ajs@hpfcla.UUCP (03/09/84)
Avoid Arrow Airlines unless you really HAVE to save a little money,
regardless of the discomfort. Unlike some other cut-rate airlines (and
other businesses), Arrow gives you just what you pay for and not an
ounce more. We flew them to Florida and back in the last month. Here
are the specific gripes:
* Lousy toll-free number. They are practically unreachable, so don't
plan on confirming your flight(s). After hours you can get through
without a busy signal, but after twenty (!) minutes on the recording
you get the idea they've all gone home.
* Generally poor organization. A month after we purchased the tickets,
two days before the flight, they called me to ask why I hadn't bought
them yet. This is very reassuring, when you consider you have to buy
them three days in advance or be bumped.
When we got on the plane to return, we discovered that they had mixed
up most of the seating reservations. Not much fun standing in a
crowded aisle with a baby in arms, hoping for a decent pair of seats,
after arriving early to get good ones plus a hold on a third. Their
seating reservation system practically guarantees trouble.
They switched to a different airline's ticket counter, a long ways
away, with no notice posted outside the terminal (where you can see it
BEFORE dropping the luggage).
* Old, dirty, crowded planes. The seats are very narrow; you can see
this from the way they don't match the windows. Carry-on space is
limited; no room for strollers, even.
Summary: You don't save enough to offset the hassles.
Alan Silverstein, Hewlett-Packard Fort Collins Systems Division, Colorado
{ihnp4 | hplabs}!hpfcla!ajs, 303-226-3800 x3053, N 40 31'31" W 105 00'43"