US Airways

15 May 2010

US Airways’ official website: http://www.usairways.com

Important Notice

US Airways has made a major cutback in Philadelphia in October as announced in a Philly paper. US Airways no longer flies direct from Philadelphia to London-Gatwick. The Philly to Heathrow flights are still on but most departures are from Charlotte.

The principle airline serving London from Pittsburgh is US Airlines. Below are the departure cities, flight numbers and approximate departure times. This can help you plan your trip, especially if you need to make connections. Be aware that departure and flight times can change. Charlotte and Philadelphia flights land at Gatwick, South Terminal. The South Terminal is where US Airways has check-in. The Heathrow flight should land at Terminal 4. In any event check your total layover time.

Flights to London

Flying from Charlotte (CHL) to London Gatwick (LGW)
Depart Charlotte, Flight 732 at 6:15pm
Arrive in London Gatwick at 7:10am next day
Depart London Gatwick, Flight 733 at 11:35am
Arrive in Charlotte at 3:50pm same day

Flying from Philadelphia (PHL) to London Heathrow (LHR)
Depart Philadelphia, Flight 728 at 9:15pm
Arrive in London Heathrow at 9:25am next day
Depart London Heathrow at 12:05pm
Arrive Philadelphia at 3:40pm same day

Flight Calculator

Going to London from the Eastern states
Departure time + 5 hours* + flight time = arrival time (next day) When you travel to London you are going with the earth’s rotation. You also have a tail wind working with you. Flights generally take 7 hours from Philly. If you depart at 6:00 pm add 5 hours to the time. That makes it 11:00 pm. The flight takes 7 hours so add another 7 to the time. It is now 6:00 am London time on the next day.

Coming back home
Departure time – 5 hours* + flight time = arrival time (same day) Coming back home you are going against the Earth’s rotation, which is good. But you are fighting a head wind. This gives a bit longer flight to Philly, but it only adds one hour. A good flight from London to Philly should take 8 hours. So, if the flight takes off at noon we subtract 5 hours making it 7:00 am. The flight adds 8 hours giving us 3:00 pm the same day. This was the old flight from Gatwick to Philadelphia. And you thought math word-problems were not fun!

*London is 5 hours ahead of the Eastern United States time zone.

Flight Scheduling

If you are flying to London with a stop at a connecting airport you need to schedule your time wisely. You should plan for at least an hour to transfer to your London bound flight. At least an hour and a half when returning as you will go through immigration and customs. The more time the better and more in summer. Do not rely on the airline’s web site to allow for this. Just because they can land you it does not mean they allow for the transfer time.

US Airways Envoy Class

This is the first class service for US Airways. If you have not purchased you Envoy ticket directly or with flyer miles, you can upgrade at check-in. The cost is $500 per person, one-way. An Envoy class ticket allows you to use the Club lounge at all of your stops, including London. You can up-grade at your departure airport at the ticket counter. Upon arrival in London you can rest and get ready for your journey to London or take a shower.

The upgrade requirements for Dividend Miles customers have changed. One used to be able to upgrade with frequent miles only. Trips to London require 30,000 miles PLUS $300, each way. If you have the miles and wish to cash them in the money aspect is better than $500.

Envoy Class Lounge

One can also use the Envoy class lounge without an Envoy class ticket. You can buy a day pass at check-in and it is good all day and in each of the cities you may be in. If you fly from Pittsburgh to Charlotte you can use the pass in each city. To use the lounge in London you will need to buy a separate pass. Check the US Airways web site for cost.

Envoy Class Upgrades

I seem to have problems up-grading when I buy a ticket from US Airway’s web site so I just call an agent. They seem to offer more information and can help you get better value. I would like to be able to have a chat and a pint with an agent to find out what secretes they have. Dealing with humans is always better than communicating with a microchip.

Economy Envoy

On May 15, 2010, I searched US Airways’ website to see what the cost was to fly from Pittsburgh to London-Gatwick. For any given day the one-way fair is the same for a variety of departure times but will vary if a third city is included. They have four fair categories: Economy Non Refundable, Economy Flexible, Envoy Non Refundable and Envoy Flexible. Selecting a flight (for November 2010) with one stop gave me these one-way prices (round trip in parenthesis) for the same flight:
Economy Non Refundable, $296 ($592)
Economy Flexible, $566 ($1,132)
Envoy Non Refundable, $1,489 ($2,978)
Envoy Flexible, $3,170 ($6,348)

As I am poor I take the cheapest fair and hope for the best. But I still can fly Envoy and beat the Envoy price. I get to the ticket counter early and ask it seats are available. They almost always are. Sometimes I travel one-way first class and others both ways. If I go one-way first class it cost $1,092 and $1,592 for both. Remember that these are my round-trip costs. Flying one or both flights with an upgrade is far less than paying for Envoy from the start. Yes, you run the risk of being denied a seat but it is worth a try. It also depends on the cost of you economy ticket and if you have the money to spend. Why should you consider this? As they say in real estate, location. In Envoy it’s comfort. You get: the club lounge at departure, speedy boarding, better accommodations in the plane and you can freshen up in the facilities upon arrival. If you can swing it first class is the best way to travel.

Take note that the upgrade cost in Pittsburgh may now be greater than $500 and the cost in England is in pounds. Factoring in the conversion rate I actually saved ($1) on my upgrade at Gatwick once.

US Airways luggage size

See their web site for the latest information.

US Airways Contact Numbers

1-800-428-4322 US Reservations
1-800-622-1015 Int’l. Reservations Out-of-service
0845 600 3300 UK number

Mailing Address

Please submit documentation for legal name changes and receipts for the crediting of missing miles to your account to the following address:
US Airways Dividend Miles Service Center P.O. Box 025458 Miami, FL 33102

Dividend Miles Service Center
Hours: 7:00 am - 12:00 am ET, Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 9:00 pm ET, Saturday

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