[PRCo] Re: Fwd: Airports

[Edward H. Lybarger]

Used Air is down to about 47% of the traffic at PIT (as of April stats) and
will shrink again in July.  They are dropping service to five more cities,
including BWI...which route saw new service by Southwest begin in March.
Guess who wins...the one with the miniature airplanes and the high fares, or
the one with real airplanes and $38 fares?

Since May of 2002 I've been on 103 airplane rides...and only 10 of those
have been with US Scare.  Quite a change from the days when they went
everywhere from here and I used them almost exclusively.  In those days they
controlled about 90% of the traffic at PIT, and whined that they couldn't
make a profit doing it.  Now O&D (origin and destination) traffic is up 20%
and the other carriers are thriving with lower fares.  Delta also introduced
a new nonstop on an RJ (regional jet) to Salt Lake in March and is already
upgrading it to a real airplane in two weeks, which caused me to book it for
a trip in September.  Plus, Useless Air wanted $100 more for one ticket to
Reno than Delta did for two, total!  (We don't personally pay for many of
these tickets, and fare is not the determining factor.)  We've used American
a lot but my backside is really sore from all the thin seats in the little
RJs.  It's time to patronize those who actually give the passenger
something.

I just used up the bulk of the remainder of my US Frequent Flyer miles to
get us two tickets to Florida in November...I hope they're still in business
by then, or at least not on strike.  Their miles expire in 18 months now if
there is no account activity, while everyone else allows two or three years.
And they have huge labor issues that are not getting resolved nicely.

-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org]On Behalf Of Fred
Schneider
Sent: Saturday, May 26, 2007 10:30 AM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: [PRCo] Fwd: Airports


And the people who live southern Long Island feel the same way about
JFK.   But for me, 150 miles away in Lancaster, PA, I spend almost
half the time getting there within the city limits of New York
City.   And the people who live on Long Island also have the same
problem getting to anywhere else west of New York!

That is why PHL (Philadelphia International) is my airport of choice
when going to Europe even if the landing choices are not as abundant
as Kennedy.   I can get to London Gatwick (LGW) instead of Heathrow,
which is a lot more sane.   I can easily get to Muenchen (Munich).
There is one flight at day to Brussels (I can only fly on one).
Zurich begins in June.   Paris is offered by both Air France and U S
Air.   There is also service to Madrid and Rome.   And I can get
there with by train from Lancaster with a change at 30th Street,
Philadelphia.  I don't have to suffer with New York City.   Stockholm
and Shannon are seasonal.  There is a closer one for domestic
flights ... Harrisburg International is 30 minutes away but the word
international is a misnomer.  They bring in customs people for
charters.   But it is OK for certain US trips like Los Angeles or
Chicago.

We do have a local airport with several drips a day to Pittsburgh but
that is sort of useless now that Pittsburgh is no longer a US Air
hub.   The Lancaster Municipal Airport is really a good Italian
Restaurant where you go to watch the planes land and take off.


Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Bob Rathke" <bobrathke at comcast.net>
> Date: May 25, 2007 8:58:50 PM EDT
> To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
> Subject: [PRCo] Airports
> Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>
> I drive or taxi to O'Hare 2-4 times a month - it's 18 miles and
> only 25
> minutes from our house.  The trick is to live or work on the north
> side of
> Chicago.  Going through the city of Chicago to points south and
> east is
> asking for travel delays.
>
> O'Hare is my airport of choice because I can get a plane from there
> to any
> place in the U.S. - and much of the world - without connections.
>
> Bob 5/25/07
>