[Anonymous]

[VintageKrug]

For anyone who is not a Star devotee, that still would like Star Alliance status for an upcoming trip to avoid bag fees, or to take advantage of the extra miles etc:

http://www.usairways.com/awa/profiles/dmpromotionsregister.aspx?promocode=BG09

Be warned it is US Airways, not the most sophisticated of the Star carriers, but adequate in a Dolly Parton kinda way. If you fly enough (though this is no quantified) with them they will give you Silver for the year.

They seem to run this promo annually, so don’t enrol unless you do indeed have some Star flights coming up. Note, Star Silver DOES NOT grant lounge access if flying economy.

You need Star Gold for the lounges. I think you can actually even buy Gold Status on US Airways…………

Fastbreak Promotion — Terms and conditions

Here’s how:
Offer valid from May 15 through August 31, 2009
Cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion
Registration required to qualify and only one registration per customer permitted
Offer valid for base level Dividend Miles members only. Members who have participated in the Trial Preferred program since May 1, 2007 are not eligible to participate
Please allow up to 14 days for Silver Preferred status to take effect
Silver Preferred status will be valid for 90 days following the effective date
We will attempt to notify you of your account status via email during your Trial Preferred period. Please visit usairways.com to ensure we have your up-to-date email address

BLURB:

Dividend Miles member must fly minimum amount of miles or segments to keep Preferred status for remainder of program year. Members may enroll in the Trial Preferred program only once in any consecutive 24 month period. Members who have been granted Preferred status as a result of having elite status in another airline’s program in the last 24 months or did not re-qualify for the same Preferred status in 2009 are not eligible to participate in the Trial Preferred program. Only elite qualifying flights earned on flights operated by US Airways and US Airways Express can be applied toward the Trial Preferred program. Only bookings made after member’s status has been upgraded reflect member’s new status.

Offer expires 31 August

[Senator]

Well, a Silver Card with US Airways may be good, but the Honourable Mr. V Krug is too kind in describing the customer experience when travelling with US. I purchased a one-way domestic First ticket from DCA to SFO via CLT two summers ago. While the price was attractive ($460), the overall experience left much to desire. An economy class ticket in Europe with LH or BA provides a better experience. The CLT-SFO flight on the A321 we had 16 seats, and 8+8 meals. One of decent quality (which rows 1-2 consumed) and a rubbish meal for us in row 3-4. Secondly, my “wine” was served in a 16 fl.oz. plastic mug, and I saw nothing that looked like real cutlery.

On the return from DEN to ORD with UA, this airline (which is by no means a great airline), looked like SQ in comparison. So, I rather swim across the Atlantic, or cycle across America than fly with US Airways again 🙂

[Hess963]

Well, Mr. Senator you just speak out what I feel about flying with US carriers!!! US airways and actually most US carriers are not (in my opinion) competitive enough for LH, BA and mostly Asian carriers lke SQ, TG, CX … I just hope the European carriers will not follow their steps.

[Senator]

I would concur that Asian airlines are in their own class. There are a few bright spots on the US market; I have heard only positive remarks regarding Virgin America, and my personal experience with Continental in BusinessFirst and First has always been top notch. They are the only airline I have ever travelled with that repeatedly have brought my priority bags first, and rather quickly as well. Their F&B service is vastly better than most in terms of quality and quantity.

[Hess963]

Concerning Continental BusFirst: It depends on the route and especially crew. From my last trips the only good thing for main course was the all time favourite New York Steak. A better choice for dessert and cheese would be appreciated as well, instead of the ever always ice cream with cream
Concerning Continental US First: I think here it is absolutely inconsistent, one time you get phantastic food and the other you get the worst inedible food. But let us hope in the future it will change–Hope the other Star Alliance carriers with their great service influence CO for the better

[Senator]

My “sample size” on CO is quite small; two ARN-EWR returns, EWR-CUN, and EWR-FLL return. All flights top notch end-to-end. I believe however, this is a better alternative for domestic US travel compared to US or UA, so I am happy to see them as an edition to Star come october. I actually prefer CO over KLM or AF, so I am planning to clear the Flying Blue account before Oct 25 so I can get a CO tickets this way.

[Author]

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