The merger between American and US Airways has been going on for about two years now. So far we’ve seen the airlines merge their frequent flyer programs and get on a single FAA operating certificate.
The last major step in the integration between American and US Airways is combining reservations systems, which is scheduled to happen on October 17, 2015. When this happens, US Airways will officially cease to exist, as all flights operated by the “new” American will have American flight numbers.
To commemorate the history of US Airways, there will be a special flight on October 16, 2015, which will officially be the last US Airways flight.
US Airways’ predecessor (All American Aviation) was founded in 1939, so to celebrate US Airways will have flight US1939 on October 16, 2015.
The flight (which will be operated by a US Airways Airbus A321) will have the following routing:
10/16 US1939 Philadelphia to Charlotte departing 10:05AM arriving 12:04PM
10/16 US1939 Charlotte to Phoenix departing 2:35PM arriving 4:01PM
10/16 US1939 Phoenix to San Francisco departing 5:10PM arriving 7:12PM
10/16 US1939 San Francisco to Philadelphia departing 9:55PM arriving 6:18AM (+1 day)
Via TheStreet, it looks like festivities are planned at all stops along the way, and former US Airways CEO Ed Colodny will also be on the final flight:
Passengers on the last flight will include former US Air CEO Ed Colodny.
“It’s the end of the name, not the end of the airline as such, but the end of the name, and I just thought it would be neat to fly on the last flight,” Colodny said in an interview. “It’s for nostalgia.”
At each of the four stops as well as on the final flight, American plans celebratory events, Thomas said.
I’d be surprised if Doug Parker weren’t on it as well.
San Francisco seems like an odd choice given that it’s a United hub and not a US Airways hub, though there’s an explanation for that:
American spokeswoman Martha Thomas said the flight was selected to be the last one after the Oct. 16 and Oct. 17 schedules at US Airways hubs were pared down in order to assure that employees would have sufficient time to focus on the cutover from Shares to Sabre reservations systems.
So that’s actually, officially the last US Airways flight based on how the schedule worked out.
If you do want to book US1939, space is wide open on all segments. For the flights from Philadelphia to Charlotte to Phoenix to San Francisco, there are even plenty of first class seats for sale. That being said, for the last flight from San Francisco to Philadelphia, first class is sold out, though economy is still for sale.
At $767 one-way for economy, it’s sort of an outrageous fare, though (for what it’s worth, it doesn’t seem specific to the last flight, but rather all fares between San Francisco and Philadelphia that day). I assume you can lower the fare by originating or terminating in different cities, though.
Kudos to them for planning this commemorative flight. It’s great to honor an airline with such a legacy.
Does anyone plan on booking one of these commemorative US Airways flights?
Ohhhh I'll travel these day Athens to PHI
@Andy I'll be in FC as well for the SFO-PHL leg. I snagged one of the last seats when the story broke.
am proud to have been hired before the jet age was ushered in. worked in ewr in 67 then in dca orf and clt.
would be great to converse with some old timers. i feel like the last dinosaur most days and damn glad to be alive.
@Brian and Jack. Agree for the most part, farewell and don't let the tail hit the runway on the way out.
That said, had a few good runs with them, mainly to Europe J class. Also, I recall the immediate post-911 fare of $300 R/T economy flight from DC-Charlotte-London. No one seemed to be flying then. Hmm. Anyhow, just flew USAir J class to MEX via PDX- PHX. Service was decent on only 2...
@Brian and Jack. Agree for the most part, farewell and don't let the tail hit the runway on the way out.
That said, had a few good runs with them, mainly to Europe J class. Also, I recall the immediate post-911 fare of $300 R/T economy flight from DC-Charlotte-London. No one seemed to be flying then. Hmm. Anyhow, just flew USAir J class to MEX via PDX- PHX. Service was decent on only 2 segments. A cancelled flight at PHX after waiting 2 hours, then took off on another plane, 20 minutes out forward lavatory overflowed, turned around, rebooked for later flight. Here's the crux: no pro-active initiative shown, found out by asking at Admirals Club about rebooking, said I was rebooked. Huh? Never offered a lunch or dinner voucher (a 10 hour delay!), but I asked and they gave it to me. Again, sometimes the USAir experience was so frustrating watching some nice, but confused or overwhelmed goofy employees. They were genuine in their faults, and so I just laughed.
I'll be on the SFO to PHL portion (I booked when the original but somewhat ambiguous story came out in July, got first class but paid the standard mile rate). My first flight by myself when I was a kid was from PHL to PVD on Allegheny - so to commemorate the flight I have an Allegheny Airlines shirt. Just like the heritage planes, I love that the flight is now 1939!
all F class except for the last seg pricing at $1266 on AA.
It is no secret that I love US Airways.... and, for the most part, find it incredibly entertaining that the majority of people who criticize it so harshly have not flown a handful of flights on it over the past 10 years or so. It is no better or worse than any other airline when you start peeling back the layers. Anyone can jump on the 'I hate US Airways' bandwagon... but if you haven't...
It is no secret that I love US Airways.... and, for the most part, find it incredibly entertaining that the majority of people who criticize it so harshly have not flown a handful of flights on it over the past 10 years or so. It is no better or worse than any other airline when you start peeling back the layers. Anyone can jump on the 'I hate US Airways' bandwagon... but if you haven't flown it regularly since the AW merger and those bumps in the road, then your opinion carries no weight as far as I see it. It's no different for the other majors as well... there are those that LOVE xyz airline... and those that hate xyz airline.
That being said, as much as I would love to fly the entire route, that is also the weekend of the Chicago Seminars, which I look forward to attending each year. So I am flying to PHL the night before, catching the first leg to Charlotte and then on to Chicago.
How do you get all four segments for $719.10? In pricing it out on US.com, I am coming up with $1397.80.
Bahahahahahah. Agony Air... My parents have told me plenty of stories about them over the years. Re US Air, we used to call them Useless Air. I've not flown US Air in >10 years, but still am sad to see some of the old airlines disappearing. I'm more concerned about how much consolidation has gone on. Mostly, how high ticket prices have become and how low service levels have fallen to.
It's sad when...
Bahahahahahah. Agony Air... My parents have told me plenty of stories about them over the years. Re US Air, we used to call them Useless Air. I've not flown US Air in >10 years, but still am sad to see some of the old airlines disappearing. I'm more concerned about how much consolidation has gone on. Mostly, how high ticket prices have become and how low service levels have fallen to.
It's sad when I can do a round-trip from JFK to BKK for the same price as ROC to MCO. Something doesn' t add up there and I know the consolidation isn't helping.
That sounds like a fun way to celebrate!! We should have a gathering at each location at the Admirals club and a party on the plane. Who is booked so far?
I have to agree with Brian (Unless he's a USAir employee)
I grew up in Cleveland and flew it back when it was Allegheny Airlines, referred to by everyone as Agony Airlines. Then it became USAir which everyone then called US Scareways with plenty of good reason.
The fact that this brand will be retired is a good thing for everyone. The worst part of the brand was absolutely the employees. The sadest...
I have to agree with Brian (Unless he's a USAir employee)
I grew up in Cleveland and flew it back when it was Allegheny Airlines, referred to by everyone as Agony Airlines. Then it became USAir which everyone then called US Scareways with plenty of good reason.
The fact that this brand will be retired is a good thing for everyone. The worst part of the brand was absolutely the employees. The sadest most miserable group of people i've ever dealt with outside the post office. It's proof that the private sector can't necessarily do it better. I would have flow the post office airlines over USAir if such a thing existed.
Good riddance USAir. You will not be missed.
Let's make a prediction. Can we also say after that date, the next major announcement will be a change in the AAdvantage program?
@Mr_Tudball - after US left PIT the way it is, I doubt PIT really wants anything to do with them. And I say that as a PIT-based AA flyer now.
@Nick
Or Northwest ;)
If the flight follows the trajectory of the airline's history, I would assume that the service will get worse on each leg.
Why would anyone in their right mind want to "honor" US Airways? The trashiest airline to ever exist? Good riddance. Actually, I wouldn't mind being on that flight to tell Doug Parker what a P.O.S. he is.
"It's great to honor an airline with such a legacy."
I'm sorry, this is US Airways we're talking about, not Continental. ;-)
Update, $558.10 on AA.com (no codeshare)
You can still do the 4 trips for a total $719.10 (5381 miles) but the last flight will be a codeshare aa1939 instead of us1939.
Looks like for $20 more you could fly the complete route PHL-CLT-PHX-SFO-PHL. It would be a nice touch to do a loop around their old PIT hub on the final segment.
Surprised they don't fly PHX-LAS then LAS-PHL instead of SFO
Suprised they don't fly PHX-LAS then LAS-PHL instead of SFO
Bummed - already on a plane that day, so can't make it.