we were on stand-by, she politly told us ok, no problem! I'll call you when it is time to get on!. So, we waited. The boarding annoucment came, people got on the plane, we stood by the gate, the door closed, everyone disappeared! We went back to the ticket counter (3rd time through security) and asked the same attendent What happened?, she very unpolitley said You were supposed to let someone know you were on stand-by!, I said I told you we were on stand-by! too which she said NO, you didn't!.

We were put on the stand-by list yet again for the next day. I asked about our luggage? Oh it's gone! was the reply from another attendent. As this was our home airport, it was not that much of an inconvience, but I do believe that planes are not supposed to leave without the persons that own the luggage, on board! I complained to US Airways and this was their response...we only deal with actual ticketed passengers... What does that mean??

I see this as double talk. I tried to get a hold of someone on the phone that I could speak to about this, but the way the system operates, you can't get through. US Airways wants to give me (and my daughter, she was traveling with me) 2 e-tickets for $175.00! Sounds reasonable, right!? Well once you read through the list of 'Black outs' you quickly realize that you can't use them.

Lost: one day of vacation with elderly parent. Lost opportunity to speak with parents physician. Lost seing for one day sister that we have not seen since before Katrina. Economic lost: ~$500.00 USD

Tizzy of Solon OH (03/17/08)
We sat for two hours on a plane because the LAZY US air employees couldn't help to fix an armrest. Yes. This is not a joke. I was delayed for two hours because of an armrest. Then, we missed our connecting flight to Maui by 3 minutes; and not only that, they gave us a hotel voucher but failed to mention they put us on a flight that was leaving in 30 minutes. So, we attempted to retrieve our luggage, which we saw; but when we found out we were on an earlier flight, the US air people claimed that they would get the luggage on the flight. Arrival in Maui, head to baggage claim: no luggage to be found. Also, there is no US Air baggage service in Kahului, which made things more difficult. We are still without bags.

My mom is in tears, US Air has successfully ruined our vacation.

Drew of Seattle WA (03/05/08)
I was returning home to Seattle on US Air, on a layover in Philadelphia, when they asked if anyone would voluntarily get bumped for a free round trip ticket voucher. It was a very difficult decision for me to give up an entire day out of three that I was about to have with my girlfriend and I justified it with the idea that this voucher would allow me to see her again at some point over the next year. I put in my 24 hours of sitting at the airport and airport hotel they put me up at.

Over the last year I have tried half a dozen times to use the voucher and they never accept it. The other day I spent two hours on the phone with various agents who could not tell me one place that I could actually use this voucher to get to. Not only that, but they wouldn't provide a comprehensive list. I had to ask over and over, 'what about Philadelphia, what about Denver, what about New Orleans, what about this date, etc.' I feel like there should be an investigation into how many people truly get a round trip ticket out of these stupid vouchers and I would gladly sign onto a class action lawsuit to prevent this exploitation of passengers. I have been as flexible as humanly possible and truly believe that at least from Seattle, where I live, there are no available round trip tickets for these vouchers. Also, I have to say, US Air does everything possible to ignore complaints like mine.

No compensation received as promised for 24 hours of my time and probably 8 hours on the phone trying to get what I was promised.

Mary of Saint Augustine FL (03/01/08)
I purchased a ticket for travel from Jacksonville FL to Jacksonville NC with a connection in Charlotte NC. When I arrived in Charlotte, I was told that the flight to Jacksonville NC was overbooked and would be boarded by check in time. I originally checked in 2 hours early but was not allowed on the plane. It was the last flight of the night, so I was stuck in Charlotte. I was traveling to see my fiance's military graduation, which I missed because there were no flight early enough the next day so that I would arrive in time. I requested a refund but instead I was given a free ticket which I told the agent I did not want, because what good is a free ticket when I can't even get a seat with a paid ticket? It needs to be made illegal for an airline to sell more tickets than it has seats on a plane, because although I purchased a confirmed ticket months in advance and checked in 2 hours early, I was not given a seat to arrive at my final destination and therefore missed a once in a lifetime event. I ended up renting a car for $185 for 1 day, but I was unfamiliar with the area and still did not make it to the graduation in time.

Ticket, rental car, parking, hotel that went unused, etc=approximately $500, and that does not include the most important part, missing the graduation!

Michael of Oak Creek WI (02/27/08)
My wife was scheduled tonight on a flight delayed by bad weather from Orlando to Charlotte, enroute to Milwaukee. Prior to boarding my wife asked the US Airways personnel at the Orlando Airport whether the baggage would be available to anyone missing the connecting flight, due to the delay (and who would possibly need to stay over in Charlotte). She and others were told "Yes, it would be available at the baggage carousel in Charlotte or at the baggage office". When her flight landed in Charlotte, NC, after finding a sparsely populated airport with few personnel to assist, she found the baggage carousel which stopped dead shortly after. She went to the baggage office where she and others were told simply: ALL OF THE BAGGAGE HANDLERS LEFT FOR THE NIGHT, SO THERE IS NO ONE AVAILABLE TO GET THE BAGGAGE. HMM.

My wife recently concluded radiation therapy for cancer in her neck/throat. As a precaution, a feeding tube was implanted, which allows her to feed directly into her stomach, using a liquid supplement, as she is unable to eat otherwise, and can swallow only small sips of water at a time until some of the residual swelling and scarring from the radiation therapy wanes enough for her to eat normally. HER LAST BOTTLE OF SUPPLEMENT WAS IN HER BAGGAGE, AND SHE WAS TOLD THAT NO ONE COULD GET IT FOR HER BECAUSE THE BAGGAGE HANDLERS WENT HOME FOR THE NIGHT!

Now, it is not US Airways fault that the flight was delayed because of weather, but according to their Customer's First mantra on their website, the customers would have been taken care of, regardless. Apparently an hour of OT is not within those wonderfully branded and proclaimed words. I have emailed their customer service, which conveniently is not available except Monday through Friday, 7 am to 5 pm only. I will also write letters to the President and the CEO as well. The "Prez" was nice enough to include his name on a cheap little toiletry bag which was handed to my wife as a lovely parting gift by the poor young kid, left to mind the store after everyone else went home to night-night.

Nick of Hatfield PA (02/20/08)
Booked a flight from NY to Cancun and then from Cancun to Philly because I was going to be in New York the night before the trip. Change of plans will have me in Philly the whole time and leaving from Philly. The flights were not direct so I had a layover in Philadelphia. I want to fly RIGHT from Philadelphia instead of driving all the way to New York and then BACK to Philly on the way to Cancun. NO. US airways is trying to charge me 100 dollars to change it... and MORE to REBOOK the SAME FLIGHTS that I'm already on!

Loss of ticket price... extreme frustration.. treated rudely on the phone..

Mark of Berwyn PA (01/30/08)
Our daughter left for a semester abroad in Florence Italy on 1/27/08 and checked two bags to cover the four month stay. One bag was lost by US Air. Our daughter entered the lost bag report in Rome immediately. The US Air team has been less than helpful, polite, civil, caring or professional. The baggage center informed us the bag was being delivered from Munich to Rome on the 28th and would be delivered to our daughter on the night of the 28th or morning of the 29th. It never showed up.

Subsequent calls revealed: 1) The US baggage office is not permitted to call the US Air Rome baggage office. 2)They can send email messages, claimed to have sent three of them and further claimed the Rome baggage office was not answering them. Using Google, we found the Rome baggage office phone number and learned 1) the bag never arrived in Rome. 2) They received no emails from the US baggage office. Both offices confirmed that they would not be looking for the luggage and the Rome office shared that a US Air employee probably in Philadelphia probably stole it (this happens a lot apparently).

Our daughter is in Florence with most of her clothing lost. The other bag of bedding, pillows, towels, etc., made it to Rome giving credibility to the theft angle. The US Rome staff, in short, told our daughter tough luck and go away. It is not impossible to replace four months worth of clothing and supplies, but it is very difficult to do so in a foreign country in short order. And of course, short of filing a lawsuit, we have no assurance that US Air will reimburse us. As a Philadelphia based business owner, we will discontinue using US Air ASAP and my employees have been notified that they may fly any airline they please, but we not reimburse US Air flights. Yes, this may cost us money as a business but US Air is so pathetic, I can no longer approve doing business with them. Further, last February they lost my luggage on a Boston-Philadelphia flight which I found in the airport outside their baggage office 5 days later (NO, they did not call as soon as it was located, as they promise to do).

George of Myrtle Beach SC (01/30/08)
We had US Airways dividend miles for several years. We have accumulated about 120,000 miles. We have tried numerous times to try to redeem. Every time they send you to six or seven people, all telling you to contact someone else. Today, I was told many things after two hours of having to call back for different departments to talk to. Finally, I got a young man who had our flights, of course he said to hold and I was cut off. I immediately called back and guess what...there we no flight. I would not be upset except we have had this run around four or five times. We earned those miles.

About 8 hours of time and paying a higher percentage on a credit card to get miles through Bank of America.

Melissa of Potomac MD (01/30/08)
On January 22, 2008, my husband, son and I boarded flight 1282 from West Palm Beach Airport to Reagan National Airport. The flight was schedule to leave at 3:40 PM. After sitting on the plane until approximately 5 PM, maintenance decided to evacuate the plane in order to jack up the front of the plane to assess the mechanical problem. At about 5:30 PM US Air canceled the flight and mentioned that their next two flights were fully booked. Every passenger on the flight needed to re-book a flight. I stood on a long line at the ticket counter, continuously trying to contact US Air using their 800# which rang busy the whole time.

In the meantime, my husband was calling other airlines. He found a flight at 7:30 PM that night on Spirit Air. This was around 6 PM. We got a refund from US Air for our original tickets, but that did not cover the full cost of the Spirit Air tickets. We then arrived at the Spirit ticket counter where the agent informed us that there were no more flights leaving that day. Puzzled, he checked the confirmation number and informed us that the flight we were booked on leaves from Fort Lauderdale airport. We asked how long would a taxi take to get us there and he answered 45 minutes. So we hurried to the taxi stand. Ninety minutes and $140 later we arrived at Fort Lauderdale and missed the flight. The sympathetic supervisor with Spirit Air refunded our tickets. So there we were, no flight, no place to stay, no dinner, no cash left, and no ability to get to work or school in the morning. We finally got a flight out on US Air for 7 AM. Those flights were more expensive that our original flights. We found an airport shuttle to an airport hotel and finally were able to part from our suitcases and go have some dinner at 9:15 PM. The following morning was smoother. In summary, I expect to be compensated for all of the additional expenses and lost wages incurred by the mechanical failure of the US Air flight.

Grand Total= $3175.33 Additional cost of flight = $109.83 Taxi fare = $140 Hotel=$288.55 Dinner=$136.95 Lost wages= $2500

William of Palo Alto CA (01/19/08)
My mom had to undergo an emergency brain surgery shortly after Thanksgiving of 2007. There was a very good chance she would not survive so I rushed to be with her. I live in California and she lived in Delaware. US Airways did not care what the circumstances were. They coldly said there was no discount for anything. I ended up paying over $1400 for a ticket that would cost around $500, even in these times of high fuel prices. To top it all off, we had previously purchased tickets to see her on Christmas. She ended up passing away just prior to Christmas, so I had to change the tickets for my entire family (4 of us). We ended up taking essentially the same flight, and had to pay an additional $900. We wanted to get there as soon as possible, but a non-stop would have cost $2000 more. The travel day was Tuesday and there were plenty of seats available. US Airways has set policies with no compassion. When I wrote to complain, they sent a form letter with an offer of a $100 voucher. After being overcharge by about $1700, I replied back to them asking if they really thought that what they did was a good thing. They basically said they stand by their decision. I will never fly US Airways again.

Edward of Fpo Ap OTHER (01/19/08)
I am in the United States military and am returning along with my family from an overseas duty station. We made our flight reservations with US Airways well in advance and even called and asked them about the change price if we had to modify the reservation. We are arriving from our overseas destination to the states aboard a military aircraft and delays are likely. The representative that we talked to on the phone told us that as long as we modified the tickets before the original booked flight left, then we would only have to pay a $25.00 change fee. Well, as usual, our military flight has been delayed. When I called US Airways this morning to modify the reservation (at least 24 hours before our flight left with them!), I was informed that I would have to pay a $100.00 fee plus the $25.00 fee per ticket. For my entire family that would have been over $625.00! Whenever I explained my situation and told them that my military flight had been delayed, they said that they didn't care and policy was policy.

While I was attempting to try to fix this problem, the Specialist (that's what the reps. called themselves on the phone) kept transferring the call. I was transferred a total of 7 times and still nobody would help resolve this problem. US Airways needs to get a grip on how they handle their customers. Our trip was delayed through no fault of our own and we even have paperwork to prove that but they don't care about their customers. It seems like they only care about money. I will be sure to let other members of the military know that US Airways could care less about them. Thank goodness for another airline who was able to book us immediately aboard their flights and at a cheaper price than US Airways.

When I could not get the tickets modified, I then asked for a full refund of my tickets ($625.00) and then the Specialist informed me that they could put a request in to refund me but that the refund would take 2 full billing cycles before it would appear on my credit card. The refund may not even be for the full amount because they still want their fee!

Janusz of Rochester NY (01/13/08)
This is a letter I sent on January 12, 2008 to the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75 U.S. Department of Transportation, RE: Americans with Disabilities Act US Airways:

When making our airplane reservations with the US Airways for the European trip (US Airways flight 700 - outbound 12/12/07; US Airways flight 701 - inbound 01/12/08) I specifically asked the US Airways reservation agent for the bulkhead seats, as my fiance is disabled and extra leg room is essential to her well being. The above said agent assured me that the bulkhead seats I requested were reserved for us on both transatlantic flights. To our shock and disbelief, on our 12/12/07 transatlantic flight, bulkhead seats we were told we had reserved were given to young, able body men. Similar situation took place during the 01/12/08 inbound flight. We requested from the US Airways reasonable accommodations for a disable person and despite assurances, we did not get them. As I was using my frequent flier points and making those reservations months before a travel date I am at complete loss why things went so wrong. Should the US Airways inform me that the bulkhead seats would not be available, certainly I would make those reservations with another airline, member of the Star Alliance. I am deeply disappointed with the above, as it so adversely affects most vulnerable of us, people with disabilities! Please insure the airline would take necessary steps to prevent situations like above from happening in the future to other disabled people. Please keep me inform about any and all developments in this matter.

Judy of Spring Valley CA (01/07/08)
I used a $200 voucher for future travel 1/26-1/30/08. Looked at the calendar wrong and needed to travel on the 27th instead. They told me I would have to pay for a new ticket because the ticket was only worth $5.35. I said I did not want a refund. I just needed to change the leave date because I inadvertantly looked at the calendar wrong and booked the wrong date. They told me that was too bad and that was their rule. First off, it doesn't cost them any more than the paper they print it out on to change the one date. I was inconvenienced 2 days last year by the error of overbooking. They are making money off of this and I feel that is FRAUD. They get the $200 voucher and I have to pay for a whole new ticket. They are getting double price.

I will have to purchase a whole new roundtrip ticket less the $5.35. That is really ridculous and price gouging.

Rachel of Las Vegas NV (01/04/08)
I am writing as a concerned individual and also as a traveler on US Airways who has witnessed some really terrible experiences with US Airways in Las Vegas in the past two weeks. Each night for the past fortnight- travelers - visitors or transiting travelers through Las Vegas have been stuck in Las Vegas totally against their wishes and choice. US Airways has canceled flights to Medford, Seattle, Fresno, etc. or their flights have been arriving late which causes the travelers transiting through Las Vegas to miss their on-going connections to places mentioned above. This forces the travelers to stay overnight in Las Vegas. My preliminary inquiry indicates that most of the issues are due to operational reasons, but passengers are being told that it is due to (ATC) Air Traffic Control (i.e. weather related delays). Passengers are sometimes accommodated in hotels and sometimes denied hotels due to no fault of theirs. Sometimes, there are no hotels available. Children, young adults and elderly people have been seen sleeping on the uncomfortable chairs and even on the floors of the airport when they should have been home with their loved ones or in the comfort of their homes.

No City, State or Federal official has cared to investigate why the airline would fly people into Las Vegas on a New Year's eve--knowing fully well that there would be no rooms available in Las Vegas. US Airways do not have enough officials to answer questions or talk with frustrated and upset passengers. Most are ignored and some are rudely turned off by the scarce officials who have no patience to deal with the stranded and upset passengers. Only when someone starts yelling do they come forward to pacify the passengers. Many children, single lady travelers and older women were seen crying--as some have no idea where to go. Las Vegas can be an intimidating place for people who have no travel experience or who are extremely concerned about their personal safety and security.

It has been amazing that the press or media has not picked on any of these events in the past two weeks. Some travelers were seen taking pictures and also called the press but the press has been silent or it does not even bother as this is of no interest to them. Flights are canceled due to flight crew issues - pilots refusing to fly past their union agreed contract timings. Who is the loser? The traveling public. On any given night, you can witness hundreds of tired, hungry, frustrated and agitated travelers lined up by the US Airways ticket counter - mostly after 12 midnight, seeking next day connections to their homes or onward to business destinations. US Airways staff claims that this will be over once the holidays season ends. Talking to some of the agents, I was informed that this is almost a permanent feature for the past 2 years!

Perhaps - it would be a good deed to report something that will help bring attention to the problems of the passengers stuck in Las Vegas against their wishes or for their poor judgment in choosing a third rate carrier who has no compunction to screw their own passengers. Cost - emotional, physical and monetary cost due to delay/canceled flights due to no fault of the passengers but from the mismanagement of the Airlines.

Jody of Vancouver OTHER (01/02/08)
My husband lost his wedding ring on US Airways Flight 432 from Charlotte to Phoenix on Dec 9th. Since then, I have been in touch with US Airways almost daily, and have been given the run-around on many levels. When my husband identified to the flight attendant that the ring they found (announced over the PA) was his, she said they had taken it off the plane and given it to the US Airways gate agent in Charlotte to turn in to the airport lost & found.

Here is the problem - the gate agent did NOT turn the ring into the Charlotte lost & found. The supervisor of the gate agents for the B concourse at the Charlotte airport, Gary Henderson, says that none of his gate agents had the ring. He says he is waiting to hear back from the folks who manage the flight crew. It has come down to a he said/ she said situation between the gate agents vs. the flight crew. At the end of the day, how can a US Airways employee steal my husband's wedding ring, and not suffer any consequences? Worse than that, no one at US Airways has even offered to take ownership of the situation to try to resolve it - I have been bounced around from one department to another, and asked many times to call a different number. Now that almost a month has gone by, I realize that the chances of finding my husband's wedding ring are virutally nil. Is there anything that your organization can to do help? Thank you.

The emotional damage is quite severe - this is my husband's wedding ring. Words cannot begin to describe how distraught we are. No one at US Airways seems to care, and I even spoke with one employee who said well, maybe the (US Airways) employee put it in their pocket and forgot about it and took it home. You're just going to have to forget about it and put it behind you. What kind of company can support a culture of such indifference?

Mark of Ozark AL (12/30/07)
I recently began a new job that requires a lot of travel. I was travelling from Killeen, TX (GRK) to Syracuse, NY (SYR). Realizing that my itinerary was very tight concerning connecting flights, and considering the need to move quickly through the airports, I checked my company's computer (in a laptop case) as well as my suitcase at GRK. Neither of my bags made it to Syracuse. I filed a missing baggage report at SYR with US Airways (my final connecting flight airline). When I described the laptop case to the claims person I was informed that personal electronics were not covered under their liability clause. I received my suitcase late the following day, but my computer case was never located. After 45 days, US Airways sent me a letter explaining that the laptop case could not be located and that it was not covered since it was a personal electronic device.

The laptop was not a PERSONAL electronic device. It belongs to the US Government. I have not yet learned if I will be held accountable financially. If so, the cost of the laptop alone is just over $3,500.00. That doesn't include the cost of the case nor the accessory items inside the case. I can understand if the airlines want to limit their liability for damages, but they cannot even return the property for which they checked and gave me a claim ticket for. I was not concerned about damage as this was a very heavy and ruggedized laptop (Panasonic Toughbook CF-29E). Additionally, the American Airlines folks at GRK took the Laptop from me without explaining the airline's policy about such equipment, and they never handed my the boarding pass envelope (where I later learned their policy was written--inside where you'd have to tear the envelope apart to read it) until after they had tagged my baggage and taken it away.

Katharine of Colorado Springs CO (12/27/07)
My husband went to the airport for his flight and was told that the fight had been cancelled weeks earlier and he had not been notified. He was put on the next flight and told he would still make his connection. He went back to the airport for the next flight and the flight was reported as on time but it had actually been delayed by more than an hour and he found out that they had known that before he checked in. He was then told that the connection flight would wait for him and the others on that flight that needed it but when they got there, they were told that the flight left over an hour before and that they do not hold flights for anyone. He was then stranded in Phoenix and was told he would be on stand by for the next flight to his destination but it may be 1 or 2 days to get him there. He had been lied to over and over again by the employees causing him to lose 2 days pay and his company to pay for a charter flight that he had to miss because of the situation. Had USAirways told him up front about the delays he could have found another flight with another airline before he even got on the first flight.

2 days lost wages, $1100.00 for a one way flight with another airline so he could get to his destination, and $200.00 for rental car and gas to get home from Phoenix where he was stranded by the airline.

Gerardo of West Babylon NY (12/20/07)
My company had booked my flight to NC. Back in october, I was planning on taking my bag onto the plane, but at the gate they said the plane was small and had to check it. I did. The plane was also delayed, so when I got to NC, I went into my bag when I reached where I was staying, and my camera was STOLEN out of my bag. They took the charger as well. The camera was a gift to my wife for last year Christmas. I was so shocked to find out that this had happened to us. I was sure that they checked all employees. How do you have people that work for your company that rip their customer's off?

I made the claims, filled out all the forms. And I felt a little better knowing that we would be able to receive something towards the camera. After a couple of weeks, today, I received a letter telling me that their sorry but they cannot help us. The paper said liability of loss, delay, or damage to baggage and a list of the things they do not cover. Which seems to be everything under the sun. They said sorry and maybe I could contact personal property insurer to see if they have coverage for the camera. Why should I? They should pay for the problem they caused. I find this all very upsetting that one of their employees took something out of my bag. How do they hire people like this? I had a lot of personal things and video on that camera. That paper said lost, damage, or delayed. The last time I checked someone stealing was not any of those. I should get something towards the camera that I HAD TO REPLACE FOR THIS PROBLEM!

Michael of New Port Richey FL (12/19/07)
I booked my 18 year old daughter on a flight from Greensborough, North Carolina to visit me in Tampa, changing at Charlotte Douglas. When she went to get her second flight at Charlotte due to depart at 2:25 p.m. she was told it was cancelled and given a $5 food voucher as compensation. I'm not sure what beyond a cup of coffee one can get at an airport for $5. She was subsequently booked on the 6:00 p.m. flight and put on standby for the 4:00 pm. I advised her to go complain that this was inadequate behavior on their part and the representative dismissed her with the statement, "I can't do anything for you," and even answered her cell phone while dealing with a very distraught 18 year old. She then pointed out that even if she did get on to the 4:00 flight her bags would still not arrive in Tampa until the 8:00 p.m. flight.

While I appreciate the airline has met its legal obligation, this seems an inadequate and cold hearted way to deal with a young girl traveling alone. It also seems to me the food voucher should have been enough to cover a reasonable meal, not just $5. Needless to say I am very upset with US Airways and while I probably realistically can't expect much better from any other airline, I will try and avoid them in future. Similarly I feel their representative could have been more attentive and sympathetic in dealing with a very upset young girl. Simply for her attitude and insensitivity, I feel this particular employee merits disciplinary action.

Gary of Phoenix AZ (12/17/07)
I inquired about my miles dividend account today, and was informed I had over 41000 miles but for a reason I was not informed of I have forfeited these miles. I was told I could pay US Air $200.00 to reinstate them, apply for one of two credit cards US Air is associated somehow with, or use the miles as a first class or business traveler, which should pay for a trip down the block. I do not feel this is right, and wanted to fill out this form so others will be aware of how US Air does business.

Victor of Hanover NH (12/16/07)
I fly to NYC often for business. I am a Silver preferred member. Since there is only USAir from my local airport, I go straight to their site to book. I booked a flight a month in advance and printed out the web confirmation. I put it in my papers and lost it. The day before I was to leave, I went to my file and could not find any flight confirmation. I panicked. I went through my emails, Orbitz, Expedia and my USAir account and could find no record of buying the flight. In fact, my account only showed flights that I hade booked on USAir.com a year ago. So I quickly booked my flights ( For $595) and went on my trip. Two days after my trip, I found my original flight printout in another file. Since I had bought in advance, the price was $389. I called USAir to complain and after a long haggle, they agreed to give me a credit for the $389 that I had to use within a year, not for the $595 ticket because I had used that one. I argued that I had bought the ticket only because their site had malfunctioned and they had not emailed me any confirming e-ticket information. I have copies of my account with the reservation missing. I could only see the ticket if I had the confirmation code. Just searching for my reservation in my account was useless. They admitted that my reservation was hidden but they still won't compensate me for full price ticket . My USair account still does not show the hidden reservation. To cap it off, I will have to call USAir directly to use my credit at an additional cost.

I've lost $206.00.

Victor of Hanover NH (12/16/07)
I am a Silver Preferred Flier. There is one airport nearby and one route. I fly it often for a very premium price. Last month, I sat in LaGuardia for 7 hours while USAir continually posted delays due to weather for my flight. Finally at 10 pm they cancelled and rebooked us on a flight to an airport 90 minutes from my destination. Fortunately there were 5 of us who split a one way rental car at huge cost. Flights to that airport cost half of flying to the nearby airport.

I am out the cost of the rental car. If they had cancelled the flight earlier, I could have been home before 1 am .

Sunny of Surrey OTHER (12/11/07)
I am a Platinum Member with US Airways. Recently (Nov 16) I was supposed to fly to Amsterdam (AMS) with first leg of the flight with US Airways and the second leg with NWA. US Airways could not fly me on time, and hence I missed my connecting flight to AMS. Guess how many hours does a PLATINUM MEMBER have to spend in order to sort this issue out? Fifteen days, ten hours, and still no progress.

US AIrways could not fly me to Boston on time. No weather issues but mechanical issues on 1 plane. It took US Air 6 hours to get me there. As a result, I missed my connection to AMS. Had to sleep in a hotel that night costing me $108 plus other expenses phoning around. Had to spend 3 hours looking for a ticket that night and then book it. Had to buy a NEW $3000 ticket from Continental Airlines to fly next morning. I also missed my original flight from AMS to Beijing due to US Airways problems.

Charity of Greenville NC (12/10/07)
My dad suffered a severe brain hemorrhage, and I had to fly to California immediately if I was to have an opportunity to see him. I am a student, work full time, and am my sole financial provider. US Airways is the only airline that flies out of Greenville, NC, but when I looked for a ticket for the following day, they were $820. (Typically, roundtrip flights to CA from Greenville cost about $300-$450.) My friend said that he heard that some airlines cut discounts for family emergencies like this and encouraged me to call and ask. I did and explained my situation, but the representative was rude, impatiently asking for details about which hospital he was in, the address of the hospital, who his doctors were, etc. After being on hold for several minutes while she verified the information I gave, she started booking my flight, but then said it would cost $1200! This wasn't a discount. It was an almost $400 markup from their internet price!

Dennis of Hooksett NH (12/05/07)
We had a trip booked through Expedia.com using US Airways for our flights, to fly out as a family for school vacation in Feb. 2007. Unfortunately, my grandmother died. We had to cancel our trip due to her funeral. We have been told by various sources that we are entitled a refund, we just need to provide a death certificate. We have been unable to reschedule our once in a lifetime trip due to scheduling conflicts. US Airways refuses to refund our money. How do we go about getting a refund? We have long since paid our credit cards and could really use the money right now. I called several times this weekend trying to work something out and they send me to numbers that disconnect me.

We stand to lose over $2500.00. We need a refund immediately.

Laurie of Huntersville NC (11/12/07)
We needed to book emergency flights from Charlotte to Philly. The fare was $1500 per person! We had to drive 3 hours east to Raleigh to get a $250/person fare, then fly the same distance north to Philly! Some employees were rude and some sympathetic but said US Air management doesn't care about ANYONE. Crazy.

I will not fly US Air again.

Charlotte of Warwick RI (11/11/07)
Upon boarding (Oct. 26) US Airways Flight 3183 in Pittsburgh, an airline attendant took my bag from the cabin because there was not enough room to store my upright roller bag in the overhead compartments. The baggage claim ticket was marked for SAV and assigned #: 942258. When landing in a connecting city, there was 5- minute delay getting to the gate and a 20-minute delay with the plane. As a result, I missed my connecting flight. Upon landing, my bag was missing, and I immediately filled out a claim with a baggage representative who incorrectly dated the claim 27 October (1 day later than my date of travel), and mislabeled my bag type. I contacted them daily to find out information about the status of my bag. My bag never reached SAV. I requested to be sent from HHH to CLT on Sunday, October 29 to get more information and to look for my bag. I could not find my bag, and it was difficult for me to get any information about how to proceed.

I did learn that after five days, any unclaimed bags went to a warehouse in Charlotte, NC. I asked if I could search for my bag in the warehouse and was told "No." On Monday October 29, I was told to fill out a Passenger Property Form, which I faxed to Central Baggage on Thursday, November 1. I called Central Baggage on November 2 to confirm that my form had been received. No one would verify the receipt of my fax. I have continued to contact the Central Baggage phone line. The foreign representatives, while polite, have little or no information to provide me. Only after pleading with one representative about the medication in my bag which my insurance company will not refill, was I connected to an authority in the Central Baggage office. I told this person that I also had grapes in my bag that could ruin my possessions and those of others. He said he would escalate my claim and to check back with the office on Thursday, November 8. When I called then, no one would help me. The representatives were told by Central Baggage supervisors that my claim would not be escalated--that I would have to wait up to 12 weeks before I would hear anything about my bag.

For a company that says it puts customers first, the idea of waiting 12 weeks does not seem customer focused. I would willingly go search the warehouse in North Carolina myself, but they won't allow this option. Such customer service problems should be highly publicized to protect consumers from traveling on airlines with poor performance records. I will not fly this airline ever again regardless of price. I lost over $2500 in personal items, including medication and had none available for my vacation.

Nicole of Cameron Park CA (11/06/07)
My US Airways connecting flight from Phoenix to Florida was delayed 7 hours. The pilot misinformed the passengers and breached his verbal contract. The plane's nose gear did not work, and we were told that we had to burn enough fuel to land back in Phoenix; and we would be up in the air for 1 1/2 hours which turned out to be 3 hours. Twenty minutes before we landed back in Phoenix the pilot told us that there was another plane ready for us and they just had to switch the luggage over and board the plane. When we got to Phoenix they started pre-boarding the plane, but the pilot had timed out. So we had to wait in the airport for another 2 hours. There were over 200 passengers, and this was a FULL flight.

I was to be compensated for my event that I missed ($300) because of their inability to get me to my destination in a decent amount of time. They breached their verbal contract they had a plane ready for us. If I had gotten on a plane that was ready I would have made my event. I cannot get money back from the company that hosted the event on as it is non-refundable. So I lost $300 due to US Airways.

Neil of Salinas CA (10/12/07)
I own a small business and an employee plus myself were booked to Las Vegas from San Jose, CA on the 7:00 A.M. flight, returning to SJC at 5:15 P.M. The employee needed to cancel.

I had questions about transfering or replacing the ticket. Six times I contacted two of their toll free numbers to take care of the matter. The first three times I was routed to French Canadian speaking representatives. Three times I was directed into e-mail that ended with no one is available to take your call, please contact our website. I tried three times later and was directed to several Philipinos. I don't care about their outsourcing. The people were gracious, but when they tried to resolve the problem with customer service, all there was available was a dead end voice message. It seems like their drunken pilots have been put in charge customer relationships.

I will fly through Minot and Tulsa to avoid using this airline again. The last time I was on a U.S. Airway flight was in Atlanta, we were rerouting to different gateways twice and then sat on the runway for two hours on a flight to Phoenix. I missed my connection and got treated like livestock then. I should have learned after that experience.

My congressman will here about this. They have had federal bankrupt protection while taking over America West and they deserve to lose their license if they treat paying customers like I have experienced on a regular basis.

Tom of Ponce Inlet FL (10/02/07)
I purchased a ticket on US Airways (Scareways!) for $738 for travel from MCO to ELM. I had to change my departure date to a day later. I went to US Air's website and found my new ticket for $213 less than my original.YEAH! I called US Air to make the change and was informed the price was correct, but not only would I get no credit, I had to pay the change fee as well! The agent told me she would do me a big favor and bump the price of my new ticket up to $738, so I would have that much credit in case of cancellation. Wow. Isn't this illegal? Should be. Thanks!

Kelly of Tempe AZ (09/30/07)
On Sep. 28th I was supposed to take US Airways flight 472 at 10:12 am to Burbank. I would say about 20 mins. before our boarding time, maybe a little more, they changed our gate to a gate 2 concourses over. When we all arrived at the new gate we were told we will be delayed, no reason or time given. Finally after about 10 mins they tell us we are being delayed due to the first class toilet being clogged and maintenance having to fix it.  We were told it will take about 30 mins. Well, it turns out it actually took about 1.5 hours. We arrived in Burbank around 1:15pm, much later than our original scheduled time of 11:49 a.m. They hardly even apologized the whole time. Not only was this a huge annoyance, but it caused me to miss the midterm I was flying in for, and the airline could care less. Thanks, see if I ever fly through you guys again!

Thomas of Alameda CA (06/23/07)
Firstly, there was a major mechanical problem with my flight from the Bahamas to the US. The mechanic was supposedly at church when it happened and we had to wait for him to get to the problem to fix it. The US Airways reps kept delaying the flight even though it was reported by the US Airways customer services in the US that the flight was canceled. Then the US Airways reps disappeared. A Delta rep tried to help me but could not get me on a different flight run by them, because the US Airways rep refused to authorize it because my flight was delayed and not canceled.

Literally moments after the Delta flight was closed for take-off US Airways authorized us to take other flights. Out entire flight was stuck in this airport for hours upon hours we were due to take off at 2:15 and they canceled the flight at 8pm.

There was an American Airlines flight from Bahamas to Miami leaving at 7:30. I asked the US Airways rep if I could take that flight to Miami and transfer to San Francisco. She said no. I went to The American Airlines people the same question. They said yes. The US Airways rep lied repeatedly to me and others all day long but luckily I got the American Airlines rep to tell the US Airways rep how to do her job.

I finally, made my way onto a Miami flight as my US Airways counterparts headed to their hotels to be dealt with again the next day. After making it to Miami I made it to San Fransisco after 1am, 5 hours later than I was supposed to. Public transit was closed to I had to take a very expensive cab ride home.

Christy of San Antonio TX (04/25/07)
Arrived in plenty of time, stood in check-in line for over 2 hrs., missed flight along with at least 100 other people. US Air employees were unsympathetic, unapologetic, & rude. No arrangements were made or offered to fix the situation except another flight home. We were told by several employees of a hotel that this is a nightly occurance in Las Vegas with US Air. They also stated that US Air makes a habit of overbooking. Myself or my family will never fly US Air.

Sue of Huntington Beach CA (04/13/07)
My mom flew via US Airways from Manchester to LAX, via Philadelphia, PA. On both flights, she was told the flights were overbooked and she would be on standby. Fortunately, she got here as expected. She left yesterday (Thursday, April 12th) on an 11am flight from LAX to MAN via Philadelphia, and the flight was delayed 2 hours, so she missed her connecting flight. They also admitted to being overbooked on a number of flights. I tried calling the airline to get her on a flight with another airline, but they said they were all full. At Philadelphia, they put her on standby, and they ended up offering her a hotel for the night. She has been standing in line today for over 12 hours, been put on standby and told the next flight they can get her on is Monday (today is Friday), but it's to a different airport in the UK. They have given her hotel vouchers and shuttle service to the hotel. Her luggage is now in Manchester, UK, and she's in Philadelphia, PA.

Robert of Winston Salem NC (04/10/07)

The first time my wife was quoted one price and then put on hold for more than 20 minutes when she returned she was given a price over $100 more expensive and was told that the last two seats at the original price had been sold while she was on hold. We purchased my tickets to match my wife’s tickets that her work had purchased about two weeks later and we were not sitting together I called on 4-7-07 to have our seats moved so that we would be sitting together once again I received nothing but rudeness.
 She told me that there was nothing that she could do.

David of Cape Coral FL (04/06/07)
Searched for a round trip to Philadelphia, on the day I needed, only first class was available outbound. Next day I found another way to get there so changed my round trip to a one way in coach. US Airways not only charged me $100 for doing so, but also kept the $620 for the outbound leg which I was no longer using.

I am out $750 because I did not read the small print. I doubt what they are doing is illegal, but it is certainly unethical.

Shepard of Washington DC (04/06/07)
I am a gold level customer and in the air every week, principally on the pvd-dca route. In the last ten weeks I've been on Usair on that route and to Charlotte, Seattle, and elsewhere. My experiences have been abysmal. Not a single round trip on time. Many not just late but 3 hours late. One plane canceled because of maintenance; the stewardess of the next flight, 2-plus hours later, remarked, when I saw the [manifest] this morning there were only two passengers on it. Maintenance is a euphemism for...well, unprintable behavior.

Moreover, no more help in the clubs or with emailed records of reservations (the computers are down or do not work, or the ladies on them no longer have access to that kind of information...or so they say). I don't even know where to begin, except with: I have lost faith and confidence in USAir; I do not believe them when they tell us something and think they lie; I really don't think they care about passengers.

Rather than find flight on USAir (which I would have done before winter), I just booked flights with Continental and Swiss Air. I will avoid USAir in future if I can, especially if I have a connecting flight.

James of Falls Church VA (04/01/07)
There can be no adequate reason or excuse for what happened at DCA (National Airport DC) this morning, April 1st 2007. Over three hours of waiting to check-in for an internal flight. NO evidence whatsoever of US Airways management of any description to deal with the distress and huge number of passengers and the confused long lines. Not one single, solitary public announcement the whole time from USAirways, no attempt to manage the lines, no presence of USAirways staff at all except behind the besieged and undermanned check-in desks, the US Airways service there augmented by airport police!

No attempt to apologize or explain what was causing the delay. A 100% failure of management who one must assume care nothing for the passengers who fly with the airline and ultimately pay their salaries. It was April Fools Day, and given their treatment of the many hundreds (maybe even thousands) of passengers they were the fools for entrusting their travel needs with US Airways on this day.

M.  of West Hartford CT (03/19/07)
Flight 3333 cancelled on 3/18 due to weather although the weather was clear as a bell throughout the system for 48 hours. Rebooked on flight 8 hour later. After checking in (flight 967) I learned that the plane was not available. The plane finally arrived. But.. there was no staff to fly it. So we waited some more for a crew to arrive. Upon landing in Washington (2 hours late) we sat on the tarmac waiting for a crew to move planes off the concourses. Finally, I went to the luggage area only to find complete chaos. Luggage finally arrived on the carousel at 12:15 pm. A total of 12 hours afer my original scheduled flight and 3 hours late on the rescheduled flight.

All of this was bad, but made worse by:

1. Lack of communication. I checked online to find that my flight was cancelled - it advised me to call their 800 number for further directions. I called them and only got busy signals. So.. I called other USAIR numbers until I got one that would let me stay on hold (was on hold over 1 hour). The rescheduled flight was delayed 15 minutes at a time thus preventing me from making alternative arrangements.
2. No one had a clue what was going on in the baggage area leading to wandering passengers aimlessly searching through mounds of luggage.

Kelly of Auburn NY (03/18/07)
I had purchased a ticket to fly from Syracuse, NY to LaGuardia Airport in NYC, but had to change my flight as my school changed the location of a conference I was supposed to attend. I called US Airways to change the flight and was told it would be a $100.00 Fee to change the flight. After having waited on the phone on hold for over two hours, I was quite upset. I asked to speak to a manager to explain my frustration with having to change my flight, in addition to having waited two hours on hold and being told I would have to pay $100 to change flights. When the manager finally got on the phone, she was extremely snotty and offered no assistance whatsoever. She indicated that there was NO WAY to reduce or waive the fee. When I attempted to discuss the options of switching tickets she became more rude and annoyed with me.

I am a student who is in a six year doctoral program who would have used US AIRWAYS each month to go back and forth to Manhattan. Now, I will NO LONGER use US AIRWAYS. They are the first to oversell their flights, but is not accommodating when customers have uncontrollable circumstances where flights need to be changed.

Andrea of Rochester NY (03/06/07)
I have tried to make or change reservations with US Air at least a dozen times in the past month and each time the wait times are long and the agents are not knowledgeable. Tonight, I was on hold for over 90 minutes before an agent came on the line and somehow disconnected me without dealing with my issue.

Besides my time, i am not able to change a flight that I need changed. I bill my time out at $150/hour for consulting services; I will need to try to contact them again during the day tomorrow and forfeit billing time for it.

Donald of White City OR (01/30/07)
Flying home Christmas eve with nephew, flight cancelled Christmas eve in Las Vegas, and US Airways saying they cannot get us to Medford Oregon (home)until after Christmas, 26th or later. Had to rent car (in the am) and drive 13 hrs home for Christmas.

Jon of Indianapolis IN (01/08/07)
Just when one thought airline travel couldn't get any more miserable...U.S. Airways has introduced captive-audience advertising to each and every flight. That's right, in the last 20 minutes of every flight we have to listen to a flight attendant, hardly a professional voice-over actor, use the intercom system to detail the virtues of the new Bank of America-U.S. Airways Visa card. The spiel goes on for at least five minutes. There's no way to avoid or ignore the intercom commercial. We are literally forced to listen to the message, flight after flight after flight. U.S. Airways Silver, Gold, Platinum and Chairman's Club members...write, call or e-mail U.S. Airways and tell them if they don't stop this invasion of our space you'll start flying another airline.

Bruno of Santa Barbara CA (12/29/06)
We were traveling on Dec. 23 from LA to Durango colorado, for the holidays. After being delayed in LA for 90 min. and being told that we would have no problem making our connection from Phoenix to Duarngo Colorado. we missed the connector by 10 min. After waiting in customer service for 2 1/2 hours, were we told that they would put us on stand by in the morning. At 1:30 in the morning, we were offered a $5 coupon for a hotel, but told to be there at 6am. Deciding to pass on the worthless coupon, sleep in the baggage claim until the morning.

At 9 am, we were told that they would not promise us a flight for 3 days,thus missing the holiday that we planned> We then decided to rent a car for $164,and drive 10 hours to Durango, after paying $1348.38 for two tickets.They lost my bags for 48 hours, arriving at 10pm on christmas night. The took our bags and put them on an united airlines differant airlines (real safe)

On Thursday morning, was in a head-on collision, where my father and sister had to be air-lifted to denver for neuorlogical testing. My father will be in the hospital for 10-14 days. We immediatly had to change our flights back to los angeles, instead of going onto the rest of our journey to saltlake city, utah. We were on the phone for 45 min, before being hung up on for the first of 3 tries. The second try, Chris was put on a flight to LA, and I was put on a different flight to Minnesota. After complaing that he had the wrong name and destination,50 min later they hung up.

Michele of Franklin NH (12/27/06)
It always amazes me.  When you have a flight from Phladelphia to Manchester, get to the airport two hours early, your bags are marked Priority and when you get to your destination, you only get one of two bags. When flying on US Air, I spend more time without my luggage than I do with it.

Janna  of Richboro PA (12/15/06)
US Air's website clearly states that you can purchase a ticket for travel within the continental US for 25,000 frequent flyer miles. But when I called for a flight in February of 07, even though there are no blackout dates during that month, NO flights were available for that price. Instead it cost 50,000 miles. When I asked what on dates I COULD travel for 25,000 miles, I was told they could not guarantee any reservation for that number of miles. Never? I asked, even in July? Never was the response. So why are they advertising that you can get a ticket for 25,000 miles?

Sandra  of Mount Holly NC (12/01/06)
I checked in for my direct flight from Las Vegas to Charlotte at 5:00 A.M. for a 7:30 A.M. flight on Thurs. Nov. 30th with a US Airways employee who was the attendant at the curbside check in. After giving him my 1 piece of luggage and a $5 dollar tip, he gave me a hard copy ticket and my baggage receipt. I arrived in Clt at 2:30 P.M. My luggage did not arrive. US Air said that it should come in on the next flight which was at 6:40 P.M. Well, it's Friday, Dec. 1st and I have left several messages at the Charlotte location and have called their 1-800 number and have spoken to many individuals who apologize but say they cannot help this number by the way is in Guadalarja Mexico.

I do not know why my bag is missing since it was a direct flight and I was at the airport 2 1/2 hours early!! My bag had a bright yellow tag with my name/phone number, etc and inside my bag their is also identification. I don't understand why I am being treated with no respect and why no one at US Airways will help me. I have a lot of valuable items in my bag that mean a lot to me including my eye glasses, which would not fit into my laptop bag so I had to pack them. The last person I spoke to tonight at 9:20 P.M. (Jackie) said she would check with the United booth at the Clt airport and call me back in 15 minutes. Needless to say, my phone has not rung.

The major consequence is that I cannot see once I take my contacts out, which I need to do every night. The loss of my bag with it's contents is making me physically ill and the frustration that I feel for US Airways is unbelievable. I cannot believe that they are not accountable when I paid for such a high airfare to begin with and I have no choice according to them but to check my baggage. The amount of items in my luggage exceed $2000.00 most of which I will not be able to recoup once a claim is made for the lost bag.

Ernesto of Killeen TX (11/29/06)
On Wednesday November 22, 2006, I flew from DFW airport to my final destination which is LGA in NYC. When I arrived in NYC, I noticed that one of my bags was slashed and my lock has been stolen. When I left NYC to arrive back at DFW, according to the manager from the baggage claim counter, both of my bags were missing and they had no idea what might have happened to my bags. I did not receive my bags until 4 days later. Inside my bags were my medications and my school books; they are very important to me for someone, or an organization to mishandle my belongings.

As a result of travelig with US Air, my brand new bag which was my first time using was damaged. My security lock was stolen. My bags wound up missing for 4 days. I missed doses of my medication. I lost points on a presentation that was due Tuesday 28, 2006. The economic consequence for this scholastic matter is that I may have to retake the class which would cost me money that I do not have.

Cissy of Rancho Santa Fe CA (11/06/06)
I have two children at college back east and I have used U.S. Air about 5 or 6 times in the last 5 months from the west coast to Philadelphia (non-stop). Without exception, the coach cabin was unbearably hot. As we deboarded and walked through first class the temperature was completely different; it was quite cool. In addition, two of the flights were taken during the period of no liquids being allowed on flights and we got ONE drink served TWO HOURS after taking off.

When several people around me turned on their lights to request additional liquids later in the flight, the attendants were rude and asked them not to turn on their lights unless it was an emergency and did not bring them additional beverages. I have always flown U.S. Air and it is definitely the most convenient airline for me to use for my current travel, but I will avoid them at all cost from now on.

In addition, I had to make arrangements in Buffalo for my 6-years to be placed in daycare for a day because my babysitter (my mother) had to go to work on monday night, September 4th. The cost of the daycare for overnight was approximately, $48. My question is why don't the airlines offer customer some form of accommodation or discounts on hotels when they cancel the flight?

As usual when I book my flight the ticket has extreme penalties and I can not change the date, time or departure for any reason. However, when the airlines changes the flight they don't even try to make accommodations for customers with other airlines or with hotel reservation. The customer, myself, is left on their own trying to figure out how they are going to pay for this unplanned and additional expense. In addition, I had to use a vacation day from work because my flight was cancelled. As you can see, the change in flights/cancellation by an airline has created quite a problem for me.

US Airways is the only airline I travel on because up until now I had always been quite pleased with their service and never complained about them being a couple hours late or whatever. In addition, I have traveled between Buffalo, New York and New York City at least 4-6 times this year already and still have three more flights to take.

Elizabeth of Silver Spring, MD, writes:
In September 1999, I bought two nonrefundable tickets for flights on November 14 and 25 for round-trip, nonstop flights between Dulles and Orlando.

When I called around November 5 to confirm the tickets, I was told that the return flight I had bought had been cancelled. Without letting me know of this cancellation, USAirways booked us on a flight that had a stopover in Charlotte.

We had to leave 40 minutes earlier and arrived an hour later -- at 11:30 p.m. By the time I discovered the problem, there were no equivalent alternative flights (nonstops on Saturday afternoon).

When I complained that US Airways had a responsibility to inform me of this change, they blamed the travel agent (AAA travel services). The travel agent says that the airline did have our phone number and could have informed us of the change. She insisted that they did not inform her of the change.

We got home at 1:00 a.m. We were exhausted, and that is not how we planned to end our vacation. Also, the return flight was miserable -- packed with people and horribly uncomfortable until the plane took off (it was about 85 degrees in the plane --with no air circulation -- for the 40 minutes that they were loading the plane, and I actually felt quite sick.

At any rate, I feel that I was sold one service and provided with another--worse than bait and switch because they switched after I made a nonrefundable purchase for the service! I would never have bought a trip with a stopover, or one that arrived at 11:30 p.m.

Kathleen of Benton, PA, writes:
I bought my daughter a ticket for Fort Lauderdale FL. It was supposed to be straight-through.

I put her on the airplane in Harrisburg, they said that something in the plane was not working so they took them back off. They got it working and reboarded and said they she would still be flying straight through to FL.

When they got to Pittsburgh, they told them that the flight was cancled so they took her off and sent her to Charlotte, North Caralina. In the meantime my brother-in-law went to the airport in FL.to pick her up. Her flight came in but she wasn't on it. He went to the desk to see why and they told him that she was on it and he must have missed her, so he ran around the airport thinking she was lost. He was frantic so he went back to the desk and they looked it up again and then found out she was in Charlotte but they acted like it was no big deal.

She is only 15 and I bought a straight-through ticket so she did not have to change on her first flight.

She also said that they were rude and mean to her. Those people are paid to treat people nice and with respect. She is just a child and she never flew before.

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