I recently flew USAirways roundtrip from Philadelphia to London and each flight was like being in two different worlds. On the overnight flight to London, the audio/video system was broken (slightly disturbing) and therefor had no reading lights or video entertainment during the whole flight. For someone who can’t sleep on a plane, it was literally like being in hell: sitting in darkness for seven hours with nothing to do. The bathrooms were atrocious–like a public bathroom in a park or subway, I had to roll up my pants and step with care whenever I went.
The food service wasn’t horrible, but being served dinner at 11:30pm was a bit much. At least it was free.
The flight back was another story. Maybe because I was flying on Sep. 11th had something to do with it but the flight was half empty so I got practically a row to myself at the bulk head with lots of extra leg room. The flight attendants were courteous and everything worked. Even though we left a bit late from Heathrow (figures) we arrived in Philadelphia practically on time.
Even the food on this flight was impressive. I chose the pasta, and it was very tasty with creamy white cheese sauce and sun-dried tomatoes. On the side, was a cold barley and diced pepper salad with a light citrus dressing. Fantastic! We also got a warm turkey and cheese sandwich before we landed as a snack. I was still full from my dinner but I ate it anyway–hey, I paid for it with that $950 flight!
I was surprised when I got home that I received in the mail a letter from USAirways, apologizing for the poor service on the first flight and offering me a $100 credit on my next flight. I had been planning on writing a letter of complaint and requesting some kind of compensation, and I was pleased that they had saved me the trouble. (Granted–I may have demanded more than $100 credit, but I doubt I would have gotten much more.)
Overall, with the state of the airlines and travel these days, I was generally satisfied with my experience with USAirways this month. I may even purchase my next ticket with them because of the credit. But I still hate flying much more than I did 20 years ago, and I don’t think any airline could solve that problem.
