US Airways Biz Class ?

[FlyerTalker]

Thanks Flyertalk! I am pleased! BTW , did you enjoy your time at GRU? Such a lovely airport ( note the slight snicker , lol)

Actually, not passing through GRU for several more months. Looking forward to some cold Antarctica beer (and Brahma too), buying some old bossa nova and newer MPB CDs, and sweating in the heat. But as I spend my 6+ hour connection, I'll be thinking of your kind words of encouragement.

 

To keep this on the topic of Envoy....it will be interesting to watch the integration of onboard service standards. The big question is whether Parker will let his business decisions get run by his ego or not.

[brazilgirl]

Yes...this merger impacts me as it now really makes sense for me to change from Star Alliance to Oneworld. I have never been on an AA plane and looks like it and US Airways will become my American carriers from now on....goodbye United.

 

Let's see if this merger brings about some positive. I know on the FT forums everyone seems quite wary of the future changes.

 

Flyertalk , try the "Antarctica Original" beer ..it is especially nice. Skol is quite nice as well.

[jennmaybe]

I love the Charlotte airport! Clean, very well run and the folks there are very nice.

 

It's so interesting to see how much we all differ in opinions on things. We actually despise the Charlotte airport and drive to Raleigh for our flights. We've had so many issues with the Charlotte airport that we will pay extra to fly out of Raleigh. (We live in NC, so these are the 2 biggest airports we have). Not to mention RDU has gone through a complete remodel and it is very clean and modern. Charlotte has a lot to do if they want to continue to compete with RDU now. The amazing thing for us is it is so much cheaper for us to fly out of RDU, so it does work out for us.:)

[brazilgirl]

It's so interesting to see how much we all differ in opinions on things. We actually despise the Charlotte airport and drive to Raleigh for our flights. We've had so many issues with the Charlotte airport that we will pay extra to fly out of Raleigh. (We live in NC, so these are the 2 biggest airports we have). Not to mention RDU has gone through a complete remodel and it is very clean and modern. Charlotte has a lot to do if they want to continue to compete with RDU now. The amazing thing for us is it is so much cheaper for us to fly out of RDU, so it does work out for us.:)

 

Interesting...Charlotte gets good reviews from many people. Raleigh must be very nice! I am looking forward to visiting Charlotte , even if only for a night. It looks very pretty. What do you dislike about the Charlotte airport ? In June I am going to have to spend over 5 hours there. Any suggestions to make the time pass quicker?

[jennmaybe]

Interesting...Charlotte gets good reviews from many people. Raleigh must be very nice! I am looking forward to visiting Charlotte , even if only for a night. It looks very pretty. What do you dislike about the Charlotte airport ? In June I am going to have to spend over 5 hours there. Any suggestions to make the time pass quicker?

 

 

Well, the airport is outside the actual city itself and is about 20 minutes from downtown. With only 5 hours, you really won't have time to rent a car, but you could take a taxi out to grab something to eat. There are lots of good restaurants in Charlotte. You can check out trip advisor and see the reviews based on the types of cuisine you like. :)

 

The biggest issues we have at CLT are 1) we wait longer in the security line here than any other airport (and we've been through many airports). 2) we experience more delays going out of CLT than any other airport.

 

I also wish they would remodel the bathrooms. They are original and very outdated. I believe I read something earlier this year that CLT is going to begin some major renovations, so I'm sure the bathrooms will get the redo they so lovingly deserve. :)

 

If you do decide to leave the airport for a couple of hours, make sure you leave yourself plenty of time to get back through security. I will never forget waiting in that line for 1 1/2 hours at 5:30am in the morning. The TSA officials were standing there talking and did not start letting people through until there were about 500 people in line & it was literally going out the door. :mad: Needless to say, that was the last time we flew out of CLT.

[brazilgirl]

Goodness , doesn't sound promising. Hopefully we will have better luck with the TSA lines. :(. We will leave the airport on our trip in two weeks ...we will stay the night at the Duke Mansion. It looks quite pretty. Still looking at restaurant choices.

 

In June , we will stay the 5 hours in the airport....not enough time to enjoy anything outside. Thanks for the comments , will cross my fingers and hope for a pleasant CLT experience.

[ducklite]

Interesting...Charlotte gets good reviews from many people. Raleigh must be very nice! I am looking forward to visiting Charlotte , even if only for a night. It looks very pretty. What do you dislike about the Charlotte airport ? In June I am going to have to spend over 5 hours there. Any suggestions to make the time pass quicker?

 

The Charlotte airport is a good one to have to kill time in while in transit. There are numerous restaurants. The US Airways Club between the C&D concourse is large and has windows that look out over the runway. There is a quiet room as well if you want to rest. If you are flying Envoy you will have access to the club. There are no showers, but there are changing rooms in the club restrooms. There is also a small club in the B concourse, but it's not worth making a special trip to use it and it can get cramped. They offer light breakfast items, midday snacks, and a hearty soup in the evening. It's not really enough to make a meal out of, but a good snack for sure.

[brazilgirl]

The Charlotte airport is a good one to have to kill time in while in transit. There are numerous restaurants. The US Airways Club between the C&D concourse is large and has windows that look out over the runway. There is a quiet room as well if you want to rest. If you are flying Envoy you will have access to the club. There are no showers, but there are changing rooms in the club restrooms. There is also a small club in the B concourse, but it's not worth making a special trip to use it and it can get cramped. They offer light breakfast items, midday snacks, and a hearty soup in the evening. It's not really enough to make a meal out of, but a good snack for sure.

 

Sounds like we will stay in the lounge and perhaps visit some shops.

[jennmaybe]

Goodness , doesn't sound promising. Hopefully we will have better luck with the TSA lines. :(. We will leave the airport on our trip in two weeks ...we will stay the night at the Duke Mansion. It looks quite pretty. Still looking at restaurant choices.

 

In June , we will stay the 5 hours in the airport....not enough time to enjoy anything outside. Thanks for the comments , will cross my fingers and hope for a pleasant CLT experience.

 

You will love the Duke Mansion! We have stayed there! Absolutely beautiful!! The breakfast does seem to be a hit or miss (BIG miss for us), so we would definitely stay there again, but we would eat breakfast out somewhere.

 

You have lots of great restaurants choices in the area.

[brazilgirl]

You will love the Duke Mansion! We have stayed there! Absolutely beautiful!! The breakfast does seem to be a hit or miss (BIG miss for us), so we would definitely stay there again, but we would eat breakfast out somewhere.

 

You have lots of great restaurants choices in the area.

 

So glad to hear...looks so pretty. If the breakfast is not good , we can eat at the airport ... :)

[jennmaybe]

So glad to hear...looks so pretty. If the breakfast is not good , we can eat at the airport ... :)

 

I took a look at the reviews for the last 6 months over on Trip Advisor and it seems their breakfast may be great now! Apparently, it's now made-to-order, which is what we are used to at B & B's. When we were there, it was buffet style and 90% of the food was not edible. The fruit was even old. I think you will enjoy your stay there, including the breakfast. :)

[brazilgirl]

I looked too... Looks like people are raving about the breakfasts now! Yum! It is always great when businesses see they have an issue and improve! :)

[Phyldon]

Today I happened to look at the website to see if envoy/first class fares have been lowered. In August, we reserved flights for May,2014 from PHL to VCE as we wanted specific seats together. We were assigned seats. Today I checked our reservations...no seat assignments and a note that seats will be assigned at check-in. On the Airbus330-200, most envoy seats are single along the windows, and it is important to my husband and me to have 2 together on an overnight flight. It appears that there are only 5 twosomes. I wonder if there is any recourse as these seats were high priced to begin with.

[ducklite]

Today I happened to look at the website to see if envoy/first class fares have been lowered. In August, we reserved flights for May,2014 from PHL to VCE as we wanted specific seats together. We were assigned seats. Today I checked our reservations...no seat assignments and a note that seats will be assigned at check-in. On the Airbus330-200, most envoy seats are single along the windows, and it is important to my husband and me to have 2 together on an overnight flight. It appears that there are only 5 twosomes. I wonder if there is any recourse as these seats were high priced to begin with.

 

 

You'll be sleeping, why is it so important to be together? You realize that the way those seats a re angles it's difficult to have a conversation with the person next to you, right?

 

Have you called US Airways? Why are you worrying about compensation when you don't even know if this will be an issue?

 

 

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[FlyerTalker]

The seating is designed in a pod-type arrangement, designed to maximize the sleeping experience, not for "sharing". If you REALLY want to be able to easily talk and be with your flying partner, then a COACH seat actually works better. But, had you looked, you'd have seen that the seats don't facilitate that. In fact, you are better with seats opposite each other across the aisle, IMO.

 

Finally, seat assignments are always tentative and may be changed for many reasons.

[ducklite]

The seating is designed in a pod-type arrangement, designed to maximize the sleeping experience, not for "sharing". If you REALLY want to be able to easily talk and be with your flying partner, then a COACH seat actually works better. But, had you looked, you'd have seen that the seats don't facilitate that. In fact, you are better with seats opposite each other across the aisle, IMO.

 

Finally, seat assignments are always tentative and may be changed for many reasons.

 

 

Across the aisle doesn't work either as they are staggered for privacy.

 

 

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[Budget Queen]

Today I happened to look at the website to see if envoy/first class fares have been lowered. In August, we reserved flights for May,2014 from PHL to VCE as we wanted specific seats together. We were assigned seats. Today I checked our reservations...no seat assignments and a note that seats will be assigned at check-in. On the Airbus330-200, most envoy seats are single along the windows, and it is important to my husband and me to have 2 together on an overnight flight. It appears that there are only 5 twosomes. I wonder if there is any recourse as these seats were high priced to begin with.

 

I have flown Envoy several times and there is NO "together". The best "together" seats would be an aisle and window. Did you already purchase Envoy seats or were you hoping for an upgrade? For European flights, these are frequently sold out. We've been very lucky to get them.

Edited December 21, 2013 by Budget Queen

[ducklite]

I have flown Envoy several times and there is NO "together". The best "together" seats would be an aisle and window. Did you already purchase Envoy seats or were you hoping for an upgrade? For European flights, these are frequently sold out. We've been very lucky to get them.

 

 

There is no together on the A330. On the 767 there is. Unfortunately the 767 is an inferior Envoy product, and IMHO shouldn't be used outside of North America and the Caribbean.

 

 

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[FlyerTalker]

Across the aisle doesn't work either as they are staggered for privacy.

Yes, staggered, but I think a bit easier than dislocating the neck to turn to the side. Neither is good, plain and simple.

 

As mentioned, this is a design for privacy, not couples. Which is what the economic consideration is -- business people traveling, not couples. And if Phyldon REALLY needs to be together, maybe it would be better to get different flights or fly in coach. So...how REALLY together do you need to be??

[brazilgirl]

There is no together on the A330. On the 767 there is. Unfortunately the 767 is an inferior Envoy product, and IMHO shouldn't be used outside of North America and the Caribbean.

 

 

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I just came back from my trip on the US Airway 767 in the Envoy Class ( flew 2 weeks ago). I got a very inviting price so the 767 Envoy product was worth it even though it is apparently not nearly as nice as the A330 Envoy product.

 

The service was good as were the meals ... However the seats are not true flatbeds on the 767 whereas on the A330 they are. The entertainment system on the 767 is also quite antiquated ( I did enjoy " Blue Jasmine" , even on the outdated system.)

 

 

The 767 has seats which are side by side ... But on a 10 hour flight , having to climb over your sleeping spouse ( I was in the window seat ) is a feat.

 

The A330 is much more conducive to sleep and relaxation . Happily we will be able to try it in June.

 

BTW to previous poster , the Duke mansions was excellent ( great breakfast now) and while the lines at CLT were long at immigration , I though the airport was quite nice . Thanks for all the feedback everyone.

[Phyldon]

Today I happened to look at the website to see if envoy/first class fares have been lowered. In August, we reserved flights for May,2014 from PHL to VCE as we wanted specific seats together. We were assigned seats. Today I checked our reservations...no seat assignments and a note that seats will be assigned at check-in. On the Airbus330-200, most envoy seats are single along the windows, and it is important to my husband and me to have 2 together on an overnight flight. It appears that there are only 5 twosomes. I wonder if there is any recourse as these seats were high priced to begin with.

 

Thank you all for your responses. Today we have our assigned seats back!