US Airways
Reviews and Complaints

I just took my first and last flight with US Air.

I specifically checked your website to verify the allowable size of carry on bags before I purchased one. As we were waiting to board our flight UA 769 on April 19 at Bradley Airport Gate 22 at 6:18 a.m. they announced the flight was full and they were looking for volunteers to check their carry on bag at no cost. Willing to help I approached the desk and the agent said in a loud voice in front of everyone that my bag was not carry on size and she was going to charge me for it. She asked if I had checked it in the bag stand for size and marched me across the isle to another gate to measure it. I was so humiliated as everyone was looking on. To be called out this way is not what I expect from someone in a customer service role.

Customer service positions require friendly, helpful people, not someone who treats people with disrespect.

P.S. I saw others with bags similar to the size of mine.

UsAir/American Airlines cancelled my flight during spring break from LaGuardia to Charleston 2 hours before takeoff, and offered to send me the next day. They said for routine maintenance. (Subsequently after speaking to over 6 different reps, i had 6 different other excuses!) I found a flight within 2 hours of that one one, on Delta, first class $1, 000, and one on Southwest $500. I flew Southwest. They refused to purchase the ticket for me. Here's the catch. Their policy states they will put you on another carrier if it is available! I suggest looking on other carriers yourself, because they don't even bother to look and say it's not available, or they don't work with that carrier. It doesn't matter if they work with the other carrier, if it is available they are obligated to reimburse you!I attempted to get reimbursed, they gave me extra air miles HA! I brought them to small claims court and won. I urge you to hold them accountable for their lack of concern about customers make them pay ! site this case in Waltham District Court MA 1551SC000456!

This airline is impossible to deal with. Before I get into the particulars of our family vacation disasters, let me just say that the only way you can connect with US Airways with a complaint is to submit an online form. That is it! No phone calls are taken concerning customer complaints.

So here's the breakdown of our family vacation nightmare. Due to "maintenance" our flight was cancelled on the morning of our "February Vacation" flight and no other options were available for departure on that day. I am well aware that particular plane was fine and was utilized elsewhere, without any concern for the passengers who had purchased tickets and were depending on this plane and your company to make good on their reservations. This impacted our entire trip to Florida. Later that afternoon, I was contacted by two separate parties, who were monitoring my flight, and I was told that our reservations were relisted on flight #1798 from Boston to Charlotte and then on Flight #1820 from Charlotte to Fort Myers. I was on the phone with US air for over an hour (for the fourth time that day, ) and no one could explain why I wasn't notified of this oversight. By that point, it was 4:00 and the flight was scheduled to depart at 5:00. We would not make that flight. Had we known this in advance, we would have been able to enjoy our entire trip without travel and extra costs being incurred. I have been told that the trip would be refunded, however it is the end of April and we still are awaiting a refund, keep in mind that we are still incurring interest charges. If this trip did not involve two young children who were promised a vacation to see their grandparents in Florida, honestly I wouldn't have an issue, but this trip was not going to be cancelled because of errors on US Airway's end. Not only was this a complete disaster, but right from the start my reservations were being changed on their end, making travel and layover stays unrealistic for a family traveling. I have traveled extensively and have never encountered a situation like this before. I would accept vouchers, however, this was such an awful experience, I would prefer not to have to deal with this company again.

The airline caused the WORST Vacation ever. They lost my luggage going from 30 to 85 degrees. . Every time I called to check, they gave me a different answer and asked that I call back in 4 hours. You have no time to relax. I found out they scan luggage and seem to IGNORE if they get a scan error and still put on wrong plane/place. Their fist line people that answer the phone do not send the messages as promised to the other airports for retrieval. They just seem to lie about it. When you call baggage resolution, you have to leave a message and maybe they will call you back in 4 hours. If you want to talk to a supervisor, they email one and today is Sunday, they were supposed to call me on Friday! If you want a REAL CUSTOMER SERVICE PERSON, you must fill out an email form and wait days for anyone to call back. Still not sure if they do, as I am still waiting, 2 days so far!

I had to cancel a scheduled flight on USAirways due to my mother's death. I had one year to re-use the travel voucher. To book this flight I had to speak to an agent. I could not book online or though an automated system. When I tried to book the flight, they were having weather issues. I could not get through. I got a recording saying that their system couldn't handle call volume, call back later, then it cut me off. I tried for days, calling 8-10 times a day and receiving the same recording. I sent them an email asking for an extension to use after the weather issues were over. I received a standard email from them saying I would receive a response within 14 days. I received a response in 8 days saying no extension would be given. I kept trying to get through with the same results. I found a number for the USAirways office in Tempe, AZ. I called, got an operator that said she could not help me. I asked her to either connect me, or give me a number to reach CEO Doug Parker's office. She acted like I was crazy! She said that NO ONE could talk to Mr. Parker. I told her I didn't expect to speak to Mr. Parker, I just wanted to get through to his office. She said that was impossible. I sent another email and received the same standard email back saying I'd be contacted within 14 days. I never received another response from USAirways. My voucher expires and I'm out $400. I'm guessing that USAirways makes a lot of money like this. They set rules that the customer must follow, but they are exempt from. CEO Doug Parker has done a good job of shielding himself from his customers. Guess he doesn't care, as long as he receives his 6 figure income! I done flying with USAirways. If we all are lucky, they will, eventually, go bankrupt from lack of customer service. They're wasting a lot of money paying customer service agents. Obviously, they don't know anything about customer service!

If you haven't noticed, US Air has changed their standby policy. Instead of same day standby, you can only fly standby within 6 hours of your original flight. I tried to fly standby from Grand Junction, Colorado today. My original flight was at 6:20pm. The next earlier flight was at 12:15pm. This is 6 hours and 5 minutes with no other flights between these two times.

Low and behold, both reservations and the airport wouldn't take my $75 and let me fly standby because I was outside of the rules by 5 minutes. There's no room for human touch or human judgement, just the rules. Never mind that US Air had seats on the flight I was trying to fly standby and could have pocketed $75 by letting me fly standby.

From what I can tell, the other major airlines still allow standby flight same-day (with a fee). US Air is the only one with the 6 hour rule. US Air is fee happy and rule happy. The employees don't look like they're enjoying themselves (unlike Southwest). Passengers generally don't look happy.

Only fly US Air if you're ready for rules, fees and a complete lack of human touch. Amazing they can stay in business...they resemble America West more and more in my eyes...

I departed Orlando Florida on Nov 27, 2012, on a late departure on flight 1608. During the entire flight there was constant noise of a fan that made me think perhaps I would lose some hearing ability during the flight. The individuals behind me at one point asked the stewards what the captain was saying on the intercom system as we could not hear the messages and perhaps it was about the delay and travel time. The stewards said repeatedly that all the captain was saying was keep on your seat belt. Since they could not hear the announcements either, they obviously did not want to take the time to find out what was actually being announced. I was concerned about making the connecting flight. When I used the restroom during the flight they were both sitting in the back reading magazines.

When we landed I realized we had time to make the connecting flight if we ran. No one approached us during the flight to talk about our connecting flight and the only mention made was to see an agent when we departed. I saw someone at the end of exit walkway and they gave me a boarding pass. Since I already had a boarding pass, and since we were in a hurry, I asked the agent what direction to go, and did not look at the paperwork he handed me. He did not explain that they had taken me off my connecting flight. In response to my question, he said the end of the hallway and left. My daughter (who was ill with a bad sinus infection) and I took off running for Terminal F. My daughter later told me that the luggage was leaving the plane before we did. There had been no attempt to let the passengers with connecting flights off the plane first. When we arrived at gate at Terminal F the plane was still there and we had 3 minutes to spare. The gate agent would not stop doing her paperwork to talk to us. I finally asked her about boarding the plane and without even looking up from her paperwork she said flight was closed, “nothing to be done”, look at what I got from agent at other flight. I asked about luggage and was told it was probably at baggage claim. The agent would be perfectly cast in any future Disney movie requiring an evil women, such as Cruella Deville or the wicked stepmother in Cinderella. She would be perfect for these type roles. All she cared about was getting her paperwork done so she could be off her shift regardless of any need of her customer.

We ran down to baggage claim in Terminal F as I could not remember what terminal we arrived at in Philadelphia. That individual said he was leaving his shift in 20 minutes and would not be waiting on any baggage to arrive. He did finally look up our luggage information and told me it was on its way to Harrisburg. So our luggage made the connecting flight, but they would not let us try to make the flight and changed our flight information without my knowledge or consent.

There was some type of pink flyer attached to the new boarding pass that had us leaving the following evening at 9:25. With a sick daughter and no one available to provide assistance of any type in Terminal F, I called my husband and he drove from Harrisburg to Philadelphia to pick us up and take us home.

I will never fly US Airways again. Instead I will go ahead and drive to Philadelphia and use another airline. I would encourage Disney to not use US Airways when they serve as a travel agent. It was such a shock being treated with so little respect after having a magical time in Walt Disney World.

I used to love US Airways, what happened? For the first time in my life, I've never hated an airline so much. I prefer British Airways over them even though they lost my luggage twice. The people US Airways has to "help" us passengers are complete rubbish. My luggage was destroyed, completely destroyed, zipper broken, wheel was off, handle crushed into pieces and a huge dent on the side. And a friend I met on the airline had items stolen from her bags. When I went to ask a lady for help to see what I should do about the problem not only did I have to chase her down so she could help me, she kept on walking and mumbling not caring to help me out. And when she finally had the decency to stop and turn around to give me a normal answer all she said was "sorry I can't help you with that okay?" with an attitude. Seems like US Airways picks their staff off the streets...

I picked US Airways over another carrier because the flight was non-stop and listed as less expensive that was until I tagged on the baggage fee of $25 and the don’t get crammed in a middle seat fee of $50...each way! This, of course, tacked on an additional $150 to my total making US Airways more expensive. Maybe I could have dealt with these excessive and ridiculous charges if after paying these fees and arriving at the gate agents were filling the empty seats with standby passengers who didn't have to pay an upgrade fee for that non-middle seat. When I boarded with my one piece of carry-on because I checked my other piece of luggage even though it met the size requirements for a carry-on it appeared I was the only person who had. As I boarded in the first group of Zone 2 customers much to my dismay all the overhead compartments in my area were full! How could this be? So I got stuck pushing my carry-on under my seat where I then ended up having to place my feet on because there was no other room left. Let’s add insult to injury when it was announced that they would check bags for free! What?! Are you kidding me I just paid! My lower back was killing me (and still is) by the time I was ready to exit the plane and had to wait for the couple across from me to carry off their multiple bags that they took from the overheads. Now one would think after this experience I would say “screw it” and not check my bag on the return flight but sadly I am in the hospitality industry and my mother taught me better than that. When I went to check in at DCA and I got to check myself in and then hauled my bag to the TSA to put on the belt and thought why on earth am I paying these fees since apparently I just did more than half the work. I asked the blank-faced counter agent a question who just shrugged at me – ok nothing is going to be resolved here. I get on the plane and take my excessively charged window seat only to be asked if I would mind moving so a couple to sit together. So do I come off as a witch and say no because honestly I did pay extra for the exact seat or am I a nice person and move. Again my mother raised me as a courteous individual so I moved. Dosing off since I had a long day and woke after the beverage service when the flight attendant walked by I asked her if it was possible to get a ginger ale. The reply “phhh, I’m doing something so maybe in a minute”. I just wanted to scream. When US Airways replied to me I was told fees were nonrefundable and that “choice” seat is a preference. No what “choice” seat is a deceptive marketing technique employed by the airline to defraud their customers. I selected a “choice” seat because I was told there were only middle seats left for one leg and that I would have to get my seat at the airport for the other. The email I received said they looked forward to providing a more pleasurable flight experience next time. Why would I give them another chance?

I received a generic email about how US Airways was going to do nothing so I replied:
I was told that my letter would mean nothing to you and that I will get no satisfaction from appealing to you; sadly those individuals were correct. I appreciate your response and while fees may be noted as non-refundable we both know that there are exceptions to all policies. I got stuck with “choice” seating because the reservation came up as “only middle seat available” on one leg and “at airport” for the other. Apparently the “only seat” is a misrepresentation by US Airways to defraud their customers. Since you have been unable to honor my simple requests I will simply blog about my experience and make comments on the various public sites. Thank you for your time.

The above got me a phone call which they explained to me they understand nickel and diming people can be frustrating but there’s nothing they will do. I was told that being compensated for doing the right thing just wouldn’t happen. The gentleman on the phone agreed to with me that I was wasting my time which is apparently just US Airways ongoing customer service standard

I have been a loyal USAir credit card customer since 1997 and a loyal dividend miles award member for many years prior. My husband and I booked an Alaskan cruise with USAir providing the transportation. Our flight from Syracuse NY originally scheduled to leave at 5:45 PM left 20 minutes late and accumulated an additional 15 minutes of lateness because our flight was placed in a holding pattern, Our flight to Seattle was due to leave at 7:32 AM. A USAir representative recognized that I was upset about getting from concourse F to concourse B in time for the 7:32 flight, so she called another representative at the Seattle departure gate who, when told that there were two people who needed to board the flight were on their way, the Seattle flight gate attendant promptly hung up on her. (I believe these people were referred to as “runners”)

My husband arrived at the Seattle departure gate at 7:34 and was told by the gate attendant that the flight had left when in fact both my husband and I saw the aircraft was still at the gate with the ramp still attached, IS THIS U.S, AIR’S VERSION OF THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT — MAKING AN AIRBUS DISAPPEAR IN FRONT OF OUR EYES? We were then instructed to go to the USAir “customer service desk ” where we found another couple who also was refused entry to the same Seattle flight.

For approximately 2 1/2 hours we sat while five different USAir employees “passed the buck” up the supervisory chain each time doing less and less. US Air manager Ray Shepherd stated that they could hold the Seattle flight because it would be unfair to the other passengers who may miss their connections. This all is well and good but what about those of us who arrive only 2 minutes late because of no fault of our own, but because of the incompetence of US Air employees! We were further told by USA Supervisor Sandra P. that the control tower is the one that mandates whether or not to hold a plane for “runners” This I know for a fact is is utter GARBAGE.

By the time we were told that nothing could be done to get us to Seattle on time for our honeymoon cruise, it was now 10:00 AM. After a conversation with manager Ray Shepherd, US Air Supervisor Sandra P began to book our flight back to Syracuse. We were scheduled to leave at 5:00 PM. This meant we would have to spend an additional 7 hours in the Philadelphia airport, This was way too long and after what we had been through, we had no choice but to rent a vehicle and drive home, To add insult to injury our luggage was able to make the flight to Seattle. We were also told by US Air manager Ray Shepherd that someone from customer service would be contacting us regarding this situation.

Just an observation — It’s funny how our two first class seats and two economy seats were denied entry. Judging by the words and actions of the airline employees I think the two economy seats were upgraded to our first class and the seats in economy given to stand by passengers. At the time ot this writing the call back/email from the customer service department has not been received. IS THIS YOUR NORMAL PRACTICE? If it is, I just might re-think my continued association with U.S.Air.

I am also writing to you to formally request full reimbursement of all flights including all first class upgrades and lost air miles and reimbursement for the rental vehicle we were forced to obtain to get back home. Manager Ray Shepherd assured me that he would be requesting the same for your consideration.

Flight 3296 on May 6th, 2012 was delayed for 7 hours. It was due to leave MSY at 6:50 AM and arrive in PHL at 10:35 AM. Flight did not leave until it had been pushed back 4 times, then shut down by the Captain, then re set and finally left around 3 PM. A dented panel held the flight while the mechanic had to be called, arrive then stand around while the manufacture in Brazil was contacted. This problem had been identified by US Airways personnel the night before when the plane arrived, however the night crew did nothing about it and left it for the morning crew to resolve. My wife and I missed out son’s college graduation at 2 PM and his graduation dinner at 6:30 pm. We arrived in PHL at 6 PM and not to the graduation celebration until it were all over at 8 PM. Due to US Airways personal negligence of not fixing the plan the night before, this is not just an unavoidable mechanical failure. The night crew damaged the plan and then did nothing to start repairs on it. US Airways offered a whopping $125 credit on future flight. They stated the plane was owned by Republic Airways and the crew worked for Republic Airways and they had no authority to offer more. Further more they could not elevate the complaint or give me any contact or address info for Republic Airways. Since UA Airways is just a ticket agency, dispute with our credit card company has been filed for full refund.

I was flying Philadelphia to SFO and the flight attendant kindly offered a drink and I kindly accepted a bloody mary. I soon realized I made a mistake because I am trying to decrease my alcohol drinking. I gave my drink to my friend that was flying coach because I didn't want the drink to go to waste. The attendant went from super nice to super mean in a heart beat. She earlier asked to take my coat to be hung. When she asked if I gave my drink away, I said yes and told her politely that I didn't know I couldn't give my drink away and I had never heard or read this rule. She replied, "Why don't you use your common sense?" And She said this in front of a full cabin so everyone in the 1st class heard this because there is only 4 rows. I felt embarrassed that she would say this basically accusing me of stealing a $5 drink.
I replied to her, "Why don't you be more polite?"
I was so mad that I when back to the back of the plane in a lot of traffic, asked my friend to give me back the drink and I slammed the drink on the galley table. "here's your damm drink back!" She reported me to Captain Leo and I told my side of the story to him and he told me that there are in fact rules (not that obvious) about giving away drinks. I apologized to him and told him that I didn't know about these rules. He complimented my cloths and said that it was only a 3 and 1/2 hr flight and basically just get along for a relatively short flight. This calmed me down and on my way back to my seat I went to the galley and said sorry to "Nurse Crotchety." (One flew over the Cuckoo's nest.) She did not acknowledge me and just looked away. I did not order anymore drinks or food. I lost trust in U.S.Airway's representative for common decency and common courtesy. I wouldn't put it past her to put a bugger in my meal. Why does this ice water taste so funny? Because she yelled at me in front of a full cabin and made me go get my drink (in a lot of traffic), she made me feel like a child. More over, she made me feel like a thief. She made no attempt to explain the rules and the logic behind them. Even now, I still don't understand how a $5 drink could cause so much fuss. I would have paid for the fricken drink. No passengers should be made to feel like a thief.

i was returning to England from a vacation in North-Carolina, when i asked the air stuadest to purchase ciggarettes from the duty free.she told me there was a promotion, if i purchase £100.00 worth i would get a free pearl necklace, she said unfortunatly they didnt have any on the flight which she couldnt understand why but i would give her all my details and one would be sent to me.so this happened i purchased the £100, 00 worth of ciggarettes as i really wanted the free gift.she told me to allow upto 28 days, so this was August 21st 2011, i still havent received my free gift, i have sent e-mails but nobody replies to mecould you please make sure someone looks into this matter and e-mail me so i know whats going on with my complaint, and i would love to know when my pearl necklace will be arriving yours sincerly y.[protected]@yahoo.co.uk or y.[protected]@yahoo.com

I have been a loyal customer of US Airways since their days as Allegheny, but today I've finally had enough of their nonsense. I tried to make a reservation last night for my family to travel back to Philadelphia for Christmas using Dividend Miles, but their website was down. This morning I started the process of transferring and buying miles to purchase the tickets. Only after I had incurred credit card fees of $1, 146.53 did I notice that the miles were not being transferred. When I called US Airways they told me that it took 24 hours to complete the transaction. Waiting 24 hours would put me inside of the 14-day advance purchase window causing me to incur an additional charge of $75 per ticket. Nowhere on their website does it say that the transactions take 24 hours, nor did any representative tell me this until AFTER I made the purchase. In addition, once I had all the miles transferred, I was told that I could not purchase the tickets unless I paid the $90 transaction fee on my US Airways MasterCard. My card was at its limit and because its a weekend no payments get credited until Tuesday. Again, waiting until Tuesday causes me to incur the additional $75 per ticket. Nowhere on their website does it say that the 5, 000 bonus for redemption of miles is contingent upon purchase with a US Airways MasterCard. Logically, it doesn't make any sense that they'll let me buy/transfer miles and charge my Chase card $1146.53 but insist on the $90 coming from a US Airways MasterCard. I've had it with them.

Please see letter copied bleow reagrding this complaint...

My mother, Evelyn Piecora, had a first class ticket…which she paid over $1300 for…and fell ill prior to the flight. We submitted a letter from her doctor…we actually submitted the letter several times, as your employees kept requesting copies…terrible system on your end – how many copies do you need? But anyway…my mother is being denied a refund, plus she is being asked to pay $150 for some reason – the letter from Kelly Frost, in your refund department made no sense. Please see my questions below within the body of the correspondence we received…
Dear Mrs. Piecora:
Thank you for contacting Customer Relations regarding your US Airways reservation. I regret the medical circumstances that prevented you from traveling with us, as planned. I appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns regarding our non-refundable ticket policies.

The ticket purchased was non-refundable, and the US Airways non refundable ticket policy does not include a medical exception clause for non life threatening illness. (Not once place on your web site does it say anything about “life threatening” nor did any of the service reps I spoke with say this ever – not once) I regret your disappointment; however, the decisions made by our Corporate Refunds Department are final (oh my this is final because your “Corporate Refund Department says so (BS)…that sounds threatening – is it your policy to threaten 84-year-old woman).

As an alternative (an alternative to what?), there is an applicable change fee of $150.00 (for what breathing while your reps work in the refund department?). We will be happy to consider a waiver of this fee (oh, thank you for considering this waiver for which I have no idea why you are charging) with documentation from your doctor. Please provide us with a letter on the doctor’s letterhead, stating that you are unable to travel due to a medical condition. (Sent several copies, can’t believe you have the nerve to ask for another) Once we receive the requested documentation, we will review your request for consideration of waiving the customary reissue fee (Soon you’ll be charging $150 if a person wants to sneeze or breathe on your flights or use the restroom). Please note that any previous documented submitted directly to Refunds would not be accessible by Customer Relations.

You may fax the information or attach the scanned documentation in an email to our department by responding to this email. If necessary, you may send the documentation through the US Mail. Our contact information is as follows:

US Airways
Attn: Customer Relations
4000 E. Sky Harbor Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ 85034

Fax [protected]

Please note that, as the legal owner of your ticket, regardless of who paid for the ticket, you may opt to legally change the name and allow another passenger of your choice to use the ticket by providing a notarized statement relinquishing the rights of your ticket to a new traveler. There is a $150.00 per ticket fee assessed for this service. This fee is not subject to waiver. We will then issue a transferable voucher for the remaining value of the ticket. (Unreal – here is another $150 charge to change the ticket to someone else’s name – after we go through the hassle of getting the letter notarized –with the exact wording you request – again – who is the customer here…talk about horrible customer service…would you like a vile of blood from my mother or the person she is signing the ticket over to?)

If this is the option you would like to consider, please fax a notarized document to the above referenced number. The following statement should be included:

I ( PIECORA/EVELYN) relinquish ticket number [protected] to (NAME OF NEW TRAVELER).

Please note that this consideration is an exception as a one-time courtesy (this is no courtesy – wrong word choice – nice try but there is nothing courteous about this service you are trying to provide) due to the circumstances you have described and is not a normal practice in regard to our non-refundable tickets. It is very important that we have a valid email address and phone number along with your documentation. Please include your US Airways Customer Relations Case Name: US Airways Customer Relations - US-11PIECORA-I40H20 - K1S. Please allow 5 to 7 business days for us to process your information.

Again, I regret the reasons that interrupted your travels and on behalf of our team, wish you a speedy recovery (My mother will not be recovering from be an 84 year-old woman with heart issues and vertigo). We know that you have many choices when it comes to traveling, and we thank you for choosing US Airways (never choosing US Airways again and we will be sure to tell family and friends to boycott your services).

Sincerely,

Rita Simms
Representative, Customer Relations
US Airways Corporate Office

Case: US-11PIECORA-I40H20
We expect nothing but a full refund for the disservice your company has provided. You have caused mental aggravation and a real hassle. I am so very disappointed with US Airways. What a shameful practice of trying to basically extort money from an ill 84-year-old woman.
And the nerve of US Airways to act those you are doing my mother a favor by charging her $150 to get a refund for a $1300 plus ticket…what a joke!
Please respond ASAP.
Marie E. Horton (daughter and POA) for Evelyn Piecora
10444 Stoneside Trail
Keller, Texas 76244
[protected] - cell
[protected] – home
CC:
Doug Parker
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
US Airways
111 West Rio Salado Parkway
Tempe, AZ 85281
Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20590

This incident occured when connecting from a United flight from SFO to a flight from Phoenix bound for ATL. My company travel agency booked me on this flight due to problems with United in SFO. When I went to board US Airways Flight 614 in Phoenix to Atlanta I was told there was a problem with my boarding pass and I needed to see the agent. The agent put the information into their computer and informed me that the ticket had not been paid for. He worked on it for about 5 minutes on the computer and could not come up with a confirmation on the ticket. He then said “we’re going to get you on this flight” and told me to run onto the jet way (they were getting ready to close the door) and take “an open seat”. I was not sure what happened but I did as directed. I also have never heard of doing this.

I stowed by my bag, sat down and in within 2 minutes the same gate agents came onto the plane and loudly announced “You did not pay for your ticket, you need to leave this place at once”. The agent grabbed my suitcase and I was escorted off the plane. They then told me that I would have to take this up with my travel agent and it was not their problem. In all my years of business and personal travel, I have never been treated so rudely or been so humiliated. I cannot fathom why they treated me in this manner or even had me get on the plane in the first place. After I got off the plane, the agent shoved my boarding documents at me and told me "it was my problem" and then he left.

Suffice to say, I will never, ever set foot on an US Airways plane again and I urge all passengers who have a choice to do the same. BTW, I submitted a complaint to US Airways who proceeded to blame my company travel agency, me and gave a pathetic "we are sorry for the unprofessional behavior". That's it.

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is CeeAnne Ernspiker, and I traveled with US Airways on the dates of June 11th, 2011, and June 18th and 19th, 2011 between SDF and MBJ as the final destination, round trip. I am writing this letter to express my disappointment with many circumstances that I experienced with your airline during this time. I have traveled with your company before, and have always had an issue and let it go, but this last experience was the last straw. On Saturday, June 11th, my family was on flight #3072 from SDF to PHL, and flight 859 from PHL to MBJ. My family and I were at SDF by 5:30 AM to catch our 7:00 AM flight, only to take off around 7:30 AM for undisclosed reasons. The pilot informed us that he would be able to make up for lost time in the air. When we got in the Philadelphia area, the pilot came back on the speaker to inform us that there were no available gates, and there were many planes in front of us, so we we’re simply in a holding pattern for at least half an hour before we could land. This caused us to deplane flight 3072 over 45 minutes late with our plane to MBJ leaving less than 20 minutes later. When booking my flights, my travel agent (and myself with a follow up) informed US Airways that at every airport terminal my husband needed assistance and/or a wheelchair. The only time this need was met during the entire trip was when we landed at MBJ, which was also the case last year. When we deplaned at PHL, my two daughters literally had to run to catch the shuttle taking us to the correct gate, and then sprint onto the plane, informing the gate attendants that my husband and I were on our way, as he cannot walk and they had to leave us looking for a cart to take us where we needed to go. We were the last people on the plane, and barely made it. Luckily after standing around for a very precious couple of minutes, we waved down a cart to take us where we needed to go. Thankfully the flight to Jamaica wasn’t a hassle, like our entire morning had been, and we arrived at our resort without problem.
The flight home is where the major problems began. Upon arriving to MBJ, on schedule, we were displeased to find a staggeringly long line of people waiting to check in at the U.S. airways counter. There were open “Self Serve” computers, U.S. airways personnel standing around chatting to one another, and well over a hundred passengers in line. After standing in line for almost an hour, we finally arrived at the counter. The woman helping us was pleasant, as per the “Jamaican Hospitality” and she was a tremendous amount of help after informing us that our flight to CLT, #1232 had just taken off from CLT, and would be at least two hours late. Right away we realized we would miss our connecting flight home #2678 to SDF, and she tried everything she could to get us home on different flights, and even trying different airlines, to no avail. I informed her that my husband is on numerous extremely important cancer treating medications, and he only had a couple of more doses. She tried everything she could to get us home that night, but it was obviously out of her control. We had no choice but to get on our flight, with hopes of being put on stand-by for a flight leaving at almost midnight to SDF. We were also told at MBJ that if we were denied stand-by, we would be provided hotel accommodations and meal vouchers for the night. The flight home on #1232 was uneventful until landing and we had to sit waiting on the runway for over half an hour until a gate was available yet again. To be sure, we were anxious as to what we would do when we got off of the plane in CLT.
The plane arrived at CLT after 9 PM. After picking up our bags from the baggage claim, we went back up to the ticket counter, sans accommodation for my husband in the form of a wheelchair and/or assistance. At this point, it was expected that we obviously were not going to be helped by US Airways personnel with this particular request and I was willing to push him in a wheelchair myself. There were about five people from the same flight in line in front of us awaiting their fate and several behind us, because they had obviously missed their connecting flights as well. As me, my husband, and my two daughters were walking up to the next available ticket person, my oldest daughter overheard the ticket lady, who’s nametag read “Shirley D.”, next to her raise her voice at a man and his wife who were on the same flight as us, saying “Sir, DON’T get an attitude with me!”. My daughter, who is 22 years old and under any other circumstance is extremely well mannered and courteous but obviously compassionate, started listening in on the conversation, only to hear “Shirley D” inform in an extremely unprofessional way, that contrary to what the flight was told in MBJ, the man and his wife would not be provided accommodations and meal vouchers and would simply have to fend for themselves. My daughter joined in the conversation, informed “Shirley D“ that she had heard the exact same thing as the man and his wife had, and we were to be provided accommodations and assistance. After a heated exchange between “Shirley D”, my daughter, the man and a couple more passengers who had heard the same thing that my daughter had at MBJ, the ticket counter people were informed by their boss, I would assume, that our flight was to receive assistance but not the previous flight from Jamaica. This was only after “Shirley D” told my daughter, who is obviously younger than she was, but educated and normally very polite, not to get an “attitude” with her, just as she had told the older man. Then she extremely and unprofessionally tried to “stare down” my daughter and smirk at her, and whispered to another man behind the counter something incomprehensible. Other people saw this as well, because later, as people from our flight were waiting for the shuttles taking everyone to their hotels that we had to fight to even receive in the first place, two different passengers at different times came up to my daughter and said they could not believe that “Shirley D” acted the way she did to her, and that they were glad my daughter stood her ground or else they may very well have been spending the night on the chairs at CLT. After being treated horrendously (anyone who was on our flight and in that line would attest to this) by the US Airways personnel at the ticket counter, we were finally given vouchers for a room and dinner. Eventually, past midnight, we made it to our hotel where we had to wait an hour and a half for food to be delivered, only to be back at the airport at 5:30 AM for our 7:33 AM flight on #2424 to SDF.
We arrived at our gate before 7 AM the next morning and boarded our plane on time, ready to finally arrive in Louisville after traveling for almost 24 hours. The entire plane was boarded, and ready for take-off. After about fifteen minutes of sitting at our gate on the plane, the pilot announced over the intercom and informed us that due to inclement weather, we would be delayed an hour and a half and to deplane but to remain in the boarding area. The passengers were upset, but it was weather after all, and no blame was to be taken. We all deplaned and took seats at the gate, after we were told not to leave the terminal. After sitting for about an hour, my youngest daughter approached the gate attendant to ask if we were still supposed to be departing shortly and if we would be boarding again soon, only to be told that our flight home had been cancelled. The gate attendant then handed her a card with an 800 number we could call. Again, my husband was on his last dose of medicine, and we were at our wits end already from the over 24 hours of trying to arrive home at this point. We received no explanation as to why our flight had been cancelled and were left to simply fend for ourselves. I immediately called the 800 number, and got a busy signal for at least 20 minutes. I had also noted that the next flight to Louisville was leaving at 10:00 AM and On Time. In the meantime, my daughters went to find a cart to take us to the ticket counter, yet again, because my husband had still been offered no wheelchair or assistance whatsoever since we had been stateside. We eventually arrived at the ticket counter, again hoping that we would be treated better than we had been previously. My youngest daughter stood in the extremely long line, while my husband and I walked outside to try the 800 number again because there was no reception in the actual airport building. My oldest daughter walked to the US Airways check-in area outside because she saw wheelchairs and attendants, to ask for assistance for my husband. She was told that he would have to show them a boarding ticket in order to receive assistance, and after handing them his boarding ticket for the cancelled flight to SDF that morning, the attendants told her that it was not a current boarding ticket, and there was nothing they could do, even after she explained to them that my husband could not stand in the extremely long line in order to receive a current boarding ticket. She asked if she could simply borrow one of the US Airways wheelchairs and assist him herself, and they told her no, that it was a liability, and waved her off. Meanwhile, I got through to a US Airways operator, and told her our predicament, and she told me she would “try to find a flight out the next day” for my family. I informed her that this was unacceptable, because my husband was on very important medicine regimens and he had taken his last doses and needed to get home as soon as possible. I stayed on the phone with her for over an hour while she looked for flights, but she kept informing me there were none available for Louisville. After over an hour on the telephone, we settled for a flight down to Atlanta, with a connecting flight to Louisville, and we would arrive home at 10 or so that night. We had no choice but to accept this. Leaving my husband outside to sit down, because there was nowhere inside to sit, I walked inside to look for my daughters. I found them in an extremely long line still waiting to speak with a counter person (this was well over an hour after they began waiting in line). They informed me that after standing in the first line for over forty five minutes, they arrived at the counter and were told they were in the “wrong line” with no explanation as to why. They asked numerous US Airways personnel standing around which line they should be in, but they were given shrugs, with one woman literally saying “I dunno” and walking off. Eventually, after being helped by a few polite US Airways attendants, which at this point was very surprising, we were able to get confirmed on flight #2677 at 1:10 PM to SDF with no seat assignments, and were told there was a very good chance of us actually getting on the flight. My family then proceeded to the correct gate, as it was nearing noon at this point. We went through security again, and eventually arrived at gate E26. My oldest daughter and I walked up to the gate attendant (who was not wearing a name tag) and told her our situation and simply asked if she could tell us, in her experienced opinion, what chance we had of getting on the flight. She told us that she didn’t know who had the authority to confirm us for this flight, as it was a full flight and “oversold by 10”, and she was pretty sure we would not have a spot on it. Then she actually told us that she was extremely busy and getting behind, as the plane had just arrived at the gate, and continued doing whatever it was she was doing before we walked up to her. This was her way of telling us to leave her alone, we suppose. Another extremely rude US Airways worker, but we were used to it at this point. Luckily, we were able to get on the flight, and arrived at SDF around 4 PM, almost 36 hours after we had arrived at MBJ. And luckily again, half of our luggage had arrived to SDF on an earlier flight, and half of it arrived on our flight (which is unlike last year, when none of our luggage made it home with us on a US Airways flight, and had to be brought to our house the next day.
After spending almost a thousand dollars on each ticket for the four members of my family, I am appalled at the experience we endured flying US Airways. Some of what we experienced was out of human control, such as the weather we encountered. However, what made mine and my family’s traveling experience so terrible was the way we were treated by the numerous US Airways personnel we encountered, and the extreme lack of assistance my husband received, even after we arranged for assistance prior to our trip, and then having to resort to simply asking for a wheelchair, and being denied. Two years in a row! The lack of answers as to why our flight was cancelled and leaving us extremely confused most of the time, the lack of organization by US Airways, which resulted in even more stress on my family, and more importantly, my husband. We tried to make this a memorable trip but certainly not in the way it played out. There are a few more issues that I have, ie. extra charges incurred for food, tips, house sitter, cabs, etc., that I would not have had if we had arrived home on time or in a reasonable amount of time, but this letter has already taken too much of my time. I do have the documentation if you would like proof.
In closing, I am asking for a full refund or replacement of the four fares considering the amount of stress, including physical, mental and monetary, that my family was subjected to. I would like to add that in the future, myself and any other customers that may choose to fly with US Airways, should not have to deal with such total disregard for what should be common courtesy and comfort.
Thank you for your prompt attention and time in considering this matter.
Sincerely,
CeeAnne D. Ernspiker [protected]@aol.com
418 Washburn Ave.
Louisville, KY 40222
[protected]

Their solution to this problem is 4 vouchers worth $200 per traveller. This will require taking my daughters on vacation again costing MORE money. Praying that my husband's health holds up as well (but I do that anyway). I had no intention of going anywhere next year while we prepare my daughter for college. Customer service here is very sad...

When a non-refundable ticket is changed, not only does US Airways charge a $150 change fee ... but if the new fare is lower than the original fare THEY KEEP THE DIFFERENCE (it is "absorbed, " as the representative stated). However, if the flight is more expensive, they charge you. In my opinion, this is theft pure and simple. I can see not crediting you back any more than the $150 change fee but at the very least the difference you are due should be deducted from the change fee. I just don't know how they get away with this. I don't know if any other airlines do this. That's why I fly Southwest whenever I can. Southwest is an airline with integrity. I've told all of my employees not to fly US Airways unless there are no other reasonable options.

This is in regards to my recent travels on your airline, July 20th and July 24/25th. I was scheduled to depart Dallas/Ft Worth at 5:15am on July 20th with a connection in Charlotte, NC and final destination of Montego Bay, Jamaica. I checked my bag online and printed my boarding pass the day before (24 hours). When I arrived at the airport that morning, I still had to stand in line to check my bag again which caused me to miss the 45 minute bag drop policy that you supposedly have. I was told that my bag had to be physically tagged 45 minutes before my flight or I would not be able to fly and that I had to fly with my luggage. I have never heard of such a rule and didn’t see it on your website, I figured since I had already checked in online 24 hours prior I would just need to drop my bag. I asked the attendant how late was I in getting my bag physically tagged and she told me I missed the 45 minute cut off by 4 minutes, and that it took 45 minutes for my bag to go from the counter to the plane. I couldn’t understand any of this at all especially since there were passengers standing at unattended kiosk waiting for their luggage tags as well. What is the point of self check-in if someone still has to tag my bag but the kiosk is unattended? So standing in line for a second time made me miss that flight. I was put on the 6:55am to Charlotte, NC with stand-by on the 11:30am to Jamaica which was the last flight from Charlotte for the day. Luckily, I was able to get on it. If I hadn’t gotten on, I would have been stuck in Charlotte for another day and been a day late to Jamaica. Where is the logic in that? Well I figured it was all over and I could enjoy my trip until the chaos I experienced on the way back. Leaving Montego Bay, I couldn’t find my flight reservation at the kiosk. I had to wait in line an hour to see an agent. When I get to the agent I discover that my reservation showed my trip to and from Jamaica for the same day. I feel confident that I didn’t book it like that and maybe there was a glitch in the system. I had to purchase a one way ticket back to Dallas with a connection in Charlotte. I could not get on the last 2 flights out of Charlotte because they had been overbooked so I couldn’t even fly standby. Overbooked? Still doesn’t make any sense. This resulted in my having to stay overnight and leave at 7:45am on July 25th. When I get to the Charlotte airport the next morning, I am observing the same thing unattended kiosk and people waiting to get their luggage tagged. I am wondering are they missing the 45 minute baggage drop too. I decide to stand in the Resolution Line hoping to get on an earlier flight only to have the unfortunate encounter of the worse airline agent ever. I believe her name is Jennifer. She is African American, very short hair that is reddish in color, and she wears glasses. Her attitude and behavior was inexcusable. She was rude, short tempered, unaccommodating. You name it, she was it. When it was my turn to approach the counter, she switched her attention to another line saying she couldn’t keep track of who was in queue. The issue with that is the people she decided to assist weren’t in the Resolution Line with the rest of us, they were off to the side. She also came from behind the counter and turned off some of the kiosk without announcing to those others standing in line what she was doing and why she was doing it. They were just left standing there. One poor lady had been trying to get the Cambodia since Saturday. I must say out of all airlines there is a very strong possibility that I will not be flying US Airways in the future.

On june 29 we were to fly out of MCI to Charlotte and on to MBJ ; landing at our final destination at 1:30 pm . We arrived at Mci to find our flight had been postponed 2 hours . This ment we would miss our connectiong flight. Us airways only help was to send us to Miami after Charlotte and we would land at 8:30 pm. SEVEN hours late . We were offered no vouchers for food or anything for basically making us miss the first day of our vacation. Upon arriving home I found an e-mail sent at 2 am telling of us this delay. We have to leave very early because its over 2 hours plus the 2 hour international preflight wait so we missed the email. I cant understand how they can have so much advance notice and do so little to remedy the situation. Upon arriving in Charlottle we were told this happens frequently ( as in 3 times a week) because they only have one flight to MBJ most of the week so any dely and the people miss the connection. Really, so why dont they adjust the times ? even with the two hour delay we just barely missed the connection.
Returning on July 9 we were again delayed in Charlotte for two hours. Many of those on our plane missed their connecting flight due to the time in customs. It is obvious this hub needs some major revamping to ensure traveleers make the connections and US Airways needs to seriously look at thier schedualing.