Southwest Did Not Run U Out Of The West Coast

[hopethingswillbeok]

After merge with PSA, U decided to put hot meals in coach to be served on half hour flights. FA's didn't have enough time to serve meals, so everyone that got off the aircraft received meal vouchers, plus we had all those meals on board go to waste. They had a full staff with PSA, but for some reason U decided to hire all kinds of Shift Managers, PSS and upgrade about everyone to full time. I knew many folks that were new hire part time that received Shift Managers Positions. I worked in LAX for awhile and watched four to five Shift Managers a day on the same shift just stand around. We ran ourselves out of the West Coast. You can't fly folks from LAX to SFO for nineteen dollars and serve hot meals and ect and make money. But we didn't try to change things, we just up and pulled out.

 

[Pacemaker]

I was there - two things stand out. USAir immediately raised prices to match those on equivalent east-coast stage lengths; i.e. $500 LAX-SMF. Drove a lot of folks into the arms of Alaska and later Southwest. Second, USAir took a self-contained system and starting running through flights to/from the east coast. So your typical SoCal/NorCal guys shows up for his 5:00 flight home and finds it delayed 2 hours because of "weather on the east coast". The last thing anyone out here wants to hear is that his/her life is being affected by events back east - that's why we're out here and not there.

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

I was there - two things stand out. USAir immediately raised prices to match those on equivalent east-coast stage lengths; i.e. $500 LAX-SMF. Drove a lot of folks into the arms of Alaska and later Southwest. Second, USAir took a self-contained system and starting running through flights to/from the east coast. So your typical SoCal/NorCal guys shows up for his 5:00 flight home and finds it delayed 2 hours because of "weather on the east coast". The last thing anyone out here wants to hear is that his/her life is being affected by events back east - that's why we're out here and not there.

Ah, yes. I remember those days all too well. I remember the front page stories in the Sf Chronicle (if you can call it a real newspaper) every time the SFO-LAX fares went up. And the drop off in passenger loads.

And the tag ending of west corridor flights to east coast flight. BOS-IND-LAX-SFO-PDX and the like. (One good thing abouit the Bae 146 flights, they were not tag ended.)

And the slow, steady, pulling down of west coast service, well before WN expanded out of its SAN-SFO niche. First the smaller cities in Washington. Then places like Medford and Eugene. But until the dramatic west coast pull out of May 1991, WN was not a major player along the California corridor. They moved into the vacuum left behind. And expanded those markets.

 

[Atlantic]

Yep,
Buying PSA was dumb. Should have used the bucks to go to the islands, and south.

 

[Trin03]

Yep,
Buying PSA was dumb. Should have used the bucks to go to the islands, and south.

I worked with many PSA folks on the west coast. All very good people. To let most of them tell it... they did not want to be USAIR.

PSA seemed to have a pretty good thing going. USAIR opened up the door and laid out the red carpet for WN 's presence in California

 

[hldgmacey]

Yep,
USAir has a habit of doing things then undoing them. It's only money.

 

[mweiss]

To let most of them tell it... they did not want to be USAIR.

They didn't. They felt forced to because of AA's purchase of AirCal. But in the end, it turned out to be a big mistake. PSA very well may have held on in the west and duked it out with UA and AS.

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

And look what AA did with AirCal. Well at least they learned not to buy another West Coast carrier only to dismantle it. Ah, errr......Never mind. 😀

 

[mweiss]

Heh, Shirley.

I miss AirCal and PSA. Somehow, I don't miss Reno though.

 

[Old PSA]

Just to add one of my many USAir "you can't be serious" stories.

Prior to the mergers in San Diego, PSA operated 32 flights a day and ground handled 3 USAir flights and 6 Piedmont flights with 129 station employees including managers and administration. 4 months after the mergers were completed, San Diego operated 32 northbound flights, 3 flights into Pittsburgh hub, 2 flights into the Dayton hub, 2 flights into the Baltimore hub and 2 flights into the Charlotte hub. The same schedule as before merger. However, we now had 257 station employees but no longer did catering or aircraft cleaning. So far during my time with USAir/US Airways, senior management has changed 3 times but the airline is still run the same way, inefficiently and expensively!!! I can only assume that other departments still operate with the same poor ways.

Please note: I am not implying that the individual employee worked less after USAir took over, just that the way the job was performed required more man power to accomplish the same task.

 

[wings396]

Didn't AA purchase AirCal after US purchased PSA?

 

[madness24012]

East coast thinking, west coast dealing. Not a marriage made in heaven.

 

[FlyingHippie]

Personally, I damn happy USAir bought PSA.

 

[Atlantic]

US bought PSA for gates, hangers, etc. It was the last one out there. Paid cash.
At the time it made sence. And then came S.W.

 

[OldGuyinPA]

Buying PSA wasn't dumb. How USAir handled the merger was dumb. There's a book out called Poor Sailor's Airline. It tells completely how a young lawyer (his name was Herb Kelleher) came to PSA and learned everything about how to run an airline. SWA wasn't competition due to regulation and Texas was a long way from California. No seat assignments, no interline, make flying fun and affordable...like Kenny Freidkin knew it could be.

And as the broadcaster says......now you know the rest of the story

SWA=PSA=SWA=PSA=SWA=PSA=SWA=PSA=SWA=PSA=SWA=PSA

See David it is easy......