Coming over two years after the airline announced it would merge with American Airlines, it was the end of an era for the airline and capped off a series of airline mergers to create the landscape of carriers that dominate the US to this day. Flight was aptly named, given that US Airways traced its history back to to a company called All American Aviation. Like most airlines tracing their roots to the early days of aviation, the company mainly flew regional routes and focused on airmail before branching out to passenger operations.
As the airline began to grow, it decided to shed its original name in favor of Allegheny Airlines until deregulation. Allegheny paid homage to the founding of the airline in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. However, with the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act, the entire competitive landscape of the United States, with airlines free to fly more routes than they could before.
Allegheny decided to rebrand to appeal to a larger swath of travelers. It was not too long before US Airways turned its attention to becoming a known presence outside the United States.
In the s, the airline expanded its route network to cover international routes in Europe. In , the airline underwent another rebranding to US Airways. In , after filing for bankruptcy in , it found a partner in America West. That merger attempt was unsuccessful, given intense opposition from Delta and various stakeholders. United Airlines was an early prospect. In April , the New York Times reported that the two airlines were in the middle of negotiations for a merger.
Those talks did not lead to a merger, and United later announced it would merge with Continental Airlines. This sent US Airways looking again for a new partner, and it eventually turned its eyes to American Airlines, which was facing bankruptcy in The American Airlines brand would survive, and headquarters for the new airline would be in Fort Worth, Texas.
After clearing some hurdles with the US Department of Justice DOJ , including slot divestitures, the two airlines moved ahead with the merger. They began to integrate their systems, their workforce, and more. Repainting the fleet — a daunting task — had also started. The flight went from Philadelphia to Charlotte, then to Phoenix, then to San Francisco, and then on a red-eye to Philadelphia, where the Airbus A operating the flight arrived on Saturday, October 17th, just before local time and marked the end of the US Airways brand.
Customer service agents at the airport may allow a free seat change but that all depends on the flight and the agent.
Flight attendants aboard the aircraft also may allow a seat change but some prefer to wait until the aircraft is airborne. Frontier boards aircraft from the back to the front in an effort to ensure flyers in the back don't have to walk through a crowded plane.
Passengers also must submit to a temperature check before stepping on the plane. Mask-wearing policies were enforced but many passengers consistently disregarded the rule on a flight I took from Las Vegas to Seattle. Frontier also does not offer an in-flight snack and beverage service during the pandemic. Flight attendants reminded passengers to keep their distance while deplaning but it was ultimately up to the passengers when they got up.
Read More: I flew Frontier during the pandemic and found the ultra-low-cost carrier more concerned with temperature checks than actual social distancing. Flying on American Airlines during the pandemic. American does not block any seats onboard its aircraft and instead gives flyers an option to change off a flight if it fills up, depending on availability on other flights. It's a nice gesture but I've found that this is rarely a dependable alternative since crowded flights are becoming more common and there's no guarantee an emptier flight will remain empty.
American still uses its normal boarding procedure where passengers are assigned a group depending on their seat location. The front of the aircraft tends to fill up first, forcing passengers to walk through a crowded aircraft to get to their seats. Basic economy passengers, regardless of where they are sitting, board in the very last group.
American offers a small in-flight service consisting of a bottle of water, sanitary wipe, and snack in a sealed bag. The offering is basic but more than nothing. Flight attendants asked passengers to social distance during deplaning but it went largely unheeded. Read More: I flew on the 2 largest US airlines in and couldn't believe how much better Delta was handling the pandemic over American.
Flying on Southwest Airlines during the pandemic. Southwest no longer limits capacity onboard its aircraft and every seat can be sold. Passengers are also no longer notified of full flights, Travel Weekly reported.
Southwest has reverted to its normal boarding process where flyers are assigned a boarding group and 30 passengers board at a time. Seats in the front of the plane typically fill up first and flyers head towards empty rows in the back.
Flyers can get in a better boarding group by checking in for their flight exactly 24 hours in advance and then head straight to the back of the plane to avoid other passengers. Southwest offers a snack and beverage service on flights greater than miles. On offer is ice water, Coke, Diet Coke, and 7Up, in addition to snack bags. The low-cost airline was one of the airline airlines to offer this service at the beginning of the pandemic.
Flight attendants asked passengers to keep their distance while deplaning but the warning went unheeded. Read More: I flew Southwest for the first time since it stopped blocking middle seats.
The friendly service didn't make up for inconsistent social-distancing practices. Flying on Alaska Airlines during the pandemic. Alaska no longer blocks middle seats after abandoning the practice in January and doesn't proactively offer flight changes for crowded flights. Middle seats are, however, blocked in the airline's new economy premium class that also includes complimentary alcohol and early boarding. Alaska still uses its normal boarding procedure where passengers are assigned a group depending on their seat location.
Alaska offers an in-flight snack and drink service with a selection of soft drinks in miniature cans accompanied by a snack bag.
A sanitary wipe is also included for good measure. Read More: I flew on Alaska for the first time since it stopped blocking middle seats and it was the closest to normal I've seen during the pandemic. JetBlue no longer blocks middle seats on its aircraft having abandoned the policy in October and doesn't proactively inform customers of crowded flights. Flying on JetBlue Airways during the pandemic. JetBlue abandoned back-to-front in March and now uses its normal boarding procedure where passengers are assigned a group depending on their seat location.
Kennedy International Airport have automated boarding gates where flyers don't have to interact with a gate agent. Airports without the technology, however, operate in the traditional method.
JetBlue has resumed its in-flight snack and beverage with a choice of soft drinks in a miniature can, accompanied by a snack. Cookies, chips, Cheez-Its, and a granola bar are on offer. Read More: I flew on JetBlue for the first time since it began filling planes to capacity and found it's still doing more than most to keep flyers safe.
Flying on a United Airlines Boeing Max 9. United does not block any seats onboard its aircraft and instead gives flyers an option to change off a flight if it fills up, depending on availability on other flights. It's a nice gesture but I've found that this is rarely a dependable alternative since crowded flights are becoming more common and there's no guarantee an emptier flight will stay empty.
United boards aircraft from the back to the front in an effort to ensure flyers in the back don't have to walk through a crowded plane. First class flyers and elite status holders, however, could board at any time. Airports have also been overhauled with new safety features and reminders to social distance can be found in the jetway. Passengers were given a snack bag that included snacks, a napkin, a bottle of water, and sanitizing wipe.
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