Comments on: US Airways fires skycaps, replaces them with Wall-E

By: tripso.com | Are airline ticket agents an endangered species? Yes, but …

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:03:23 +0000

[...] check-in be implemented in the United States anytime soon? Maybe. As Chris Elliott wrote in his blog, US Airways may already be starting. He reports that some of the airline’s skycaps will be [...]

By: mark blake

mark blake — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:12:31 +0000

US Airways just doesn’t get it…the skycaps make curbside check-in a breeze. I find the trouble begins once you enter the airport..long lines, flight delays and a feeling of why do I travel for a living. I feel for the skycaps and only hope that more airlines don’t do the same.

By: Mary H

Mary H — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:05:23 +0000

Remember the end of Coors Beer as a major player???
Sounds like all the old Coors management and board, when riffed, went into airline management. (Read a book called “Silver Bullet.”)

Back in the dinosaur age, when i was in nursing, we always joked that the hospital would be a good place to work if we didn’t have to deal with patients. What was a joke has turned into real life…..without passengers life would be so much easier for the airlines.

By: Jschu

Jschu — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:07:34 +0000

@Joe Farrell

The airlines should be reversed: USAir/United/Continental, aka, USUC. If someone wants to add a ‘K’ that would clearly explain how I feel about this airline.

By: kc7

kc7 — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:51:08 +0000

@Joe Farrell:
That was back in 2004–before I started reading this wonderful site! I was a frightened, naive student and, when Lufthansa told me that all they could do was “maybe get me to [my] destination this week,” I believed them. *sigh*

By: Charles

Charles — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:44:06 +0000

Unbelievable. Just when I thought USAirways couldn’t sink any lower, they pull this. Are they trying to become the new SkyBus or something?

Oh and yeah, sure, removing the skycaps had absolutely NOTHING to do with the pending litigation going on now.

By: Joe Farrell

Joe Farrell — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:02:15 +0000

Hey – KC – you definitely needed to know your contract rights – Rule 240 might have actually still existed back then. There is ALWAYS a seat in business or first open in summer . . .

By: Jasper

Jasper — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:53:26 +0000

@ Joe, Chicky:

Shall we add change UCUS into “Marvelous” UnitedContinentalUSAir, aka MUCUS?

By: Chicky

Chicky — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:57:59 +0000

Good one, Joe! I found an additional paragraph, by the way.

“In order to ensure passenger safety and comfort, UCUS will be offering premium safety belts, sponsored by United Launch Alliance. UCUS will charge a $10 fee for each passenger, to ensure the safety belts are properly installed and maintained. An additional $5 fee will be levied for flight attendant training in proper delivery of the safety presentation. Passengers who do not wish to pay the $10 safety belt maintenance fee will be seated on the floor of the aircraft next to the lavatory.”

By: kc7

kc7 — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:11:28 +0000

Ditto on Joy’s comments. I can remember, a few years ago, in college, I was trying to get form Chicago to Germany. A mechanical issue on my first flight caused me to miss a connection that led to 3 DAYS of being denied boarding on overbooked flights, getting shuffled to 3 East Coast cities, and sleeping on the airport floor.
On the second day, I was booked standby on 2 flights. The first flight sent me away, so I had 25 min to get to another terminal, check my bag, and make the flight. When I got to the terminal, the check-in line was out the door. I begged the Skycap to check my bag curbside, even though that’s not allowed for international flights. But he did. And my bag reached Germany a day and a half before I ever did.