Why are you here?

[Dont call me Shirley]

It has often been asked - and never answered: Why is the discussion board for US Airways, the smallest network carrier, the busiest one (by far) on Usaviation. Rather than asking why so many post here, this posts asks:

A. How did you learn about this forum?
B. Why do you spend time/energy reading and/or posting here?
C. (Sepuculation only Since other carriers have more emloyees and customers, why are those forums so quiet?

For A: I learned of this site back when Holly Hegeman's Planebusiess.com shut down its discussion forums. Many posters from that board moved over here. I had discovered the planebusiness site through usenet forums like rec.travel.air. Now that goes back some time indeed. Started on those usenet forums due to aviation geekdom, not having anthing to do with US as such.

For B: I wish I knew. Especiallly on a nice summer day like this.

For C: People interested in US Airways are more internet savy than are people more concerned about other carriers.

 

[JS]

A. How did you learn about this forum?

Same here, from planebusiness.com.

B. Why do you spend time/energy reading and/or posting here?

Because FlyerTalk sucks.

C. (Sepuculation only Since other carriers have more emloyees and customers, why are those forums so quiet?

The migration from planebusiness forums plus the fact that US is the saddest carrier out there means more stuff to talk about.

 

[tahitigirl]

FREE ENTERTAINMENT!!!!!!!

 

[GolfNovember]

FREE ENTERTAINMENT!!!!!!!

Yeah, I'm here for that too.

 

[necigrad]

A. How did you learn about this forum?

Don't remember. I remember it first openign up and ignoring it certain it was destined to fail. Whoops.

B. Why do you spend time/energy reading and/or posting here?

Nice to know I'm not alone, good information since I had a Union that didn't communicate. People that for the most part have an understanding of things, if not the same view.

C. (Sepuculation only Since other carriers have more emloyees and customers, why are those forums so quiet?

Oh, this is the easiest one there is. US Airways treats it's employees like raw sewage, OK worse then raw sewage, while the higher ups get large salaries and even larger (like 10 times larger) bonuses. If you treat your employees poorly, they're gonna vent. If the employees are pissed off enough to vent, it's gonna create situations that will cause customers to vent as well. And some of our passengers (I think Piney Bob is one) genuinly care about us employees and want to speak up for us. Most of the other carriers have had cuts over the past several years, true. But their cuts are still a bit above US. They also tend to have better Union representation. And to top it all off, we have the merger. Two vastly different airlines with vastly different employee groups amounts to vastly different view. All that equals pissed off employees that need to gripe, vent, and scream for help.

 

[Be Careful What You Wish For.]

As I have learned, back east, complaining is a sport-

"How are you today?" "You would not believe what (insert department/flight #) did to me today(It's 7:30 in the morning)". Day after day.

It's like a SNL skit at times.

For your own sanity you learn to tune it out after awhile.

This place provides an equal footing for all factions with out resorting to fisticuffs.

 

[cooper43]

I read and occasionally respond on the USairways thread because it is entertaining. I am an employee for a different airline but our thread is usually boring. I have also wondered why there is so much more activity over here. But it is still fun to read the post here.

 

[SolidCactus]

A. How did you learn about this forum?
B. Why do you spend time/energy reading and/or posting here?
C. (Sepuculation only Since other carriers have more emloyees and customers, why are those forums so quiet?

A. Actually one day I was in the FC cabin and bored, and I started a conversation with a flight attendant, and we started talking about all kinds of stuff and we got onto the topic of senority. He told me, "You have to check out US Aviation".

B. Honestly, I really love travelling, and I love to fly. I sometimes wish I went into aviation instead of the career path I chose. I know this is probably the closest I will ever come to "being involved" in anything related to aviation unless I retire someday and get a part time job working at an airport. I also use this forum to "wind down" every night before I go to bed. I enjoy coming here and reading the stories. i'm lucky enough to be a small business owner, and have a company that allows me to travel for work, AND I make enough money to do a ton of leisure travel as well. I can't stand Flyertalk. There is too much going on there. I have a short attention span.

C. You know, my guess is that the people who work for US have worked for US for a very long time and have gone through so many changes over the years. There is always something to talk about... Then you have the business travellers like me, who live on the east coast, and US has been OUR airline forever. The changes that effect the employees, also effect the frequent flyer. We're all in the same boat. We all have the same things to comment about, just from two different perspectives. It is a lot more interesting this way - at least it is for me.

 

[InternationalShannon]

A. How did you learn about this forum?
I was trying to look up how to spell a certain word so i googled it and for some reason I kept seeing this address.

B. Why do you spend time/energy reading and/or posting here?
You can only take so many paternity tests before Jerry and Maury aren't fun anymore. This airline is better than reality TV, with its envelopes of poo and east vs west tirades. I also like to follow around GuntherA320. He's dreamy, but he has stupid hair.

C. (Sepuculation only Since other carriers have more emloyees and customers, why are those forums so quiet?
Everyone loves a good train wreck, and there's always some rediculous idiot going off on our forum. Like me.

D. I dont work at US Airways. I work at Wendy.s

E. Please deposit two dollars for more inane rambling. h34r:

 

[cellblock8]

Just think about it. Usair considers themselves as a "Legecy" carrier. Their only legecy is that they have the (WORST) employee relations of any carrier. I beleive that is why this site is the busiest of all the other forums. But again thats my own opinon and experiance.

 

[N965VJ]

A. How did you learn about this forum?

Google, I guess. When the US/HP merger was announced I was looking for something more than AP stories. I had already quit for about a year at that point.

B. Why do you spend time/energy reading and/or posting here?

A number of reasons. Pro bono for the front line friends I’ve left behind, entertainment factor, and at this moment I don’t feel like trying to find a documentary on TV that’s not about Bigfoot or UFOs. That, and there’s not an open bar within walking distance of the hotel I’m at right now. It’s a Wyndham Rewards property, so maybe my time would be best spent looking for bedbugs, LOL.

C. (Sepuculation only Since other carriers have more emloyees and customers, why are those forums so quiet?

There’s a unique core of employees and customers that are looking out for for their mutual best interests.




This post goes out to all the hopeless sinners, and pilferers of obsolete galley supplies.

 

[Jester]

Oh, this is the easiest one there is. US Airways treats it's employees like raw sewage, OK worse then raw sewage, while the higher ups get large salaries and even larger (like 10 times larger) bonuses. If you treat your employees poorly, they're gonna vent...

All that equals pissed off employees that need to gripe, vent, and scream for help.

Dear God... if I was that miserable (well, I have been at other jobs now that I think about it), I would leave (and I did leave). Honestly, if you were making $1 million a year for a job that you absolutely loath as much as you do for this one, then you aren't being paid enough. Seriously, take the LAS voluntary furlough and find another career before you stroke out.

To answer the questions:

1) I stumbled across this website after reading www.airliners.net where there was mention about the new first class seats on the A-330's and how there was bound to be bitching on usaviation, and the person posting was correct.

2) I enjoy learning about the company and work group happenings instead of the sanitized propaganda from either Management or the ramp version of Pravda (the IAM Messenger). For example, Management's spin on how FA's have eagerly embraced selling soft drinks and how the ramp really enjoys using the new hand held bag tag scanners thus eliminating the ability to use one arm while unloading bags. Although I will admit the IAM Messenger is perfect in size to fit in a cat litter box once opened in the middle.

3) US Airways is the company that people (including employees) love to hate, which was closely followed by "America's Worse Airline". Merge the two together and it is the perfect storm of public animosity. Lost luggage, poor labor-management relations, indifferent staff, tattered and thread worn planes. People don't like reading or talking about good news, but rather enjoy complaining about how something was so awful and horrid, and US Airways often times lives down to those lowly expectations. This forum simply provides an outlet to reach thousands of people instead of a few around the water cooler.

So States Jester.

 

[YVINTERN]

A. Well when I was interning/working at Mesa Airlines I was on a website called FlyerTalk and someone here from CLT told me about an employee-related forum which was policed less and more enjoyable than listening to frequent flyer whiners That's how YV and his blow up doll came onboard.

B. I'm still a broke college student with flight bennies and I just like to relate with my hard working Easties on here

C. Speculating the reason we're so active is cuz we're from the East.

 

[SS255]

A. How did you learn about this forum?
Art, Longing4Piedmont and jimcfs kept talking about it. My curiosity finally got the better of me. (And now I know where the cliche "curiosity killed the cat" came from. )


B. Why do you spend time/energy reading and/or posting here?
Beats the heck out of me! Seriously....As a frequent flyer, I enjoy reading the employee perspective. But I spent a long time as a lurker before I worked up the courage to post. (Can anybody blame me?)


C. (Speculation only Since other carriers have more emloyees and customers, why are those forums so quiet?

US Airways employees and customers (both current and former) are the most passionate people on earth!!!

 

[ITRADE]

It has often been asked - and never answered: Why is the discussion board for US Airways, the smallest network carrier, the busiest one (by far) on Usaviation. Rather than asking why so many post here, this posts asks:

A. How did you learn about this forum?
B. Why do you spend time/energy reading and/or posting here?
C. (Sepuculation only Since other carriers have more emloyees and customers, why are those forums so quiet?

For A: I learned of this site back when Holly Hegeman's Planebusiess.com shut down its discussion forums. Many posters from that board moved over here. I had discovered the planebusiness site through usenet forums like rec.travel.air. Now that goes back some time indeed. Started on those usenet forums due to aviation geekdom, not having anthing to do with US as such.

Yep, I too am a refugee from Planebusiness.com. When was the plug pulled on the PBB boards? 1999? 2000? Interesting US was the most vibrant board running after the end of PBB. AA, CO, WN, and UA were very active on PBB, but AA and UA are only semi-active here.