• What's ticked?
• Accolades
• Contact us

c o l u m n s

• Cheap Charlie
• ChrisCrossings
• Err Travel
• Leocha
• Travel Notes
• Archives

Good, Bad and ... Ugly
Cheap Charlie · March 19, 2001

A couple of weekends ago, at the height of school vacation week in Massachusetts, I managed to find an Internet airline fare from Boston to Charleston, SC on US Airways.

Hooray! The price was very right, so I decided to take the plunge.

Everything started out good. Very good. On Friday (two days after the fares were announced on the Internet) I went to the US Airways Web site and read the instructions about how to book an Internet fare. They were clear and it all seemed easy enough.

The booking process was very easy and the initial selection of flights (even on Friday for Saturday departure) was excellent with three or four flights listed. I called my mother, whom I planned to surprise, to make sure she was going to be in town. She wasn't home, so I left a message.

I waited for a response and checked back to see if flights were still available. All the flights were still open after a half hour, then two dropped out after about 45 minutes, then there was only one flight available. Heck, for about $150 I decided to take a chance rather than see the last available seats fill up. (My bet paid off, Mom eventually called back and all was fine She would be in town.)

It has been about a year since I actually went through the process of purchasing an Internet fare ticket. US Airways has made the entire process painless. I commend them.

The bad came along on the second leg of my flight, from Charlotte to Charleston. Now this is a short flight. Thankfully. I boarded one of the new Airbus A319s that seem to be getting so much praise from the airlines.

Now I know why.

I don't think I have been on a plane with less space between seats in years! While American Airlines and United Airlines are taking out seats and making a big show about throwing them out of the plane, I now know where those seats are going. US Airways is packing in more seats than ever. And more uncomfortable than any new seat in which I have had to fly.

To be honest, I ended up on another US Airways A319 flying between DC and Boston that was fine with plenty of pitch. I don't know what US Airways plans to do with the A319s that are packed with seats, but if you see a three-letter designator after the A319 that is something like OWE you can read it WOE to anyone stuck in those seats.

I don't know what I felt worse about. The US Airways personnel announcing to me that the United/US Airways merger is a "done deal," or the "breakfast" I got in my snack pack on an early morning flight.

You can imagine, I sincerely hope that the United/US Airways/American/TWA/DC Air deal never goes through. I really don't see any need for it other than greed and have not heard one passenger service reason for proceeding. Yet, the check-in and gate personnel seem to be convinced that all of the mergers will move forward.

They seem to be saying in unison, "We will go bankrupt without the deal." Phooey. If the deal is going to happen, I will be reminded soon enough. No need to push the discomfort.

Now to the breakfast that was easier to digest ...

What ever happened to a bagel or donut or Danish with coffee for breakfast? When did the airlines start with spreadable cheese and crackers? I know that the cheese can be used for three meals a day. I know that in Europe, everyone seems to eat cheese, salami and baloney for breakfast. But, please, let me have my good old normal breakfast fare the next time.

If I wanted Käse und Schinken, I would have headed to Germany.

Charlie Leocha is the Boston-based author of Travel Rights: Know the Rules of the Road and the Air Before You Go. Cheap Charlie appears every Monday on this site. E-mail him at leocha@aol.com or access his Web site.