US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - looooong connection in PIT?

I have another question for all you USAir Gods: I'm trying to book a FRA-SFO-FRA roundtrip on USAir w/outbound 12/24 and return 1/5.
Coming back, the only option for the fare I want is a redeye SFO-PIT (I think it arrives around 7 am) and a half day there before taking the flight to FRA around 5 pm.
My questions:
1. Is a redeye transcon something to be strictly avoided (it's been a long time since I've done a redeye in the U.S.A.)? If (and I doubt this given the time of year) I manage to upgrade both segments with a SWU, will that change things?
2. Are there worthwhile things to see during my short stay in PIT? Is there good (cheap) public transit from the airport into town?
3. Can I still have my bags checked all the way to FRA with such a long connection?

I hope some of you can give me that good advice I've gotten used to getting here.
Yonatan

hopefull these help answer some of your questions

1) redeye will be a standard get on the plane and go to sleep affair. dont expect much service but if you upgrade at least you'll sleep a little more comfortable

2) there is a public transit bus which leaves the landside terminal from the baggage claim area. it is run by the city and goes into town and oakland (the university area) and cost around a couple bucks. pretty convenient and frequesnt service. just make sure you take the route map and ask where to the bus stops for pick up b/c it is not always the same as the drop off point.

3) you wont have any problem checking through to FRA. esp since its an online connex.

Originally posted by yonatan:
If (and I doubt this given the time of year) I manage to upgrade both segments with a SWU, will that change things?


Yonatan: If I am going to make a reservation online and try and upgrade using either miles or systemwide upgrades, I use the "Put reservation on hold" feature on the website after I've chosen the appropriate flights and logged in all my information (including the best seats in coach I can get).

Then, once the reservation is on hold, I immediately call the Preferred line to see if the flights I have chosen are available for upgrade. If they are, I click the "Buy Ticket Now" button that is on the confirmation page of the "Hold Reservation" process. Then I'll call the Preferred line again, have them pull up the record and perform the upgrade. If the upgrade seats are not available, I'll continue my search.


Good luck and enjoy your trip!!!



[This message has been edited by geo1004 (edited 09-20-2000).]

Interestingly enough geo, I was able to put a reservation on hold, wait for the Travelworks system to e-mail me about the held reservation (I assume, meaning it's in the system), and then call Int'l Reservations and confirm an upgrade. So, I still have a little time before having to commit to a purchase. But you've probably got the right idea - since it doesn't make sense to even hold if there are no upgrade seats.

Another option to kill time at PIT is if you like shopping you can take the Airport Flyer (28X) for $1.25 to Robinson Town Center (first stop). Or take a taxi for about $20. You'll find an IKEA there; some people can easily kill many hours in there http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

You can also walk across the freeway (on an overpass -- no well defined sidewalk, but it is possible) to the Pointe which has a bunch of food places and other big chain stores. I would highly suggest renting a car to tour this area, but its possible on foot.

There's also a minigolf and driving range right near the airport (Scally's).. taxi to there should be about 10 bucks -- no public transportation. There's also a Lazer Tag/Family Fun Center type place near the airport.

You can also cross over to the NorthSide from downtown (see indo's directions) to check out the Science Center, the stadiums (3 for now!), or a little bit farther to the Andy Warhol museum. The 'Pittsburghy' attractions are primarily downtown, Northside and Oakland, near the universities. All of these are easily reachable by bus.

There are enough things to do to kill a day -- just do a search for Pittsburgh Convention and Visitor's Bureau on yahoo or similar. Enjoy! If you have any more specific questions you can post or email me.

On the other questions of your posts indo and geo are right on the money.

CLTFlyer one warning:

I did the same thing.

Put a reservation on hold.
Called Intl and upgraded it.
Then ticketed the reservation.

When USAirways.COM ticketed it, they TOOK out the upgrade! Luckily I had called back to check and had them put it back in. Of course my preferred seats were gone already <grrrrrr>...

Originally posted by yonatan:
2. Are there worthwhile things to see during my short stay in PIT? Is there good (cheap) public transit from the airport into town?

You can take the bus into downtown and/or oakland (Pitt, CMU) from the terminal. As has been mentioned, there are driving ranges, family fun centers, indoor shooting range with rentals, shopping, and all kinds of stuff to do near the airport.

Or, if you want to blow some time shopping, you could kill that time in the airport. www.realpittsburgh.com (http://www.realpittsburgh.com) or similar for more details...

dg1 - thanks for the warning - I'll double check once I purchase the ticket.

ClueByFour, that's http://www.airmall.com

Enjoy

Better yet, get a cheap room at an airport hotel through priceline or other day rate, and rest until your flight to FRA.

Just a thought.

[This message has been edited by Arrzee (edited 09-21-2000).]

There is a gym at PIT. For about $10-$15 you can rent shorts and a towel and have a nice workout. That should kill about two hours.
http://www.airportfitness.com./locations.html

Jay

And there is now an airport hotel on airport grounds, connected via moving walkways (actually sitting in the long term parking lot). The Pittsburgh Airport Hyatt. I'm sure they have day rates and if you like looking at airplanes most of their rooms have great runway views.

Thanks for the advice everyone.
After taking the 10pm PHL-LGW flight, I decided that one redeye per eastbound is enough - to my annoyance the cabin lights were dimmed for only three hours of the 6+ hours flight so I did not have much of a chance to catch any sleep.
I decided to fly one day earlier, when a connecting flight to PIT is available in the morning. But I´ve printed out all your advice - just in case I get bumped at PIT during the post-New Year´s crush http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif.
Yonatan