Any Word On 757s?....

[USAirBoyA330]

Anyone in Maint. know when the reconfiguration is scheduled to begin on the 757s and when the 1st one will reenter service?

 

[PITOCC]

The first 757 is acft 619 going in on OCT 28th. It is scheduled to be a 3-day visit.
The last aircraft is 632 scheduled in on Dec 23rd.

The Airbus A320 Shuttle aircraft will start their reconfig track on Sep 13th and the
A319 Shuttle aircraft will start on Oct 4th.

The reconfigs will be: B757 from 24/158=182 to 8/185=193
A320SH from 150 to 16/126=142
A319SH from 124 to 12/108=120

 

[tadjr]

The reconfigs will be: B757 from 24/158=182 to 8/185=193

Please I hope someone has the foresight to only authorize ALL of the 757 flights during this time to ONLY 8 in FC. It is much easier to move people from the back to the front if you get a 757 with only 158 in coach than it is to move 16 from the front to the back. Please, Please, Please someone who makes this decision do the right thing and do this!! I can tell you from previous conversions that it is NOT good customer service or easy to tell the CHPR that because of the downsize he is now in a middle seat in coach. Its much easier to move him from coach to first because we have a non reconfigured plane.

 

[USAirBoyA330]

The configuration has been decided on for a while. We knew it was coming and I say if we are not making money from the 1st class seats then take them out. The service isn't 1st class so why even have the cabin?
On the same note, I hope that maintenance takes this time to CLEAN the aircraft. Change out seat covers, wash down the walls, touch up paint and change out the nasty carpets. The aircraft are smelling "musky" becuase the fabrics and carpeting is never cleaned. It's gross.

 

[tadjr]

The configuration has been decided on for a while. We knew it was coming and I say if we are not making money from the 1st class seats then take them out. The service isn't 1st class so why even have the cabin?
On the same note, I hope that maintenance takes this time to CLEAN the aircraft. Change out seat covers, wash down the walls, touch up paint and change out the nasty carpets. The aircraft are smelling "musky" becuase the fabrics and carpeting is never cleaned. It's gross.

I agree with you. I am only saying that during the conversion they need to book ALL 757 flights under the assumption that the plane will be 8/185 and not 24/158 so we dont have 16 FC pax downgraded on the days we get a reconfigured plane. When they were converting one of the 737s they did it the opposite and you often ended up having to downgrade 4 FC pax day of flight. If they did the opposite, you would be able to upgrade people on the days it wasnt reconfigured and not PO all of your FC pax in the meantime. I'd much rather deal with the 11 extra oversales in coach than the 16 in FC on a daily basis. It would also make it easier on the crews since you wouldnt have 16 disgruntled FC pax sitting in middle seats in coach on full flights when its downsized with a new configured plane.
On the cleanliness side, I was on a 757 last week and it did look very tired. Dirty between the seats, windows, and the front lav had dust and stuff on the walls behind the door. I wiped it down (file a grievance ), but it was disgusting.
The service was great on all the flights though!

 

[MarkMyWords]

Tadjr,

It was decided to cap all B757 flights at 8 in f/c for the very reason you noted above. It is easier to roll people up front then it is to push them to the back. Inventory was supposed to have started capping all flights to 8 sometime last week. I personally brought the same issue up to my boss (who is very well connecteed) when it was first announced that we were going to reconfigure the fleet. They assured me that they would handle this situation better then they did the B733 and M80 configurations. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

[tadjr]

Thats good to hear. I checked 1 flight today (a little busy with tstorms again) in Dec and it was still showing 24. Of course this was only 1 random flight. I will snoop around a little more and mention it to my manager so they can get it from a couple of different angles. This should be fairly easy to do shouldnt it? Just cap all 757s when the next skd change is loaded at 8/185 then adjust as needed for individual flights later.

 

[MarkMyWords]

I checked today and inventory hasn't capped the flights yet. When I made a couple of phone calls I found out that the caps will go on when the Oct schedule change is loaded (I believe that will be either this weekend or next). During the reconfiguration inventory levels will be brought to 8 and approx 180-185 depending on the market and no show factors.

 

[ClueByFour]

Considering a trip to LAS at some point this fall/winter. I can't fathom it on US (no way I'm risking no upgrade on one of these slave-ship configurations).

Of course, with AA losing their minds on 757s as well, it'll become a type that VFFs avoid like the plauge.

 

[USAirBoyA330]

When USAir got those 757 they only had 16 seats and then we put 24 in them. I can assure you that they are MOSTLY upgrades and no one is paying for those seats. A lot of them go out empty or are upgraded because no room in coach. I think it's a great move. That space can be used to get actual revenue on the planes instead of oversell PAX.

 

[sdavis29]

Considering a trip to LAS at some point this fall/winter. I can't fathom it on US (no way I'm risking no upgrade on one of these slave-ship configurations).

Of course, with AA losing their minds on 757s as well, it'll become a type that VFFs avoid like the plauge.

what a bummer....

 

[Twicebaked]

Considering a trip to LAS at some point this fall/winter. I can't fathom it on US (no way I'm risking no upgrade on one of these slave-ship configurations).

Of course, with AA losing their minds on 757s as well, it'll become a type that VFFs avoid like the plauge.

As much as you THINK you deserve the "upgrade" to first class, U is not your personal airline. Businesses aren't in the "business" to lose money. If this is U's way of making some more money than on the backs of it's employee's I am all for it. Although, we DO appreciate the fact that we have loyal customers like you, start forking out some of your own money for these seats so they can stay. It really chips me when some pax only think of themselves. Your company probably pays for your tickets anyway. They should get the free "upgrades".
Let's all remember US 1's 2's 3's and 4's are NOT royalty, they just fly alot.

Sorry, but I am just over the poor-me's of this airline.

 

[TomBascom]

Considering a trip to LAS at some point this fall/winter. I can't fathom it on US (no way I'm risking no upgrade on one of these slave-ship configurations).

Of course, with AA losing their minds on 757s as well, it'll become a type that VFFs avoid like the plauge.

As much as you THINK you deserve the "upgrade" to first class, U is not your personal airline. Businesses aren't in the "business" to lose money. If this is U's way of making some more money than on the backs of it's employee's I am all for it. Although, we DO appreciate the fact that we have loyal customers like you, start forking out some of your own money for these seats so they can stay. It really chips me when some pax only think of themselves. Your company probably pays for your tickets anyway. They should get the free "upgrades".
Let's all remember US 1's 2's 3's and 4's are NOT royalty, they just fly alot.

Sorry, but I am just over the poor-me's of this airline.

Cluebyfour didn't say anything about "deserving" an upgrade. He's telling you that he values it so much that he'll fly elsewhere in order to ensure that he gets it. BBB ought to be listening very carefully to that.

What the "upgraders are evil" crowd fails to see is that upgrades are a very powerful marketing tool. They drive a lot of discretionary business travel your way. Remove them and the only "PAX" you'll have are those fantastically profitable leisure customers that add so much to your bottom line. We US1's et al do pay for those seats. We shell out tens of thousands of dollars every year to put our butts in your seats. It doesn't matter one whit if we pay for it personally or if our employers & customers pay for it or if a particular flight that we happen to be on is "business" or "leisure". Chasing just one of us away is equivalent to having to fill an entire plane with Ma & Pa Neverfly.

 

[Art at ISP]

Considering a trip to LAS at some point this fall/winter. I can't fathom it on US (no way I'm risking no upgrade on one of these slave-ship configurations).

Of course, with AA losing their minds on 757s as well, it'll become a type that VFFs avoid like the plauge.

As much as you THINK you deserve the "upgrade" to first class, U is not your personal airline. Businesses aren't in the "business" to lose money. If this is U's way of making some more money than on the backs of it's employee's I am all for it. Although, we DO appreciate the fact that we have loyal customers like you, start forking out some of your own money for these seats so they can stay. It really chips me when some pax only think of themselves. Your company probably pays for your tickets anyway. They should get the free "upgrades".
Let's all remember US 1's 2's 3's and 4's are NOT royalty, they just fly alot.

Sorry, but I am just over the poor-me's of this airline.

Twice Baked,

You miss the point. First, don't think we all feel we're "entitled" to a first class seat. Most of us consider it a privilege. The fact is that the upgrades ARE an important marketing tool, and in light of the fact that nobody's going to pay an actual F class fare in today's economy, there is little if any cost to the company, especially in light of the way F class has been gutted by a seriously misguided management.

With all due respect, you must be one of B Ben Bozo's fans, who said a year ago that we frequent fliers were only loyal if we paid the higher business fares. Well, my friend, if you didn't gouge us on those fares, perhaps we would pay a little more. The fare system is broken, and is almost beyond repair--but then again, there's always HP. They rationalized their fares and are making money.

I do agree that the company should stop taking from you, the employees. They need to realize that the excellence of the front line is the primary reason I have remained fiercely loyal to US--without you they don't have a chance.

So don't be so quick to jump on us--we are on your side.

 

[Twicebaked]

Considering a trip to LAS at some point this fall/winter. I can't fathom it on US (no way I'm risking no upgrade on one of these slave-ship configurations).

Of course, with AA losing their minds on 757s as well, it'll become a type that VFFs avoid like the plauge.

As much as you THINK you deserve the "upgrade" to first class, U is not your personal airline. Businesses aren't in the "business" to lose money. If this is U's way of making some more money than on the backs of it's employee's I am all for it. Although, we DO appreciate the fact that we have loyal customers like you, start forking out some of your own money for these seats so they can stay. It really chips me when some pax only think of themselves. Your company probably pays for your tickets anyway. They should get the free "upgrades".
Let's all remember US 1's 2's 3's and 4's are NOT royalty, they just fly alot.

Sorry, but I am just over the poor-me's of this airline.

Twice Baked,

You miss the point. First, don't think we all feel we're "entitled" to a first class seat. Most of us consider it a privilege. The fact is that the upgrades ARE an important marketing tool, and in light of the fact that nobody's going to pay an actual F class fare in today's economy, there is little if any cost to the company, especially in light of the way F class has been gutted by a seriously misguided management.

With all due respect, you must be one of B Ben Bozo's fans, who said a year ago that we frequent fliers were only loyal if we paid the higher business fares. Well, my friend, if you didn't gouge us on those fares, perhaps we would pay a little more. The fare system is broken, and is almost beyond repair--but then again, there's always HP. They rationalized their fares and are making money.

I do agree that the company should stop taking from you, the employees. They need to realize that the excellence of the front line is the primary reason I have remained fiercely loyal to US--without you they don't have a chance.

So don't be so quick to jump on us--we are on your side.

ISP,
Actually I think BBB is doing a terrible terrible job. I am not on his side or the company's side and I never will. I may have "misunderstood" what clue was saying, but what you missed was the fact that if the company can actually SELL a Y class seat rather than to upgrade a FF they will have to do it. Business travel has decreased tremendously and is still declining. AGAIN, although we appreciate the continued business, US has no guarantee that business travel will increase. Therefore, they need to shift a bit to the leisure travel. Those pax will always be there. Technology won't bring Florida or the islands to them as will corporations bring meetings an what not to you via technology.
I am sorry if you think I am "jumping" on the FF's, but MANY and I do mean MANY act on the planes as if they ARE royalty. Frankly, it paints a picture for most of the FF's. I am glad to hear that you are not a typical member.