Southwest Airlines Newest City: PITTSBURGH!
 

Excerpt of their press release:

Thats actually the sound of the end of US Airways.

Between not being able to compete nationally with SWA, SWA going into Philly, and now Pittsburg, the labor costs they cant cut (they have said they will liquidate if they cant cut labor costs) and the baggage issue (read: blue flu) over the holidays and I'd be suprised if US Airways was still around by Memorial Day. US Airways biggest shareholder (Alabama State Pension Fund) has been threatening to liquidate for the last year. Theyre gonna do it after this. Gurantee it. It will be one of the big news stories of '05.

And all those people will be outta work. Damn.

They're 3 months too late for me... I have to fly to Pittsburgh Feb 4-6 and can't get a decent fare.

lifesaver...
i fear you are right on. the debacle at xmas showed how vulnerable usa air is. so i guess it's now peanuts all around. at least the drinks are a bit cheaper.

Now if they'd only add Atlanta to their service cities.....

I am SO happy about this! US Airways has been such a nightmare for Pittsburgh, and has made it so hard to get decent fares b/c they had such a monopoly. Part of me wants US Airways to go under b/c they've f'ed Pittsburgh pretty badly, but then again they still employ a lot of people here.

Check www.flyi.com, I just got an email from them yesterday with a fare sale--$39-$89 one way. Not bad!

I wish they would come to Charlotte. And Tampa. That would be really convenient for me. :)

This makes me very nervous about US Air going under. Our flights for our trip to Aruba in March is booked through US Air, so if they can just hang on until then, that would be marvelous! Of course, this time around we opted not to purchase the trip insurance, so I'm sitting here on pins & needles praying I'll still have a vacation in 2 months.

I don't know if this is correct but I think if US Air was to go under, they would try to move you over to another airline. About 2 years ago, I flew to San Diego using United and there was talk about how United wasn't going to be around much longer. Someone told me that if United was to go under, my airline tickets would transfer to another airline but this person could've been talking out of their butt. United stuck around so luckily I didn't have to worry.

I have WAY too many friends who work for USAirways to wish them out of business - to say nothing of all the dividend miles that I should really think about using!

Besides, the one experience I had with Southwest Airlines was plenty, thank you very much. I can't see fighting for a seat to save $10 on a ticket!

No way in hell Southwest is gonna fly into a 'fortress hub' like ATL. Not unless Delta gives up the ghost, and that's highly unlikely. Plus, ATL would wreck Southwest's famous quick turnaround times.

I wouldn't be surprised if they snuck in service through Atlanta's 'back door' such as Macon or Chattanooga. They already serve Birmingham. People will drive a couple of hundred miles just for the cheap fares.

Gotta hand it to Southwest... their purchase and code-share agreement with American Trans Air finally allows 'em to thumb their noses at the Wright Amendment by codesharing outta DFW.

LOL...sadly, this is true. I've never been to an airport before where I've had so many flights delayed, had to taxi around the airport for 30 minutes, or had to circle the airport for 30 minutes before landing as Hartsfield Jackson. The terminal/concourse set up is great with the tram but that's as far as it goes.

AirTran provides cheap fares from Orlando to Atlanta so I use them. I feel like Delta is in the perpetual game of catch-up with AirTran when it comes to their Orlando-Atlanta route.

What I find interesting is the heavy romancing DFW is giving Southwest now that Delta has dehubbed their operations and left almost an entire terminal empty...

My dad was a ground mechanic for UsAirways...they paid him well, his union rep did his job, and he got good hours. When he got laid off, we were really upset. My boyfriend worked at the airport (staples and then Brookstone) and my cousin continues to work at the airport (at Gap). I'm just glad that there will be something to keep the airport going.

I just bought my spring break tickets through USAir because my dad wanted to used up all his miles from his usair visa (thankfully he's gotten a new credit card).

Both of my parents assure me that even if usair goes under the other airlines will honor the ticket in "some manner." Which means I'll get to my destination eventually.

As for the lower priced airlines, it's making flying more "mainstream." Not that i don't love being able to fly from boston to baltimore or south eastern va to visit pals for $100 round trip.

I dunno, I can still remember being young and getting real food on a plane and the flight was only 2 hours.

but again

that was before it was "mainstream" to fly

I can rememebr when I was little and we dressed up to fly because it was such a big deal and you were of a different class if you were flying. Wasnt a big deal for us. My dad was a pilot for American for a time, but we still had to dress up. So crazy. To this day I still dress a bit to fly. Just feels wierd not to. Like going to church casual. I dont wear a suit to fly, but I'll wear pressed khakis and a nice button down.

When I was really little, my family and I would get dressed up to fly. Not anymore! It's jeans and t-shirt now. I want to be as comfortable as possible if I'm going to be sitting in the same spot for a few hours.

I can also remember when I was little visiting the pilots while en route. My dad brought me to the front where the stewardess lead me into the flight control room. The co-pilot showed me all the instruments and told me about his job. This would NEVER happen now in the post 9/11 days.

Southwest does fly to Tampa. No Charlotte, yet, but things may change if US Airways goes under.

Be extremely careful - if those tickets are reward travel freebies you may be SOL if the airline tanks. There's no guarantee other airlines will honor a bankrupt airline's tickets if they've stopped operations.

Yea... gone are the days of meal service, well-dressed people and cockpit visits.

Well, I should have been more clear. The closest departure city for me to be able to fly to Tampa w/ Southwest is Raleigh. That's a 3+ hour drive. That's just not worth it for me. And Raleigh always has really weird departure times. So I just haven't been able to take advantage of Southwest Airlines yet. :(

No secret DFW wants SWA. But there's an 800-pound gorillAA who can't stand competition, especially if the Wright Amendment is repealed at Love Field. Likewise, DFW is offering Delta's abandoned gate space at very attractive pricing. Could also attract JetBlue, but they'd get an ass-kicking of titanic proportions from that certAAin AAirline in Fort Worth. And AirTran ain't gonna roll over and play dead, either.

(For those not familiar, the Wright Amendment was enacted in 1979 by former Speaker of the House Jim Wright. It prohibits any airline with aircraft that have more than 56 seats to sell tickets or through travel from Dallas Love Field to any destination beyond Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and New Mexico. The later Shelby Amendment added Mississippi, Alabama and Kansas to the original states of the Wright Amendment.)

God, for years, flew so many damn Airlines.

Rocky Mountain, Peidmont, Now USAir, Frontier, Ozark, TWA, Trans American, American, United, Braniff, SWAIR,and Delta!

God I hate Delta.

Many strange occurances, Ended up in Wash. DC instead of St. Louis, Got struck by lightening on American, Battery over heated on Frontier, TWA from Louisvile to St. Loo, plane broke,

Changed flights in JFK or would have been skyjacked with a friend from Chi Town.

God, I love to fly!

Only one to get a Bloody Marry on SW from Indy to KC!:cool: Not much B M mix in the glass! OOOH felt so good!!!!

LOVE SW AIR!:cool:

I've yet to suffer a bad experience flying on Southwest Airlines. They're probably the few - if not the only airline - that puts fun into the most mundane cabin announcements! If ya ain't got a sense o' humor, you ain't getting a job workin' for Chairman Herb. (Chain-smoking Merits and swilling Wild Turkey may earn ya a few brownie points... :D)

Having to do the "Southwest Shuffle" outta Love Field? I can live with it. Peanuts (and the occasional snack pack on long-haul flights) and drinks only? No problem with me. No inflight entertainment? Southwest Spirit magazine is a decent read.
No assigned seating? Get to the terminal EARLY for best seating.

The few times Southwest has had delays, they've been up front and told the reason why, instead of covering up with "technical difficulties".

Where else can you find an ex-Space Shuttle astronaut flying the line? Nowhere else but Southwest!

Now the other major airlines... with the exception of Continental, the others still suffer from an air of superiority, and it's biting them in the ass.

I flew American last week on my trip to London. It was on the new 777. Very impressive I must say. A monitor for every seat that is controlled by a remote in the arm rest. You can pick what movies, TV shows, or radio stations you want to listen to. There's even an in-flight tracker that lets you know where you are at all times. There were 2 meals throughout the flight plus snacks and they were pretty decent. A huge step up from my normal AirTran flights to Atlanta! :) Then again, you get what you pay for.

How much was your fare? I'm assuming it was about 700$ this time of year?

I don't know. My parents paid for it. :D

(it was a family vacation)

ha! you're spoiled. ;)

Damn, to once again be spoiled before I die!;)

Yeah, tom, wasnt that flight outta indy at 8am? lol.