LUS: (Almost) Everything you wanted to know about the LUS / AA Shuttle
 

Thanks so much for that post! It's really good info.

Great post and fantastic summary.

Minor comments:
The Boston MBTA website is incorrect.

Might want to add that the car service is $55 for the LGA service. You might want to lower the LGA cab estimates slightly. $35 to Midtown East w/ tax and tip is easily doable. LGA also has express busses to the city - NY Airport Service and NYC airporter, although NYAS is on a downward slide since the contract loss. BOS cab fare seems high as well, it's very accessible to the city via the Ted Williams Tunnel to the financial district and the Sumner/Callahan tunnels to Back Bay. $20-$30 would be my range.

I would consider removing the UA RCC and CO PC comments. I can't imagine any passenger using it. At LGA and BOS, there are airside clubs that are a hike from the shuttle gates. The RCC and PC are in separate terminals. At DC the US Club is at the shuttle gate entrance and is much more convenient than trying to use another lounge.

Might worth mentioning the Bloomberg terminals, lounge chairs and working areas at LGA.

For connections at LGA: PIT and CLT usually together with the shuttle gates. non-E170 express is in the other concourse (which is a hike). At BOS, I've seen CLT and PHL at the shuttle gate area. West and Express are always in the main part of the terminal.

At BOS - separate shuttle check-in and security. Might also worth noting the "corporate check-in" at both BOS / DCA. (i don't recall if LGA had it. I should know this, but typically use the first class check-in and line)

Drinks are served from the rear in coach.

Lack of pillows and blankets in first on shuttle flights.

Might worth noting the difference of the US Airways Shuttle vs. the Delta Shuttle. (US advantages: all mainline, first class on every flight, assigned seating). DL advantages: Marine air terminal which is closer to the city (but also lacks amenities)

^ Thanks dcpatti for putting this together!!! ^

I'll add it to the threads in the sticky at the top of the forum.

Worth noting that Shuttle is a business product aimed at high-volume business travellers. It is brutally expensive absent a negotiated corporate discount or the very occasional fare sale and there are plenty of people willing to pay the walk-up fare. With an improving economy (more business travel) and rising fuel prices, fares will go up through the summer. Alternatives for leisure or business travellers on a budget (all discussed elsewhere, so no details hee): Amtrak (2 hrs. 50 mins on Acela, 3:15 on Regional); Jet Blue: IAD-JFK and various other routes out of BWI).

The Shuttle is exactly what it is called, a Shuttle. 35 mins wheels up to wheels down from DCA to LGA. No lie-flat sleeper suites or lobster thermidor, but a quick and efficient vehicle to get you to your meeting or back home.

At BOS there is a separate check-in counter (with kiosks) just for the shuttle flights. There's also a separate security line for the shuttle gates, although as you mention those gates also serve some other mainline flights.

Overall, great summary! Might want to say a bit about checked bags -- I have always been confused about whether you can check bags for shuttle flights at the regular counters. Sometimes the regular counter at BOS takes the bags, but sometimes they direct me down to the Shuttle counter. I have even seen employees roll bags from the main counter down to the shuttle counter -- are the conveyor belts really not connected?

That may be true for the LGA shuttle, but the DCA-BOS shuttle can be very affordable. 14- or 21-day advance purchase can get you a seat for about $65-$85 one-way. Not bad! This has been true since about November 20101, when B6 entered the nonstop DCA-BOS market.

Also, although there are other flight alternatives between DC and Boston (B6 out of DCA, and many others out of BWI and IAD), Amtrak between DC and Boston is a long journey.

Thanks for the clarificaitons and suggestions. I've incorporated some and will incorporate some more a little later today.

On the blankets and pillows --- these are so hit-or miss-- I do occasionally see them on the Shuttle, and I frequently do not see them on other short Mainline flights, so we can just leave that one as YMMV.

Also leaving in the bit about the RCC's; I know a few folks who don't mind a hike and a second trip through Security if the reward is free liquor drinks :D

Financially, Amtrak is often a cheaper option than flying between DC and NY, but I consistently have issues on Amtrak. Especially in the summer, when trains have to keep lower speeds and break down more often due to the heat. I've had the 3.5 hour journey sometimes take 7 hours on the train; at least US has another plane leaving in an hour so if this one breaks, you get on the next one. If the planes flew to Penn Station and Amtrak went to LGA I'd never, ever take Amtrak; usually if I need to go to NYC, I book a refundable Amtrak ticket in advance, and wait to see if the airfares come down. You can actually get some good deals between DCA and LGA especially on the weekends, if you wait till the weekly e-savers come out.

Amtrak DC-Boston would just be brutal.

In Boston there is indeed a separate security line for the shuttle gates. However it rarely has a separate first class line, and depending on the timing can have a long line. If that happens (and particularly if you are entitled to use the first class line) you are better off turning around, walking down the concourse to the regular US checkpoint and going through there. Once through security, make a u-turn to the left, do not go downstairs, but follow the hallway to the side back to the shuttle gates. If you want to stop by the US club it is also just past this security checkpoint.

Just a side note on the blankets and pillows...they are available on every flight. If you don't see them on the seats just ask for one. Lots of f/a's, myself included, bag them up and store them in the back of the closet. Too many of them are "walking" to the back of the airplane from people in Y grabbing them off of the seats and personally I think it's tacky to have to chase them down and take them back. It's just easier to do "out of sight, out of mind". Just ask, I can guarantee they're probably there some place. ;)
One other note...the only snacks available in Y are the granola in the morning. None of the Market Place snacks or meals are ever available on the shuttle. Also as mentioned before, there are no mixed drinks in Y. We offer complimentary beer and wine after 10 a.m.

I think it's also important to note that DL does not brand DCA-BOS nonstops as Shuttle flights. Currently, US operates the only real "Shuttle" service between the two cities.

Interesting. I've never once seen CLT or PHL flights leave from the Shuttle gate area. PHL (including the FastPath operation, when it was still being promoted) always departed from the gates closest to the Club in the main terminal. I have consistently seen PHX and LAS flights leave from the last two gates at the end of the Shuttle terminal. I've been on the 5 and 6 PM BOS-DCA flights many times and there's always a ton of LAS pax in the security line (as I believe the LAS flight usually departs at 6:00 PM). YMMV, I suppose.

All flights that are designated as DL Shuttle have a FC cabin and all DL planes including DLCNX will have wifi by the end of this year.

Every once in a while, the first CLT or PHL flight of the day (5am and 5:30am respectively) will leave out of the Shuttle terminal. Same goes for PHX and LAS flights - I just saw a PHX flight board from B4 the other day. It's definitely the exception, and not the norm. I think this generally happens when there's an operational or logistical hiccup.

What about non-refundable F availability?
 

I am NYC based and need to earn a few AirNZ airpoints dollars (54 to be exact) rather quickly to requalify for NZ gold. I can do this by flying numerous shorthaul discount coach sectors at 15-25 APD per sector, or one short F class sector (60APD).

A few weeks ago, I noticed that US had a published discount F fare for LGA-BOS of $400 or $200 one way, which was perfect for me, and there seemed to be good availability on any day I looked. However, when I went to book it a few days ago, the far no longer seems to exist and the 'First: non-refundable' column has zero availability for any date, no matter how far into the future.

Was the $400 round trip fare I found just a temporary promo? Or is US likely to be reintroducing cheaper F on these flights?

Alternatively, is there any other booking method which might still have access to those cheap fares?