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America West Airlines Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports
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America West Airlines - by Drew McLean
30 March 2006
PDX-TUS First class. Needed to fly to Tucson at the last minute and was
enticed by the low First Class fare on America West. All I can say is
if you fly this airline don't bother paying the difference for "First
Class". The planes are tired and there is no meal or snack service.
Drink selection poor and even the FA said "our coffee is not great". A
total waste of money.
America West Airlines - by Samir Akhavan
25 March 2006
Took America West 262 from PHX to Toronto this afternoon. Shorter than
usual flight on a clean 320 with decent seat pitch; I am, however, only
5' 7". Jovial service consisted of two beverage runs and a "buy on
board" meal offering which was quite adequate. I was not hungry but the
sandwiches at $5 CAD seemed to be worth the money.
America West Airlines - by M Jordan
18 January 2006
BWI to Las Vegas. 2 Adults with 2 children. Completely full flights,
but FAs were attentive and attempted to be as helpful as possible under
the circumstances. Check-in was a breeze and I was able to change our
seat assignments by phone to ensure that the kids sat with adults. (On-
line seat assignments had us scattered, despite fact that we had
indicated we were traveling with young children.) Return flight left
about an hour late due to maintenance problems. IFE system did not work
on return flight in our rows and adjacent rows -- particularly annoying,
given that we had to purchase headsets on the flight out. Food choices
were extremely limited -- FAs ran out of our first choices well before
our row. What was left was of very poor quality -- frustrating, given
the cost. Virtually no pillows and blankets available on trip out, so
we made sure we poached some on the return flight as we were taking our
seats. All in all, a poor flying experience
America West Airlines - by John MacDonald
12 October 2005
JFK - LAS Sep 24, two people travelling together. Flew coach class -
unable to upgrade as no seats available. Arrived very early at JFK and
were offered seats on an earlier flight. As no upgrade available, were
given an aisle and a window seat with an empty seat between - very
appreciated as we are big people. Pleasant flight, all staff, both
ground and flight staff very polite, friendly and helpful. This was our
first experience of domestic flight within the continental USA and we
found it much more pleasant than the comments on this website indicated.
Would not hesitate to fly AWA again - we have flown with over 20
airlines internationally, all classes, and AWA is as good as any we have
flown for the price.
America West Airlines - by Marybeth Richards
2 October 2005
YVR - PHX with America West, but not sure which banner the airline will
be flying on my return. Flight was on an old, tired Airbus A320,
obviously showing its age, as the seat upholstery needed repair, as did
the carpet on the plane. The crew passed out drinks and pretzels in the
oddest way - rather than take a trolley along the aisle, the FA asked
pax in each row 'would you like a beverage?', went away, and came back
with three glasses. Not terribly efficient, and the question is silly -
'would you like a drink?' sounds less scripted.haul flight.
America West Airlines - by D Samonte
23 September 2005
Took AWA (operated by Mesa) on LGB-LAS-LGB 9/2-9/5 2005, outbound flight delayed by 30 minutes,
ground staff very apologetic aircraft is a CRJ900, not bad for a very short trip, drinks included,
crew on both flights very nice, return trip on time. Overall I would fly with them again, if
Jetblue is fully booked, their price is better and if they will add at least a day flight.
America West Airlines - by Philip Falzarano
1 September 2005
EWR SJD via PHX. First time flying America West and apprehensive due to the numerous
negative comments. Chose the airline due to convenience of the scheduling. I booked
the tickets in coach and was very happy to learn of the last minute upgrade
possibility. 24 hours prior to departure I called the reservation number and was
able to upgrade to first for only $250 per person. I still wasn't expecting much from
the service, but it turned out to be just as good as most other domestic first class.
A tasty hot breakfast was served and alcohol was dispensed freely. The flight
attendants were very attentive. All 4 legs were on-time or early. My return was
in coach and that was the usual cattle car experience. No better and no worse. All
in all I wouldn't hesitate to fly them again, especially with the chance for a FC
upgrade. When they merge with US Air I hope they retain this feature.
America West Airlines - by Steve Morgan
19 August 2005
I had purchased roundtrip tickets on Travelocity. One way on Frontier and returning
on America West. Both had major schedules changes and Travelocity did not notify me,
so I showed up too late for each departure. Frontier apologized that I was not
notified, put me on the next flight, and gave me a meal voucher since I had to wait
several hours. America West blamed me for not reconfirming the times, offered no
apology, and charged me $100 for changing flights.. Guess which airline I'll
choose next time?
America West Airlines - by John Skinner
16 August 2005
In the last year I've seen over 27,000 miles on America West. The biggest reason I
fly them is they provide a low cost product for the DTW / GEG trip I need. This is
usually via PHX or LAS. I will only say this. I am an America West fan because of the
amount of miles I've flown to the amount of problems encountered ratio is low.
America West is a good value if no problems are encountered on your flight. If you
have issues/problems during your trip, they could give a flying flip about it.
They have the flight fund program and they are asking WAY too high of milage for
these flights. (eg) One trip from Detroit to Spokane WA (return) is roughly 5,500
miles. They want 25,000 miles from my flight fund account for a ticket going ONE WAY.
To me this is crazy. I could get a return ticket to most places anywhere in the USA
on another airline for that 25,000 FF miles. So they're no bargain in that sense. The
food, seats, flight arrival/departure times are pretty much the way they are
described here. If you have the extra cash to go another route, I'd do that. If you
don't, book your flight and hope for the best.
America West Airlines - by Justin Claussen
1 August 2005
MCO-LAS First time on America West and it was rather good. We were on a Boeing
757-200, which unfortunately was as old as the airline itself (1986). The TV
monitors were old and had a faded color, one even had masking tape on it. Had great
in-flight audio selection and cheery attentive flight attendants. The other great
thing was check-in. AWA doesn't have kiosks at Orlando, they don't even have a
counter. Continental checks everybody in at their counter (FAST too) and lets them
use their gates. I love how AWA has special liveries, we were on the AZ
Diamondbacks scheme. Would recommend America West, just a few things they need to
fix.
America West Airlines - by Jeremy R Bartlett
18 May 2005
SFO-LAS Flew for the first time with this airline. Very low fare on internet. Offered to upgrade for
$50 more. Airplane was clean with lots of legroom. Ontime in both directions. Staff very friendly
and helpful. Beats Southwest and United any day on this short haul and allows same day standby.
America West Airlines - by Paul Chadwick
4 April 2005
Flew Vegas to Reno return in February with America West. I found the
aircraft exceptionally clean and was impressed with the legroom. We were
served free soft drinks on the flight. The staff were exemplary and I
have no reason to fault AW. Flight out of Reno was delayed due to
weather problems in Vegas (verified). I wouldn't hesitate to fly AW
again.
America West Airlines - by Michael Seker
14 March 2005
LAX to San Jose, Costa Rica via Phoenix in January 2005 in Economy: Booked on the airline's website,
I found price to be lower than the other carriers, however was concerned about my 54-minute
connection time in Phoenix, especially after years of hearing nightmare stories about delays,
cancellations, service, etc at America West. Departure flight LAX-PHX delayed 20 minutes, then 40,
then 70 with infrequent announcements providing sketchy details. I thought for sure I would miss my
flight to San Jose. I sat in the mini-economy class cabin of the 757 just behind First Class, which
felt very cramped. The pilots expected a very choppy flight and as a result no drink service would
be offered....the flight was smooth as silk but landed in PHX a full 90 minutes late. My only hope
was counting on the whole America West delay factor, and as it turned out, my connecting flight to
San Jose (a flight which originated in San Francisco) was also delayed leaving SFO, so I made my
connecting flight purely by luck. The flight from PHX to SJO was completely wide open as so many
connecting passengers from other America West cities were so delayed the airline would not wait for
them, so I had a row of three to myself. No meal service for the 5hr 40min flight, only a "cafe"
buy-on-board. I bought a chicken sandwich for $5 which was soggy and quite awful, and I refused to
pay another $5 for the horrid movie. The return flight SJO-PHX was on time, but I suspect the only
reason it was is because the plane spends the night at SJO before returning to PHX in the morning,
so the plane was already there. The flight was more crowded, on time, no meal service, and by the
time we were over Mexico City I had memorized all the answers for the repeating "in flight" quiz on
the movie monitors. My connecting flight back to LAX was a joke. The sole gate agent was the most
unkempt agent I had ever seen boarding an aircraft. His hair was not combed, half of his shirt hung
untucked, and he ate his lunch at the counter in full view of all the passengers. Our flight was, of
course, delayed due to a mechanical issue which was first described as "a problem with the wing"
then later changed to "a broken restroom." The gate agent told us the delay was "20 minutes." Five
minutes later he announced the delay was "30 minutes," and a few moments later after talking to a
ramp agent he came back on and said the delay was going to be "20, 30, or 40 minutes." When it was
finally time to board a full 70 minutes later, an older lady who had been waiting in a wheelchair
was not given priority to board first. The gate agent allowed everyone else to board first, then the
woman in the wheelchair was boarded. Call me crazy, but doesn't this sound a bit backwards? Overall,
I was very disappointed with this, my first experience flying America West. After hearing all of the
horror stories concerning America West, and then flying on them, now I have my own horror story to
share, but I don't plan on adding any more to my travel experiences as I will never fly America West
again.
America West Airlines - by David Ware
11 March 2005
JFK- LAS. Booked Y but upgraded to J for $150.
Older style first class seats, but comfortable - good legroom.
Flight left on time. A lunch was served of a chicken caesar salad or pasta - salad very
good. One FA for 14 pax, but she was great. It was her first flight as a J class FA, and I can only
say she is a credit to the airline. Smooth flight, landed on time (landed early but had to wait for a gate). All in all a good flight and
for the price $250 inc the upgrade fee, I'll be flying with them again.
America West Airlines - by
Mauricio Imana
29 December 2004
SFO to FLL via LAS. Not the best service I got in years. At SFO, the staff at the airport was
short and unclear when announcing the flight to LAS was canceled. They just ordered those
connecting in LAS to wait in a line until something is decided. Apparently, the cause of the delay
was found and fixed. The airplane was coming to SFO. The ticket counter attendant screamed and
cheered at the news. They were not professional in general. I don’t like to be patronized as if I
was getting a favor done. The A-320 aircraft departed SFO late but we were promised we would not
miss the connecting flights at LAS. The aircraft was the nastiest one I ever saw. My seat had an
ugly smell and the seat packets were full of garbage. FA “throw” a little bag of peanuts and
“handed” a cup of water. I liked however the trivia question on the monitors. The connecting
flight at LAS was right next to the arrival gate. I was lucky that I was on time. The A-320 was
cleaner and newer. I was given same peanuts again during the 4-hour flight to FLL but I wanted to
sleep more than anything at that point. I’ll avoid AWA if possible.
America West Airlines - by J Skelton
24 November 2004
Flew from Vegas to JFK with AWA on 11/15/04. The flight was delayed for 2 hours due to in bound
flight being late. Again the flight was over booked and the airline kept asking for volunteers to
switch flights. It took my wife and I 90 minutes to check in as there were queues every where. The
flight was horrendous. We hit severe turbulence just after take off. Despite the 5 hour flight we
were only given a free small packet of pringles to eat. One flight attendant was not wearing any
uniform and looked more like a night club bouncer. I don't know how he got passed security. If you
wanted a drink of water it was poured into plastic cup from a large bottle held by one of the crew.
It was the worst flight and worst service we have ever encountered in over 30 years of flying.
America West Airlines - by Andy Ruddick
14 November 2004
JFK to SFO via Vegas 4th November 04. Very cheap flight. 5 passengers in our group. Managed to
get seating together. Bad vibes before flight after reading passenger opinions on this website.
Originally booked direct non stop JFK to SFO but airline changed this and notified by email after i
had paid for tickets. An infant was travelling in out group who had her own seat. Brought our own
car seat. All ok with this on the first leg of the journey but on second flight,
attendant made a
big scene about not recognising the English manufacturer and forbid us to use it. So our daughter
sat on her mums lap but without lap belt. How this is safer god only knows. Had big row with
supervisor at SFO who was very patronising an didn't want to know. Delayed also at vegas due to
apparent weather at SFO however another passenger was talking on a cell phone to a customer of his at
SFO airport who confirmed clear skies and sun! Also after checking arrivals info at Vegas, prior SFO
flights has departed and arrived on time. Suffice to say America West has lost another five
passengers custom. Will not travel with them again.
America West Airlines - by Pat Gerhow
12 September 2004
America West has a policy of overbooking all flights, then delays flights until enough passengers
volunteer to give up their seats (for a $300 voucher). Then and only then is the flight released.
This results in the arrival to be late, so the next flight out on that plane is also delayed, ad
infinitum. Add to that the numerous supply shortages, under-staffing of flight crew, equipment
failure (more delays), etc., and America West is an airline to avoid unless you are truly desperate
to reach your destination. They will get you there eventually, just not timely nor comfortably.
America West Airlines - by Bryan Chao
6 September 2004
JFK-SFO-JFK on the labor day weekend. The ticket price was competitive (same as JetBlue.) I
chose AWA because of the schedule fit with my friends' flight. They were flying into SFO with
Continental (which arrived the same terminal as AWA) and I wanted to meet them at the airport and
share a cab and head into the city, rather than I fly to OAK with JB and took a cab for myself. On
JFK-SFO leg, I purchased the First Class upgrade. It cost $200 at the gate. First class leg room
is not much better than in economy; only several inches more with wider seat. Seat recline is not
much there either. Pre-flight drink was served. Meal was served (Chicken Caesar salad or Penne
pasta). I had the Caesar salad. It came with a garlic bread and a brownie. Salad quality was fresh.
Rounds of drinks offered whenever, whatever (from the list including wine and beer) you want. In-
flight magazine, one movie, one sit-com and other short programs helped to pass time. FAs were
attentive and smiling.
Return trip was on economy. QIK Check-in kiosk somehow could not locate my reservation. An agent
helped me on that and got my boarding pass. Flight was pretty much full. But I had thee seats for
myself. I am not sure the agent blocked the seats next to me or my seat mates never showed up. So I
was able to lie flat and sleep most of the flight. Seat pitch was not that bad. Much better than
last time I flew with AWA four yeas ago. That's why I had not flown with them until this time. In
economy meal was for sales from "In-flight Cafe" service. $7 gets me a warm roast beef and cheese
sandwich, a large cookie and a small bag of potato chips. Drinks comes two rounds and water was
served for a couple rounds. In-flight service was good as well. In economy the headset rental costs
$5. They should have let the paying passengers keep the headset with $5; like Delta does. Both
flights were on time. Overall experience was good. Will fly with AWA again.
America West Airlines - by D Sloane
9 July 2004
ORD-PHX-ORD First time on AmWest and have to say we had no real problems. On flight to PHX we left
on time, the FA's were attentive and kept our drinks fresh.
On flight back we left PHX 45 minutes late, but arrived on 7 minutes late.
I've heard bad stories about AmWest, but they had the best rates for a last minute mini-vacation.
Both flights were sold out, but the AmWest ground crew in PHX changed our seats to emergency exit
right before take off which of course was great.
America West Airlines - by Cliff Huber
7 July 2004
Hideous airline. A joke. My wife and I were flying from SNA to IAH, with a stop/plane change at
PHX. The flight was held up in SNA for an extra 45 minutes, due to a cancellation of another
flight. They pulled people off of our plane while we were at the gate. They replaced them with
other people, presumably from the cancelled flight. No apologies, just attitude. Our particular
aircraft was scheduled to continue to DFW after landing in PHX...Forward to PHX. After arriving in
PHX late and in jeopardy of missing our flight, we hurried off the plane and rushed to the monitors
to determine what gate we were supposed to catch our connecting flight. Surprise, surprise, the
monitor told us to go to the gate that we just arrived at...they'd changed the route that our
original plane was supposed to take and rerouted it to IAH. Did they tell us? No. Did they give a
rip about the inconvenience? No. Food? No. Decent service? No. Without a doubt my worst
airline experience. I won't be flying with them again. It's worth the extra money to be served
properly.
America West Airlines - by Joe Weessies
8 June 2004
Crammed in like sardines - the smallest seats they could put in. Even the peanuts served are an
extra small bag. I am doing all I can to not fly them anymore. First Class however is nice but if
you are in the back be ready to limp of the plane if you are taller then 6 ft (which I am).
America West Airlines - by Daniel Ryaboy
6 June 2004
SAN-PHX-RDU and back. Flight crew was nice always came up and down the aisles at least once an hour
to serve food and drink. Very enjoyable. In-flight movies were not that good and the 'radio' on
board the planes barely worked. Overall, I still liked the experience and I would definitely fly
with AW again.
America West Airlines - by R Vince
2 June 2004
I have read all of these negative comments about American West. I have flown with them six
times and had no problem whatsoever each time. I am flying with them again this summer and did not
hesitate to book with them. On my flights, everything was on time, and the customer service agents
and flight attendants were friendly, and the seating was good.
America West Airlines - by Paul Vernall
18 May 2004
Last month I took AWA from Miami to Vancouver via Phoenix. Travelled in their First Class cabin.
Flight departed on time and aircraft was an Airbus that had seen better days but was accepatble.
Forget the food ! Check-in agent said that they were pleased to serve lunch on this 41/2 hour
flight. What a joke, 1/2 a burned hot turkey sandwich, 3 letuce leaves and some apple crumble
straight out of the can. Cheap presentation and cheap, garbage food. Service was OK but nothing
special. Flight from Phoenix to Vancouver was on an old 737 with no inflight entertainement even
though it was 3/12 hours in length. No food and no possibility of even buying a snack. In short,
they are a lousy cheap airline. If that's want you want then fly them. If you don't then pay more
and get on another carrier. Be warned !
America West Airlines - by Claire Neumann
22 April 2004
I recently flew America West ORD-PHX-SAN and returned SAN-LAS-ORD. My
flights were all on time, or very close to it, and the gate and in-
flight personnel were friendly and pleasant. The only problem that
arose was a seat assignment duplication PHX-SAN, which was quickly
resolved. The only suggestion I would make is to provide food for sale
on flights 3 hours or more. My flight from LAS-ORD was at 5PM PDT and
arrived in Chicago at 930PM CDT. There was not sufficient time in LAS
to get a meal, and the flight was over the normal dinner hour.
America West Airlines - by Alexander Perlin
7 April 2004
I flew America West twice. Both times I had major problems. First time - NY to SF they
delayed flight twice, canceled it finally and just let passengers to find a way to get to SF on their
own.
America West Airlines - by J Velding
4 April 2004
I have travelled on America West three times in the past year. Each time I had problems. The first
time, the flight was so delayed from YYC that I missed my connection and had to wait 7 hours for the
next available flight to my destination. The second time, the flight was delayed due to a problem
with the toilets. The flight was ready for boarding two hours later, still with no operative
washroom. The funny thing was that AW staff provided free coffee for waiting passengers, only to
learn that we would be flying for three hours without washroom facilities. Most recently, a
connection was missed due to a delay in DEN. There were several passengers who were going to miss
connections. The staff in DEN were so un-organized, that it took two hours for vouchers to be
issued to stranded passengers, including myself. By the time I got out of the airport, bound for my
overnight stay at an airport property, I arrived at the hotel, voucher in hand to learn that the
airport staff didn't make a reservation. The hotel was full and I was "bumped" to an alternate
hotel. Beware of America West. Connection times are usually 30 minutes. My advice to anyone
confirming a flight with AW involving a connection would be to carry on your luggage as you will
most likely miss your connection due to an inevitable delay.
America West Airlines - by J A Green
27 February 2004
I was caught up in an unexpected rain delay in Palm Springs, CA. Cloud levels were far too low to
permit safe landings, thus no takeoffs either. No doubt this put a cramp in their schedules.
However, when the gate agent met the 37 people affected by the problem, she made the mistake of not
checking with corporate. Rather, she recited the company line that it is an Act of God, and that
their only responsibility was to fly us out on the next available flight - period. Also, she
explained that it was a natural consequence of corporate greed that AWA would make no accommodations
toward transporting us to other nearby airports, or to otherwise accommodate an unexpected overnight
stay. I was told that they could not change the ticket to another airport with a more favorable
schedule. Rather, we just needed to hang around until they could get us out as seats were
available. The poor couple in front of me were being delayed at least 48 hours! Finally, after a
bunch of wrangling, and calling the AWA reservation line, we were rebooked through the alternate
airport. To their credit, AWA did spring for shuttle transportation for the eight passengers who
made alternate arrangements through the nearby facility. Overall, impression is that the airline
runs habitually late, and that there is no drive toward real customer service. Sure, they are a
discount carrier and have to watch the bucks, but their competition does a really superb job of
assisting displaced passengers in the face of adversity. Best suggestion that I can offer to AWA
is to sell the operation to AirTran. At least they handle things professionally, and seem to be
happy employees.
America West Airlines - by K L Chee
15 February 2004
I had confirmed reservations on America West from TUS/PHX/LAX on February 8 to connect with a flight
overseas that same day. The TUS/PHX flight departed on time. On arrival in PHX, I was advised that
the PHX/LAX flight, on which I had a first class confirmed reservation, was cancelled. The next
flight was too late to connect with my overseas flight and people at the HP counter were not helpful
at all - indifferent at best and "just doing their jobs". After running around PHX airport and
finding no flight, I was able to call my international carrier and they booked me the following day.
Then HP found me a seat on a later flight to LAX - but wound up downgrading me to economy class
because they said there were no seats available in first class. However, when I boarded HP27, there
were seats in first class available. On reaching LAX, I retrieved my baggage and the handle was
broken off my suitcase. I approached HP staff at the airport who said the airline could do nothing
about my damaged suitcase as they had no insurance for such incidents. When I finally reached my
home overseas, I telephoned HP (at considerable cost because of the "advanced" telephone system they
use), and was promised a response. None has come. My overall impression - HP is dismal and
disorganized and to be avoided.
America West Airlines - by Joe Pallon
8 November 2003
I first flew HP/AWA back in Oct. 23 to head to New York to watch the final commercial Concorde
flight and the flight to JFK was very good. Cabin staff was helpful on both sectors,
the in flight entertainment was
ok, but the major downside is the lack of meals onboard in a 5 hour flight - especially being in row
4 of a A319 and smelling the aroma of the in flight meals being served to First Class passengers.
Would've even appreciated it if they sold food like what US Airways and Song is doing.
America West Airlines - by J K Yu
27 October 2003
AWA flight in Las Vegas earlier this year, when the flight was held at the gate due to a
security breach. We had no power. A middle-aged lady sitting two rows back, obviously intoxicated or
under the influence of medication, started rambling loudly, asking if the pilot was drunk, etc.
(This was a few weeks after the well-publicized arrest of two AWA pilots in Miami.) During the
flight she and her sister (as she announced to everyone) moved to row the emergency exit row in
front of me. Her companion spilled her beer (I guess she was intoxicated, too). The flight attendant
just smiled and asked if they would help out in case of an emergency and for them to read their
safety card. The woman said, "Oh honey, don't worry. I'll get us outta here." While the plane was
approaching SFO, the woman glanced out the window and started yelling, "Hey what bridge is that?"
The other passengers didn't seem amused. At the end of the flight, I told the flight attendant that
if there were a real emergency the ladies would've been too incapacitated to open the doors. The
flight attendant just coldly replied, "I didn't smell any alcohol on her breath." To be fair, I've
had very pleasant experiences with AWA, but since this incident I have refused to fly them.
Apparently, some of their crew members do not take safety seriously.
America West Airlines - by A Bruccoleri
24 October 2003
Recently on an America West connecting flight that was due to leave Las Vegas at 9am, we had
emergency brake trouble and were delayed. After disembarking the plane, I immediately asked to be
placed on the 11am flight to San Francisco. Even though our delay was not expected to be that long,
the staff absolutely refused to place me on that flight!
So guess what? I was delayed (annoyed, aggravated, etc) until 4pm because they
wouldn't place me on a
half empty flight that left 5 hours earlier. The real kicker - the 4 pm flight was delayed too.
I will never fly America West again - and I hope you don't either!
America West Airlines - by Paul Porter
22 September 2003
I had a very negative experience with America West Airlines to Oakland recently. We
were delayed for a long period of time without an announcement as to why. When I asked the Flight
Attendant why we were waiting for so long she said "If the pilot wanted you to know he would have
announced it."
America West Airlines - by Steven Lu
4 August 2003
I used to avoid America West because of their poor service - unhappy people and frequent delays.
They have made dramatic improvements over the last 2-3 years.
All the stuff they are advertising is true! Always cheerful service on the ground in Phoenix and
onboard. Flights are mostly on time. Their policies are a lot more friendly than other airlines
(i.e no fee for same day stand-by).
LAX ground staff needs to get better though. They don't seem to have gotten happier with the rest
of the company and don't have their acts together all the time.
Another major complaint I have with them is the speed baggage is delivered in Phoenix T4. It is
usually the worst part of my trips. I don't understand why it takes so long.
There is plenty of cutbacks in the US airline industry and AWA also tries to walk this fine line
between "full service" and "no-frills" airline so don't expect anything fancy. However, you can now
expect good service and ontime flights.
America West Airlines - by Paul Mc Evoy
21 June 2003
Arrived off the Aer Lingus flight from Dublin into JFK with my sister and transferred to the British
Airways terminal to meet our flight to Las Vegas with American West. We purchased first class
tickets for the 5 or so hour trip. We couldn't believe that there was no lounge access for first
class passengers and then we boarded with everyone else. For the 5 hour flight we were offered a
drink. Yeah that was all! First class service didn't seem to match AA or united! The flight
attendants stayed in the galley and never ventured out of it. I was quite disappointed in the
service to be honest. The seat was ok but lckily we had eaten something in jfk before our flight
because if we had waited for our flight we would have been starving! Bad for $2500
America West Airlines - by Erik Gibbons
15 May 2002
I flew America West last September (pre 9/11) from LAX to
Puerto Vallarta. The flight from LAX on an A320 was on-time
and uneventful (I prefer the A320 to the 737). The connecting flight to PVR left the gate
on time, but when we were airborne the older 737-300 had
problems with it's landing gear. We had to go back to Phoenix,
but before we did we had to fly around for two hours to burn
fuel as one main concern was that the front landing gear tire
had blown on take off. They handled the situation great and
about 3 hours late, we took off for PVR on another plane. The
return trip was a bit more chaotic as my traveling partner was
told in PVR he didn't have a seat on the PHX-LAX portion and was offered to fly
non-stop on Alaska Airlines instead. We both bought our tickets via the web on the
same day, so I'm not sure why he was fine coming down but
not on the return. Any way, he opted to fly with me on HP to
PHX and deal with getting to LAX once there. It was a mess,
our original connecting flight was cancelled (no explanation as
to why) and we were all shuffled to another gate for another flight
to LAX. Of course it was overbooked, so
I offered to give up my seat and got compensation for it and
we had to over night in PHX. He was told he had no seat to give
up, but they could put him up overnight. He was livid because
he originally did have a seat with his reservation!
I flew them again in March 02 the same routing (using my $500
voucher for giving up my seat in September) and the flights
were all on time, friendly crew and comfortable. But, no IFE
from PHX to PVR and no food service either.
America West Airlines - by M Devor
18 November 2001
As a quasi low frills, full service carrier
I don't expect a creme de la creme service from them, but they deliver a good
product, nice and friendly crews and staff, and attractive prices!
As they are not involved in an alliance, their FF program isn't
all that attractive. A highlight for AW are friendly flight attendants -
there is no shortage of smiles and helpful, attentive service. A
negative - the airline is very hub oriented meaning you have to change, and sometimes
backtrack, through Phoenix or Las Vegas. More point to point flights within the Western US would be appreciated.
Seating is fair and most flights are short haul so nothing fancy as far as meals
go - I flew them back East and service and meals were above average.
Their
lounges are great, with their lounge at Las Vegas offering one of the most generous quantities of
food, beverages, and newspapers I have ever seen. I would like AW to increase
seat pitch.
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