SUPER SALE & AMAZING SALE

trvlr64

Veteran
Aug 20, 2002
725
10
FLL
www.usaviation.com
Has anyone looked at the main page of USAirways.com website lately? Between those 2 sale specials that are occuring and the sale to Denver and San Francisco PLUS today''s E-Saver notices it looks like USAirways is having a FIRE SALE! !
I''ve never seen so many E-Saver fares from PIT and PHL before. Too bad I spend every week on a USAirways plane for work or I just might have to take advantage of these SUPER and AMAZING fares to help acquire my US1 status for next year. OH WAIT!? I already have because I fly every week all over the country for work?! (insert sarcasm here).
Sorry, it''s early morning and I''m off to the airport yet again for another flight on one of those nasty NONrefundable business fares. Guess I should start booking these FIRE SALE tickets instead. Who cares if they won''t go towards my ELITE status next year. Like I said, I''ve already flown 100 segments and it''s just after Labor Day!! (insert more sarcasm)
[:bigsmile:]
 
I'm in PIT right now -- the place is a wasteland. Getting off the elevator to the club the only other person in the airport replied, when I expressed suprise at how empty the terminal was, "it's ok, I won't be flying them next year" (us two cockroaches got off the same flight -- 8 empty seats in F on an A321 -- but there were still more of us leeches up front gorging on snack bars than there were honest folk in the back.) FYI it looked to me like 80% or so of the plane were on some sort of business.
 
My flights last Saturday and Sunday were very empty. Two Shuttle flights had decent loads (60-65%) but with the $110 GoFares on the weekends, that is not too surprising. Low loads are certainly understandable given the Labor Day weekend. I did however, expect to see bigger crowds on Monday afternoon....

Nope. The DCA US Club had five people in it at 3 pm Monday. Me, a US3 (she had luggage tags), the two agents at the front desk, and a bartender. [:((]

The DCA-CLT flight was probably at about 60% in coach with only 7 of 12 FC seats taken (at least one was a US pilot and another an employee). The CLT-RDU flight was asking for volunteers. All those high fare college kids returning to Duke, NCSU, and UNC really know how to book those full fares! I think 80% of the people on the flight were college aged.
 
Remember, too, with September 11 next week, I think people are not traveling "just because." It would not surprise me to see high amounts of E-Savers this weekend and next.
 
90,000 passengers on the books to fly today.

This may be because it is Wednesday, but 130K seems to have been a more typical number earlier this summer.

The difference (probably) is partially due to 9/11. The remainder are the "disloyal" customers who don't pay full fare and are now seeking another choice in air travel.
 
This is the typical fall off in bookings that happen every Sept. If you were to look at all of the other airlines, you would find similar bookings.
 
This is the typical fall off in bookings that happen every Sept. If you were to look at all of the other airlines, you would find similar bookings.


I disagree that this is "typical".

Yes, booking do drop off after Labor Day when vacations are over and the kids head back to school. Yes, we are seeing a one or two week anomoly surrounding the date of Sep. 11th. Unfortunately, when bookings on other carriers begin to pick up again and the same does not hold true for US, then the US marketing whiz department will be left scratching their heads!

"Gee, how come other airlines seem to be posting higher bookings?"

Simple answer: Between the average Family Joe not wanting to book on a carrier in BK AND the movement of many of US's US1, US2, and US3 fliers to other carriers I think the drop off will be significant. And I think corporate travel budgets are simply too tight to allow for a shift to full, refundable fares.
 
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On 9/4/2002 1:24:37 PM

This is the typical fall off in bookings that happen every Sept. If you were to look at all of the other airlines, you would find similar bookings.


I disagree that this is "typical".

Yes, booking do drop off after Labor Day when vacations are over and the kids head back to school. Yes, we are seeing a one or two week anomoly surrounding the date of Sep. 11th. Unfortunately, when bookings on other carriers begin to pick up again and the same does not hold true for US, then the US marketing whiz department will be left scratching their heads!

"Gee, how come other airlines seem to be posting higher bookings?"

Simple answer: Between the average Family Joe not wanting to book on a carrier in BK AND the movement of many of US's US1, US2, and US3 fliers to other carriers I think the drop off will be significant. And I think corporate travel budgets are simply too tight to allow for a shift to full, refundable fares.
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Good thing you parents named you Claire...... Clairvoyant. [:bigsmile:] [:bigsmile:]
 
Tom, must have passed by you this morning in PIT. Was that up until 8:00 a.m. today.

Anyhow, just returned from a 4 segment trip.

Flights were full pre- labor day and only moderately full post- labor day. 3 out of 4 flights were on A321s and US had them filled to about 22 except for the red-eye which was maybe 50% full.

The FFs I talked to were quite peeved about the changes (the FF program changes as opposed to the restricted/standby rules).
 
I feel bad I'm one of those scum suckers who go on the US Airways web site and book my ticket. Damn if the thing didn't give me the lowest fare. What was I thinking!!!
Just put out the word to my people please book the highest fare you can, hope that helps. Oh well at least AA has match my status. see ya US Air .[:((]
 
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On 9/4/2002 2:22:53 PM
Tom, must have passed by you this morning in PIT. Was that up until 8:00 a.m. today.

Sorry I missed you (not that I'd have had any idea!)

I was in the B club from about 7:30 to 8:30. It was busier when I went down. But it still seemed pretty light. FWIW I've been out during the labor day weekend for 3 years running and I do a lot of mid-week travel (that might have something to do with my cockroach status) this seemed way lighter than normal. I've never seen PIT as empty as it was when I posted -- there was nobody in sight up & down the terminal when I got off the jetway.
 
I was in PIT in the B Club between 7:30 and 8:00 on Wednesday am, as well. I got off a plane from MHT: FC was almost full, I decided not to upgrade and had Row 21 (exit row with all that space in front of me; I am 5' tall, so this is decadent). There were 33 of us in the back of a 321. Both airports were a ghost town. Returned from CLE on CN, the ERJ was full, and that airport was hopping.