N934HA, the aircraft involved in the gear-up landing pictured at Charlotte, NC back in 2009 before receiving the new livery. Photo: Angelo Ballachino – OPShots Contributor //
News reports immediately identified the aircraft that made a belly landing at Newark International Airport this past Saturday morning as a USAirways airplane. The flight was referred to as a USAirways flight. But buried somewhere in the news reports the next day, was the information that the aircraft was in fact operated by Piedmont Airlines, not USAirways.Of course, you can understand the news media’s confusion – just as you can imagine the passengers’ confusion. The aircraft is painted in USAirways livery, carries a USAirways flight number and is listed on Arrival and Departure boards as a USAirways flight. It operates under the name USAirways Express . For passengers, they most likely bought their tickets on a USAirways website – especially since Piedmont doesn’t sell tickets from its own website. [Full disclosure, I worked for almost 30 years at USAir.]
via Newark Gear-Up Landing Raises Same Old Question: What Airline Are You Really Flying? – Forbes.
