I was milling around in my US Airways Dividend Miles account page and noticed that if you've reached a certain tier you can book a ticket and it will be guaranteed even if the flight is already full.
How is this legal? Isn't that the point of a ticket? I'm okay with standby if someone is willing to do that, but purposely overselling an already booked flight should be prohibited by some kind of Consumer Protection law. Knowing that they have a 'perk' where you can buy someones elses seat, knowing that someone else is getting screwed, is absolutely insane. Everytime my wife flies alone her aisle seat becomes a ***** seat because of this crap.
Get a spot on the fullest flights. We guarantee you a coach class seat on US Airways flights (except US Airways Shuttle) when you purchase an unrestricted fare (Y class), even if the flight is full. Just call the Preferred Desk at least 24 hours before departure to secure your seat.
This makes me want to not use US Airways more than it makes me want to achieve greater preferred status.
They always expect some no-shows. That's how standby flyers get on.
But, if it's still full they start offering to buy out people to get the room. Some "schlub" in coach takes the next flight out and gets a $200 voucher.
Yeah, I get that, and it's still shady to me and was always done kind of on the down low. But offering to sell a seat they know is full as a perk as part of their 'loyalty' program is wildly inappropriate to me. I tend to book flights for, you know, when I need them and waiting for the next flight often isn't an option.
"I don't think you do. If you did, I'd have a car. See, you know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to *hold* the reservation and that's really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody can just take them."
Nice Seinfeld reference! That's immediately what I thought of too. That used to happen to me a lot when I rented cars for trips. I'd say at least 40% of the time they didn't have the class of car I'd reserved months in advance. Usually they'd upgrade me to an SUV but once, on a long trip to Maine, they stuck me with a compact car. 4 people, 1 dog, lots of luggage. Not a fun driving experience.
One thing I really like now is that (at least with Hertz Club Gold) they send you a link to a mobile site when your plane lands. It tells you what car you have, and allows you to upgrade to something else right then. You can refresh every 90 seconds or so. Since they didn't have the Altima Coupe I wanted I ended up switching out of the **** they stuck me with instead (Impala, probably) and into a Charger that I knew would at least be comfortable even if it was guady.
Spirit announced a Latrobe to Chicago daily run which could end up being pretty great for me. Do you have to book directly with them or can they be found in the big travel booking systems like Google Flights? US Airways can get me to Pittsburgh just fine for about $325 one way, but if I can fly into Latrobe that'd be money.
Does anyone have any recommendations for luggage? I'm possibly taking a trip of 10 days this summer, and the luggage I have is insufficient for the task. I'm thinking of buying the new Pelican Elite Weekender hardside case. http://www.pelican.com/cases_detail_lug ... ?Case=BA27" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. It's the mid-size case in the series, so it's bigger than a carry-on and will need to be checked, but it's not up against the maximum size for regular bags like the larger Vacationer. I would need to carry this bag on and off other forms of transportation like buses and subways, so I don't want something huge.
The Pelican stuff is super expensive, but I own other Pelican products like gun cases (this is their first luggage), and they build stuff to be massively tough. You could run trucks over this stuff. If anyone totally loves their luggage, however, I'm certainly willing to look at other options.
Spirit announced a Latrobe to Chicago daily run which could end up being pretty great for me. Do you have to book directly with them or can they be found in the big travel booking systems like Google Flights? US Airways can get me to Pittsburgh just fine for about $325 one way, but if I can fly into Latrobe that'd be money.
You book with Spirit directly.
Warning, because they are a small airline, one out of service plan can definitely screw up your plans. I've had friends who have been stranded and had to book with other airlines.
I found a higher end Samsonite ballistic nylon set at Gabriel's about 5 yrs ago. Ugly burnt orange color, 3 pcs. Carry-on, medium and large suitcases. The large could hold a properly prepared body easily. Logged over 300k miles with them and the only piece that was just retired was the large. Cost me $125 for the set. I replaced it with a large Travelpro polycarbonate hardside that I found at TJ Maxx on clearance for $50. Travelpro is about the best out there, but very pricey. If you want to drop the loot, I wouldn't shy away from the Pelican or Travelpro. What you say about Pelican is spot on. Even if it is their first foray into luggage, everything else they make is damn near indestructible, so why wouldn't this be? That being said, pretty much all luggage is disposable. The Orange color was actually nice, even though it's hideous it allowed me to Id it on the carousel easily.
Spirit announced a Latrobe to Chicago daily run which could end up being pretty great for me. Do you have to book directly with them or can they be found in the big travel booking systems like Google Flights? US Airways can get me to Pittsburgh just fine for about $325 one way, but if I can fly into Latrobe that'd be money.
You book with Spirit directly.
Warning, because they are a small airline, one out of service plan can definitely screw up your plans. I've had friends who have been stranded and had to book with other airlines.
Co-worker of mine had her flight delayed by like 5 hours while a flight from Ft. Lauderdale brought a replacement windshield for her plane.
Does anyone have any recommendations for luggage? I'm possibly taking a trip of 10 days this summer, and the luggage I have is insufficient for the task. I'm thinking of buying the new Pelican Elite Weekender hardside case. http://www.pelican.com/cases_detail_lug ... ?Case=BA27" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. It's the mid-size case in the series, so it's bigger than a carry-on and will need to be checked, but it's not up against the maximum size for regular bags like the larger Vacationer. I would need to carry this bag on and off other forms of transportation like buses and subways, so I don't want something huge.
The Pelican stuff is super expensive, but I own other Pelican products like gun cases (this is their first luggage), and they build stuff to be massively tough. You could run trucks over this stuff. If anyone totally loves their luggage, however, I'm certainly willing to look at other options.
We have a couple Victornox hardshell pieces that we really like. Have spent so much money on cheap luggage over the years, it really is less expensive buying high end stuff than replacing bags every 8-10 trips.
Aside from that, best advice I can give is to get a piece with 360° casters at the four corners. Two straight wheels is for the birds.
Spirit announced a Latrobe to Chicago daily run which could end up being pretty great for me. Do you have to book directly with them or can they be found in the big travel booking systems like Google Flights? US Airways can get me to Pittsburgh just fine for about $325 one way, but if I can fly into Latrobe that'd be money.
You book with Spirit directly.
Warning, because they are a small airline, one out of service plan can definitely screw up your plans. I've had friends who have been stranded and had to book with other airlines.
Co-worker of mine had her flight delayed by like 5 hours while a flight from Ft. Lauderdale brought a replacement windshield for her plane.
Also, be advised that as a small carrier, they nickel and dime you to death with extra fees. Like for your seat. The ticket just buys a spot in the aircraft. If you want to actually sit in a chair, you have to pay extra.
I'm thinking along the same lines as tifosi. The Pelican stuff is way expensive—that single bag runs over $400. But Pelican cases are practically the opposite of disposable.
I see that the four-wheel "spinner" bags are what's in now, and I can see how handy that would be. But I also like the idea that if necessary I could use the Pelican case as a chair and wouldn't have to worry about my fat behind breaking the wheels off. I doubt most spinner wheels would be capable of taking my weight.
I'd like to give the gas face to Frontier (Republic) for buying out Midwest Airlines, running it into the ground and dismantling their Milwaukee hub. Because I have to go to the MKE next week and have to either connect or fly to O'Hare and drive.
Does anyone have any recommendations for luggage? I'm possibly taking a trip of 10 days this summer, and the luggage I have is insufficient for the task. I'm thinking of buying the new Pelican Elite Weekender hardside case. http://www.pelican.com/cases_detail_lug ... ?Case=BA27" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. It's the mid-size case in the series, so it's bigger than a carry-on and will need to be checked, but it's not up against the maximum size for regular bags like the larger Vacationer. I would need to carry this bag on and off other forms of transportation like buses and subways, so I don't want something huge.
The Pelican stuff is super expensive, but I own other Pelican products like gun cases (this is their first luggage), and they build stuff to be massively tough. You could run trucks over this stuff. If anyone totally loves their luggage, however, I'm certainly willing to look at other options.
We have a couple Victornox hardshell pieces that we really like. Have spent so much money on cheap luggage over the years, it really is less expensive buying high end stuff than replacing bags every 8-10 trips.
Aside from that, best advice I can give is to get a piece with 360° casters at the four corners. Two straight wheels is for the birds.
Do you find the casters to be flimsy? They look so less durable than the two straight wheels
We've found the opposite to be true, actually. When you go over a bump, the casters can rotate around freely when they hit resistance. The Rollerblade type wheels will just twist and torque within the mounting, making them more susceptible to breakage.
Plus, you can push the bag around upright; that means you're not supporting the weight of the bag as you walk around. That seems a small thing, but if your bag is packed for 10 days or 2 weeks and the thing weighs 50 pounds, and your connection is at the other end of an airport terminal that's a mile long......
Spirit announced a Latrobe to Chicago daily run which could end up being pretty great for me. Do you have to book directly with them or can they be found in the big travel booking systems like Google Flights? US Airways can get me to Pittsburgh just fine for about $325 one way, but if I can fly into Latrobe that'd be money.
You book with Spirit directly.
Warning, because they are a small airline, one out of service plan can definitely screw up your plans. I've had friends who have been stranded and had to book with other airlines.
Co-worker of mine had her flight delayed by like 5 hours while a flight from Ft. Lauderdale brought a replacement windshield for her plane.
Thanks for the advice from everyone on Spirit. The press release was kind of sketchy, they're talking about pushing their limits and adapting as they go. Sounds like they're already pretty well pressed.
The problem for me is that Chicago is 4hrs away, and my regional airport is only 20 minutes away. So I fly from there to Chicago and then out. I suppose if I want to use Spirit I have to claim my baggage and then go back through security, I doubt they have a way of forwarding my bags.
We've found the opposite to be true, actually. When you go over a bump, the casters can rotate around freely when they hit resistance. The Rollerblade type wheels will just twist and torque within the mounting, making them more susceptible to breakage.
Plus, you can push the bag around upright; that means you're not supporting the weight of the bag as you walk around. That seems a small thing, but if your bag is packed for 10 days or 2 weeks and the thing weighs 50 pounds, and your connection is at the other end of an airport terminal that's a mile long......
intersting. my roller blade wheels have stood the test of time for about 10 years. the casters always made me nervous as it looks like they would snap right off. good info, thanks
That used to happen to me a lot when I rented cars for trips. I'd say at least 40% of the time they didn't have the class of car I'd reserved months in advance. Usually they'd upgrade me to an SUV but once, on a long trip to Maine, they stuck me with a compact car. 4 people, 1 dog, lots of luggage. Not a fun driving experience.
