A first-class experience

12-09-2001

This week, I returned from my first trip since Sept. 11 that involved airline travel. I had harbored no anxieties about airline safety or in-transit hassles. As circumstances had it, prior to that watershed day, I had made no firm plans for any fall trips. Since then, scheduling a good date and destination had proved difficult.

Still, a travel editor needs to know what this new world of travel is like.

So three weeks ago, I began hatching plans for an anniversary expedition with my wife. For reasons I'll reveal in a future article, we decided to go to Arizona and take a post-Thanksgiving trek into the Grand Canyon. This column will focus on details of the getting there and back.

I am pleased to report that, despite the usual flurry of trepidation along with the challenges presented by all the new airport security measures, we had a marvelous experience.

I used mileage accumulated in a credit card travel club to get one free round-trip ticket on nonstop US Airways flights between Pittsburgh and Phoenix. I also booked reservations for a second seat at a rate of $385, the three-week advance purchase rate offered on the airline's own Web site.

That seemed to be a fair rate to me for the journey. Over the last two months, the nation's airlines have been offering a flood of discount offers designed to entice travelers back on their planes. The best deals are for trips taken before the end of the year, although savings also are being offered for trips through the spring, if they're booked in the next few weeks.

Then, because we also were sitting on a pile of US Airways Dividend Miles, we decided to treat ourselves and upgraded both reservations to First Class, for 20,000 miles each.

We chose to fly out midmorning on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and catch a return flight mid-afternoon eight days later. Surprisingly -- and undoubtedly because so many travel destinations are desperate for business -- reservations for the other components of our trip also fell into place.

The morning of our journey, we drove to Pittsburgh International, pulling up to the baggage drop-off about an hour and a half before our flight's scheduled departure. My wife checked in our two pieces of luggage while I parked the car in the extended term lot. I had no trouble finding a spot, and the shuttle bus deposited me back at the land-side terminal in time to meet her at the ticket counter, where we got our tickets upgraded.

Our next stop was the security checkpoint. Although the post-Thanksgiving throngs who backed up the day before had made headlines, it took us less than 15 minutes to show our documentation, put our carry-ons (including my laptop computer) through the X-ray machine and walk through the metal detectors.

From that point, our journey was as smooth as could be. We made our way to the departure gate as usual. Apparently all our fellow passengers had also allowed sufficient time, because even though the flight was full, the cabin doors were closed 10 minutes before we were scheduled to leave. Wonder of wonders, when the appointed moment arrived, the plane was actually rolling onto the runway.

From an operational point of view, our flight was flawless, touching down at Sky Harbor in Phoenix 20 minutes early. Our luggage appeared on the carousel soon after we arrived.

We were, however, both surprised to discover the extent to which in-flight amenities have been scaled back. I had been aware that all the carriers have reduced cabin services in recent weeks. Initially, the moves were justified by security precautions. Now the airlines are cutting costs any way they can without compromising safety.

The most obvious change is that food service has been drastically reduced on all domestic flights (although food service on trans-Atlantic flights remains the same).

The only US Airways flights on which passengers can expect an actual meal are those which travel nonstop to West Coast destinations, and then only if the plane is in the air during designated hours. Only cold snack boxes and beverages are served on shorter flights of more than three hours. No food is served on flights shorter than three hours.

This is true in both first-class and coach -- on our flight all received the same bagel, cream cheese and jelly, along with packages of pretzels and peanuts. Apart from the privilege of getting to board the plane first, first-class amenities on domestic flights have been reduced to a wider, more comfortable seat with a few inches of extra leg room, complimentary alcoholic beverages and a free set of headphones to enjoy the in-flight movie. Not many benefits considering the difference in cost between first-class and coach!

In fact, by the time we returned a week later, on another flight that ran with clockwork precision,on-board amenities had been reduced even further, as a new series of cost-cutting measures went into effect on Dec 1.

Movies are no longer being shown on any domestic flights. The video entertainment now consists of episodes of TV shows such as "Spin City" and "Friends." If you want to read a newspaper or magazine, you'll have to bring it onboard yourself.

Even pillows and blankets have now been removed!

I don't intend this column to be a slam at US Airways, or any other carrier. Clearly, we are in an unprecedented situation. Carriers are struggling for their financial futures, and this elimination of passenger amenities is a relatively small matter when compared with the primary objectives of air travel: to get somewhere far away safely and on time. Cabin staff was apologetic and friendly, doing what it could to make passengers comfortable.

Still, there is clearly a new paradigm in travel.

In addition to understanding the enhanced security requirements and planning trips to avoid the busiest travel days and times, passengers should be aware of what they are buying and be prepared for what they're likely to encounter during their flight experience. What's the point of paying for something you won't be getting?

Until the current situation resolves itself, make plans for your own in-flight food and entertainment, even though you'll have to fit it all in the single, small piece of luggage you're allowed to carry onto the plane. Also, be prepared for the possibility that you might encounter some unexpected snag or bottleneck along the way.

I also don't think this should dissuade you from taking a trip.

The other side of the equation is that once you get where you're going, you're likely to discover there are still wonderful travel experiences waiting for you out there. Many of them are far more available and considerably less expensive than they're likely to be for a long time to come.

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