I flew PHL-PIT yesterday for my first segment of the year, so I got to read the new magazine. I thought the quality of the articles was very good, the same as Attaché. I did think that it seemed to be disproportionately focused on LAS--I don't know if that'll be a regular thing, or just this issue. I know it's a big destination and all and gets lots of advertising, but it's well under half the size of the hubs at CLT, PHX, PHL, and even a little smaller than DCA.
There were two big things that I did not like about the magazine at all. From the December Attaché to the January US Airways Magazine, they removed the airport maps for FLL, ORD, DEN, FRA, SFO, IAD. That saved a whopping one page, both sides, and I think it was a horrible move. US still offers several unique international destinations at FLL, with plenty of connecting pax there, and it can probably be confusing, especially since you have to switch terminals when connecting international-to-domestic. Likewise, when connecting to UA or LH, US customers might not be that familiar with the other airports, and a map would be useful for them. And at FLL, many pax might not speak English (ditto for FRA and German), so a map would be even more helpful. A pretty stupid move, if you ask me, and even if they do decide to fix it now, it'll take months, given the necessary lead time.
The other thing was that they removed *ALL* of the Spanish-language sections that used to be in Attaché. There wasn't much--the letter from Doug, the food/drink/In Flight Café information, and the movie information--but it was a really nice touch I thought, and I think it made our Spanish-speaking customers feel more welcome. And with US serving lots and lots of Spanish-speaking places (and HP serving an additional big bunch of cities in Mexico), I think that stuff was nice for them. But that wasn't all they removed--they also removed the Spanish-language instructions for filling out the Customs/Immigration forms (the I-94 and such). That information wasn't just a nice touch; it was really necessary, and I have to think there are going to be *big* problems now with people that don't know how to fill out their forms. Just a completely sloppy mistake, someone out west isn't thinking that this airline has a way bigger international reach than the old HP.
I didn't get to see the new video. I was on a 733 with video monitors, but they showed the December stuff. :blink:
My other question was when they raised the overweight baggage fee to $50. I could swear it was $25 the last time I paid it. I checked in at a kiosk, then told the agent tagging my bags that one was overweight. She asked me by how much it was overweight (she never did weigh the bag), and I think she was going to let me slide if it was just a few pounds. But I told her the truth, that I had weighed it at home and that it was 58 pounds. She then told me that there would be a fee, and I said "I know." But she never actually said what the fee was, I just gave her my credit card and signed the receipt without even looking at it. Then, when I was getting my boarding pass out of the ticket jacket at security, I noticed that my receipt for the 51-70 Overweight Fee was $50, and I was shocked. I really think that's a bit excessive for only 8 pounds overweight, especially for a US1--but I would've paid it anyway, so I guess they can charge what they like. Just curious when they did it, as I don't remember hearing about it. Then again, they've made so many customer-unfriendly rule changes in the last few months, it's hard keeping track.
There were two big things that I did not like about the magazine at all. From the December Attaché to the January US Airways Magazine, they removed the airport maps for FLL, ORD, DEN, FRA, SFO, IAD. That saved a whopping one page, both sides, and I think it was a horrible move. US still offers several unique international destinations at FLL, with plenty of connecting pax there, and it can probably be confusing, especially since you have to switch terminals when connecting international-to-domestic. Likewise, when connecting to UA or LH, US customers might not be that familiar with the other airports, and a map would be useful for them. And at FLL, many pax might not speak English (ditto for FRA and German), so a map would be even more helpful. A pretty stupid move, if you ask me, and even if they do decide to fix it now, it'll take months, given the necessary lead time.
The other thing was that they removed *ALL* of the Spanish-language sections that used to be in Attaché. There wasn't much--the letter from Doug, the food/drink/In Flight Café information, and the movie information--but it was a really nice touch I thought, and I think it made our Spanish-speaking customers feel more welcome. And with US serving lots and lots of Spanish-speaking places (and HP serving an additional big bunch of cities in Mexico), I think that stuff was nice for them. But that wasn't all they removed--they also removed the Spanish-language instructions for filling out the Customs/Immigration forms (the I-94 and such). That information wasn't just a nice touch; it was really necessary, and I have to think there are going to be *big* problems now with people that don't know how to fill out their forms. Just a completely sloppy mistake, someone out west isn't thinking that this airline has a way bigger international reach than the old HP.
I didn't get to see the new video. I was on a 733 with video monitors, but they showed the December stuff. :blink:
My other question was when they raised the overweight baggage fee to $50. I could swear it was $25 the last time I paid it. I checked in at a kiosk, then told the agent tagging my bags that one was overweight. She asked me by how much it was overweight (she never did weigh the bag), and I think she was going to let me slide if it was just a few pounds. But I told her the truth, that I had weighed it at home and that it was 58 pounds. She then told me that there would be a fee, and I said "I know." But she never actually said what the fee was, I just gave her my credit card and signed the receipt without even looking at it. Then, when I was getting my boarding pass out of the ticket jacket at security, I noticed that my receipt for the 51-70 Overweight Fee was $50, and I was shocked. I really think that's a bit excessive for only 8 pounds overweight, especially for a US1--but I would've paid it anyway, so I guess they can charge what they like. Just curious when they did it, as I don't remember hearing about it. Then again, they've made so many customer-unfriendly rule changes in the last few months, it's hard keeping track.
