Philly Road Warrior | Most say they'd take a bus between gate, plane at PHL

We were overwhelmed - and gratified - with your response to last Monday's column about the running dispute between US Airways and Philadelphia International Airport over use of international gates. We received almost 40 e-mails and phone calls, a record for any single subject. The 25 comments posted on the column at the Road Warrior blog (

» READ MORE: http://go.philly.com/roadwarrior

) as of Friday were also the most since we started the blog in January.

To quickly recap, the column reviewed the move of Delta Air Lines from Terminal E to A-East, so that it can save money and Southwest Airlines has room to expand in E. US Airways opposed the move, saying A-East gates should be reserved for international flights so it can keep expanding its seasonal service to Europe. The airport says US Airways can still expand its schedule if it will use "passenger transport vehicles" or high-level buses, which the airport owns, to load and unload passengers when a gate isn't available.

Between the comments posted online and those who called or wrote to us, about five out of six of you said sure, I'll ride a bus from an airplane to the terminal if it speeds up the loading and unloading process on a long international flight. Many of you noted that you had experience being bused between terminal and plane at Frankfurt, London Heathrow, Paris de Gaulle and other major international gateways, and it didn't ruin your trip. As usual, some also took the opportunity to complain about other aspects of US Airways' service.

Those who don't like the idea of riding a bus between the gate and plane were passionate about it, citing overcrowding when people have lots of carry-on bags and the time it can take to load or unload a crowded flight. Those are also US Airways' main objection to using the vehicles at PHL.

One of the most thoughtful responses we received was from a US Airways flight attendant. (It was sent just to us and we'll post it at the blog if the writer gives us permission.) The writer urged us to look at the bigger picture of which airline offers PHL the most service and is the only U.S. carrier with transatlantic flights here. He acknowledged that the airline's employees know how much its service needs to improve. He also cautioned those who say "bring on the buses" that the PHL vehicles are "a nightmare" because of their condition, something the airport naturally disagrees with.

We've noted in this space before the good news about PHL: You can fly nonstop to more than 130 cities, and fares are lower now that US Airways has more competition. Chances are at least six in 10 that your flight will be on time, and better than that on a clear day. Most passengers get checked bags, with the contents intact, in a reasonable amount of time.

But that's simply part of getting what you pay for. Our job is to report as much information as we can about what's going at the airlines and the airport and then ask what you think. If reasonable people disagree about how to use the airport's limited real estate, including gates, we write about it. When many of you say you're not getting a good value for your money, that's news, too.

Let's keep this conversation going. This week, tell us what you think is good, or even great, about PHL and the airlines that serve it. If you can't think of anything nice to say, tell us that, too.

In other news last week, the airlines tried for the 16th time this year to raise fares. American led the charge this time. A sign of how strong demand is: 10 of the 16 tries have succeeded. The carriers have good reason to worry about their revenue, of course, with crude-oil prices at record levels.

Amtrak, a travel lifeline for thousands of road warriors every day in the Northeast, may be on its way to getting more stable funding. The Senate adopted legislation that would provide $11.4 billion over six years, enough for Amtrak to do more track and equipment maintenance and to look at expanding service. The bill still needs House approval and must be signed by the president, who has been trying for six years to curtail or close down Amtrak or sell its operations to private investors.