FAQs for September 27, 2007
Searching for something in particular? Hold down the Control key (Ctrl) and click the "F" key on your keyboard to pop up the Find box in your browser. Type in the keyword you're looking for and click the "Find Next" button. If it's on the page, it'll bring you to the word and highlight it for you.
Q. Southwest used to allow pre-merger America West employees a service charge of $25 each direction, plus taxes. Pre-merger US Airways employees had an ID90 agreement. Why the changes?
A. Sharon Roberson, manager of the Pass Bureau, tells us that effective back in August, Southwest opted to move all of their agreements to ZED (zonal employee discount) fare agreements for consistency (HP and US weren’t the only airlines with different agreements). Our current agreement with Southwest on ZED fares (see below) is a combination between negotiating for a new agreement to merge all US Airways employees into one and Southwest's desire to move to ZED agreements with all carriers. In a ZED agreement, fees are based on distance. Most WN fares will fall into Zones ZL1-3 and Southwest’s highest mileage zone will fall into Zone ZL4. Check out the complete ZED agreement chart for other airlines, effective this Monday, Oct. 1, on the travel pages of awaCompass and theHub.
Southwest ZED Agreement
*MILEAGE* *ZONE* *USD FARE-One Way*
1- 450 ZL1 $ 17
451- 750 ZL2 $ 19
751-1600 ZL3 $ 25
1601-3200 ZL4 $ 37
3201-4080 ZL5 $ 42
4081-5000 ZL6 $ 46
5001-6100 ZL7 $ 57
6101-7100 ZL8 $ 70
7101-9000 ZL9 $ 72
Q. Has US Airways looked into a pass agreement with Spirit Airlines?
A. Our own Carmen Sandiego in the Pass Bureau, Sharon Roberson, reports that we’re currently in talks with Spirit Airlines about an agreement. It’s a little more complicated than most since Spirit does not issue or accept traditional ticket stock, but we’re trying to find a way to do business anyway. Stay posted on awaCompass or theHub for further updates to our interline agreements.
Q. I heard a rumor that US Airways is going to be sold very soon, with East operations going to United and West operations going to Continental. Is this really going to happen, and if not, are we considering any future mergers?
A. CEO Doug Parker heard this asked recently at both PIT and CLT Town Halls. He responded by saying, "This is just a rumor. We have no plans to sell the company and we have no future mergers on the immediate horizon. The proposed Delta deal made sense at the time because that company was in bankruptcy at the time and we would have been able to benefit from that. Though we don't have immediate mergers on the horizon, we need to stay close to consolidation so we're able to effectively compete."
Q. Can I add my grandchildren as a dependent? I claim them on my income taxes.
A. Alice Heel, manager, Employee Benefits says, “We are unable to offer your grandchildren health benefits through US Airways at this time unless you are their legal guardian and have the appropriate court documentation filed awarding you guardianship.â€
Q. Whatever happened to the rumored PSA CRJ900's? I've heard that the pilots are close to reaching an agreement with the company for the airplanes. Is there any news or updates to report?
A. Bob Martens, SVP, US Airways Express, says, “We continue to evaluate a larger aircraft for PSA and have held and will continue to hold discussions with the PSA ALPA MEC with the objective of reaching agreement on a pay rate for the new aircraft. We are hopeful that we will arrive at an agreement and would thus establish the economic basis for issuing an RFP (request for proposal) to the manufacturers Bombardier and Embraer.â€
Q. Does the "New US Airways" have any plans to upgrade its Express products to keep in check with the competition, such as Delta's Comair, with the addition of First Class to it larger CRJ-900, and United's Ex-Plus service?
A. Bob answered this question, too, by saying, “We want to be competitive and we do monitor what others are doing but, at the same time, we also need to be cost-effective and offer service features which people value enough to pay for -- or which cause them to choose us over others. Those services change over time and we will adjust our offerings as the market tells us we should.
Right On Schedule with Jason Reisinger, director, Route Strategy
Q. Are there any plans to add AUS (Austin, Texas) flights back from the East Coast? Just before 9/11 and just before the proposed merger with Delta, agents told me we were about to start flying there again. Both times, it didn't happen, which I understand. But now that there is no merger, I am curious if it might happen. I know we fly there out of PHX, but it’s a thousand miles out of the way.
A. Yes, this is something that we are interested in doing. The most likely addition would be to CLT from AUS. However, we don't have any firm plans at this time.
Q. Recently Delta airlines pulled out of ILG (New Castle Airport) service to Atlanta, even though the flights were consistently full. It was convenient to Delawareans to get a connection out without having to come out to Philly. Is there a possibility that US Airways would consider a flight out of Delaware to LGA? I think there is enough demand for folks leaving Delaware and nearby Maryland to pick up international connections via LGA/JFK or those just traveling to New York on business/pleasure without having to drive down.
A. Unfortunately, ILG isn’t a market that we are likely to serve. Our resources and efforts in that region are focused on PHL. The problem for ILG (and likely why DL was not able to make it work, even to the world’s largest hub) is that PHL offers non-stop service to much of the world on many different airlines. With all those choices nearby, it is hard to offer enough choices at ILG to attract customers. So even though getting to and using PHL can sometimes be challenging, passengers in the area aren’t likely to use ILG enough.
