Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
- Billy Joel

Background
I am a law student, this is my life:



But, I am still a student which means…SPRING BREAK! I only recently started school again so this is my first Spring Break in eight years. The idea of a week of from school AND work was almost too amazing to contemplate, but they don’t let people who can’t brainstorm into law school. So the question was begged…what to do and where to go? As recently as last year when looking at my list of countries I realized I didn’t have one starting with H. The list of H countries is not the best:

- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary

I think that choice is obvious. Plus, I’d loved Prague when I was there a few years ago and I wouldn’t say no to a little more Eastern Europe. That settled the where, but what about the how, as in, how do I get there? Thankfully, last year I’d earned quite a set of AA miles and I decided to do a BA First redemption on the way back. Now, this ended up annoying me because so many people acted like I said I was going to inner tube back with their comments of “eurrrrhhh fuel surcharge” and “it’s an inferior product”. Well thanks, I usually fly RJs between RDU and JFK, I think I’ll be pretty impressed with my first ever Trans-Atlantic First. And $400 is a fair price to pay for it. And of course being me, I had to tack on a bunch of extra flights, including one to try the new AA A-319.

As for the way out, this is where being a Flyertalker pays off yet again. I was short a few UA miles for the award I wanted and so I contacted my good friend Jackal asking if he’d transfer me a few thousand. When he saw the fee associated ($150) he said he’d just get me the award and I could get him back later. What a guy, especially as he’s a 1K this meant I inherited his status for the trip which made for a much better experience.

I’d also been stockpiling Hilton points for a few years for something “aspirational”. I figured this had to qualify so I got two nights at the Hilton Budapest WestEnd (now called Budapest City). Annoyingly, I had to get back for work so I’d only get 51 hours or so in Budapest but I’m adept doing more with less. So the final plan was:

Monday March 10
US RDU-PIT (Y)
UA PIT-EWR (Y)
LH EWR-DUS-BUD (+1) (Y)

Thursday March 13
BA BUD-LHR (C)
BA LHR-IAD (F)

Friday March 14
US IAD-CLT (F)
AA CLT-DFW-RDU (F)



US 3508 RDU-PIT ERJ-145 0639-0800
I ain’t going to lie, it was a long week. Five midterms in one week (including two in one day thanks to a snow day) not to mention 54 hours working my nighttime delivery job. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I worked 12 PM to 12 AM Sunday and got a mere three hours sleep before heading off for this flight. And to be honest, I could have gone RDU-EWR at 11:30 AM or even 1 PM but would that add new lines to my FlightMemory?



No it wouldn’t!



What a relief seeing all those on time flights after the winter we’ve had. I also got through security quickly thanks to being a Brevet Star Gold (thanks to Jackal #1 of the day). Being early, I decided on a little breakfast.





Oh yeah!



Now for some lounging. Annoyingly, the US kiosk acknowledged all my flights but didn’t tell me it hadn’t taken my APIS (passport) info. I only had BPs for RDU-PIT and PIT-EWR (though my bag was checked all the way). I got into the lounge and showed the US BP which said “Star Gold” and the itinerary which said “Star Gold” and acted like I forgot my card at home. They let me in (thanks to Jackal #2).



I like the RDU US Club even though it feels a bit sterile as you can see. Though the bathrooms (one cubicle for the men, one for the women) is annoying.



Breakfast options, made me glad I went with the biscuits and gravy option.







I have absolutely no idea why this route still exists (and doubt it will last) but hey, I love a good old fashioned new route.





I see the US Airways Magazine has already started thinking post-merger!





Nice easy flight this morning. I was one of the few people who was awake on the flight and I even got a refill on my Diet Coke. Plus, it was Monday and I got to enjoy “Metropolitan Diary” in the New York Times.





A nice approach over very hazy Pittsburgh this morning.





Welcome to Pittsburgh in 2014, this is considered rush hour for US Airways.

UA 3839 PIT-EWR ERJ-145 0953-1129



This is PIT, maggot! DROP AND GIVE ME 20!





I hadn’t been to PIT since 2001 and wow was it different back then. The US gates especially feel tired and old and the “we have shops you can shop at!” doesn’t quite have the same appeal as it did in the late 1990’s.





Wow, both good choices. Think I’ll go with number two this time. This lounge was easier to get into than RDU though after seeing it, I can see why.







It was like being in some crappy, 1980’s era bank. Finding an outlet was a task worthy of Indiana Jones, as was finding non-scuffed furniture. But, it beats the gate (thanks Jackal #3!) and the wifi worked pretty well.





Now that’s just depressing, especially as so many were one-stops.



Plane’s here! Time to walk to the gate.





Trying to board ended up being an issue because US had never gotten my APIS info earlier. Even though I’d gone to the UA gate when I first got to PIT to get a UA BP, the machine rejected me. Two UA agents had to work for 15 minutes to figure out what to do. They eventually un-checked me in, then re-checked me in (which briefly cost me my exit row) and finally let me board. The upshot was I now had LH BPs.



Good to be on board after that frustration!





Another short and easy and very forgettable flight. I drank more Diet Coke, ate some snacks I brought (including a bag of DL pretzels, that’s showing United!) and started a new book. Then we descended into also hazy Newark (which is NOT New York/Newark, but that’s another rant) and I breathed a sigh of relief as this was the airport I was the most worried about getting to.



United 93 Gate.