AUS-EWR via UA Y+
I left the house around 2:30p for my flight to Newark. Usually, I wouldn’t leave for the airport this early, but I had a client call that got scheduled at the last minute for 3:30p and these have been running long in the recent weeks, so I figured it was better to take it from the United Club rather than risk racing to the airport in rush-hour traffic. This turned out to be a good call as I-35 was already a parking lot even at 2:45p on a Wednesday. Cars were even deciding to make their own off-ramps to the service road.
Texans making their own off ramps
Finally free of the traffic
I made it to AUS a little after 3:00p and after parking in the garage I made my way down to the terminal. The path is a little long and convoluted depending on the level that you park on, but I still found myself at the CLEAR checkpoint by 3:15p. Security was a breeze and by 3:20p I was heading up the elevator to the United Club.
The United Club is one floor up from the concourse, but it is an interior space, with a few windows looking over the ticketing area but otherwise there wasn’t much of a view. The club definitely isn’t the nicest but, with a call that required some semi-privacy and peace and quiet, I forked over $59 to the UA lounge dragon and was admitted. After my call was over, I had the chance to briefly explore the club and gran a quick bite to eat before heading down to Gate 31 to catch my flight to EWR.
AUS United Club Bar
AUS United Club Water Station
AUS United Club Buffet
AUS United Club
United Airlines
UA 312
AUS-EWR (Austin-Bergstrom International – Newark Liberty International)
Seat: 22F (Economy)
B737-700 (N17753)
Scheduled: 6:15p-11:00p
Actual: 6:08p-10:30p
As a lowly UA Silver I still managed to gram seat 22F at check-in, which meant I would at least have a couple extra inches of legroom during our flight up to Newark. The GA’s boarded us quickly and we pushed off the gate a few minutes early. After a quick Taxi, we were airborne and headed towards New York. Once at altitude, the FAs came through the aisle with a snack and beverage service. UA generally has decently priced WiFi and I spent the $8 to connect for our 3+ hour flight. The flight went by quickly and before I knew it, we were descending into EWR.
Departing AUS
Golden hour
Snack/Beverage service
Blurry approach to EWR
Upon landing we had a short taxi to gate C114, which strangely was located on a lower level of the terminal, and we had to take an escalator up to the main level upon landing. Once curbside, I had a roughly 8-minute wait for an Uber before meeting my driver and heading into the city.
Arrival at EWR
Unbeknown to me, the Holland Tunnel into the city is closed daily from 11:00p-5:00a due to ongoing repair work necessitated by Superstorm Sandy. We arrived at 11:02p, just as the police were closing off the road. This allowed me to take the scenic tour through new Jersey on our way to the Lincoln Tunnel. This delay ended up adding 15 minutes to my trip and I arrived at 11:30p, one hour after landing.
Renaissance Chelsea Lobby Bar
Renaissance Chelsea Check-in
Last edited by wakesetter93; Oct 2, 2022 at 8:42 pm