Sounds great. You have a PM from me.

I arrive on the evening of the 10th. Outbound on the 11th. We'll talk.
See you in PIT.

Dan

Only one trip, Labor day:

11:55P Depart Los Angeles Int'l, CA (LAX)
7:21A Arrive Pittsburgh, PA (PIT) Sep 1 US Airways 54


9:00A Depart Pittsburgh, PA (PIT)
10:30A Arrive Watertown (ART) Sep 2 US Airways Express 4651 operated by AIR MIDWEST AIRLINES


12:50P Depart Watertown (ART)
2:20P Arrive Pittsburgh, PA (PIT) Sep 5 US Airways Express 4652 operated by AIR MIDWEST AIRLINES

6:15P Depart Pittsburgh, PA (PIT)
8:09P Arrive Los Angeles Int'l, CA (LAX) Sep 5 US Airways 45

Would have love F class, as well as creative routing but, couldn't figure it out. Had plenty of time, too. Lots, lots more to learn on Flyertalk.

I was able to book 3 nested trips from BWI to the west via ART. One of the biggest challenges was picking which cities to visit (I guess my trips aren't pure MRs).

Trip #1:
Thursday, July 14
US 1617, Dep. BWI 7:00 a.m., Arr. PIT 7:54 a.m.
US 4651, Dep. PIT 9:00 a.m., Arr. ART 10:30 a.m.

1 night layover in ART at the Econo Lodge ($41/night). I plan on visiting Ottawa while I'm up there (reserved a car with Enterprise).

Friday, July 15
US 4650, Dep. ART 6:30 a.m., Arr. PIT 8:00 a.m.
US 73, Dep. PIT 8:30 a.m., Arr. SFO 10:40 a.m.

Sunday, July 17
US 85, Dep. SFO 10:55 p.m., Arr. PIT 6:30 a.m. (on Monday)

Monday, July 18
US 4651, Dep. PIT 9:00 a.m., Arr. ART 10:30 a.m.
US 4652, Dep. ART 12:50 p.m., Arr. PIT 2:20 p.m.
US 1605, Dep. PIT 4:30 p.m., Arr. BWI 5:30 p.m.

Trip #2:
Friday, September 23
US 1617, Dep. BWI 7:00 a.m., Arr. PIT 7:54 a.m.
US 4651, Dep. PIT 9:00 a.m., Arr. ART 10:30 a.m.
US 4652, Dep. ART 12:50 p.m., Arr. PIT 2:20 p.m.
US 7, Dep. PIT 6:10 p.m., Arr. SEA 8:13 p.m.

Sunday, September 25
US 475, Dep. SEA 11:00 p.m., Arr. PIT 6:21 a.m. (on Monday)

Monday, September 26
US 4651, Dep. PIT 9:00 a.m., Arr. ART 10:30 a.m.
US 4652, Dep. ART 12:50 p.m., Arr. PIT 2:20 p.m.
US 1605, Dep. PIT 4:30 p.m., Arr. BWI 5:30 p.m.

Trip #3:
Thursday, November 3
US 1647, Dep. BWI 6:05 p.m., Arr. PIT 6:59 p.m.
US 4655, Dep. PIT 8:35 p.m., Arr. ART 10:00 p.m.

1 night layover in ART at the Econo Lodge ($41/night).

Friday, November 4
US 4650, Dep. ART 6:30 a.m., Arr. PIT 8:00 a.m.
US 625, Dep. PIT 10:15 a.m., Arr. LAS 11:40 a.m.

Sunday, November 6
US 640, Dep. LAS 11:55 p.m., Arr. PIT 6:58 a.m. (on Monday)
US 4651, Dep. PIT 9:00 a.m., Arr. ART 10:30 a.m.
US 4652, Dep. ART 12:50 p.m., Arr. PIT 2:20 p.m.
US 1605, Dep. PIT 4:30 p.m., Arr. BWI 5:30 p.m.

Is a little less than 4 hours enough time to leave the airport in PIT and go downtown?

In ART:

23 Sept
25 Sept

23 Nov
27 Nov

THanks very much - never flown US air (just Air Canada on *Alliance) and didn't realize this -- too bad they don't count towards 500 milers, but now I'm getting greedy :)

first report
 

Boy, oh, boy B6_Flyer, wish we could have seen this post earlier.
JAXPax and I did the scenic tour of the ART airport today.
Here are important things to know:

Arriving:
1) The seats on the propeller jet are fairly comfortable, as long as you are in row 4 or forward.
2) The temperature controls seemed a little erratic. Went from hot & stuffy to a little chilly.

Airport:
1) the airport is really in the middle of nowhere. And there is nothing to do.
2) The airport has a couple of vending machines.

Outside the airport:
1) The nearest convenience store is just 2 miles down the road.
2) The staff at the airport have a folder of restaurants, of which only a couple deliver. We tried the Chinese restaurant. Delivery was fairly quick. They told us 40 minutes to deliver, and I think it came in 20.
3)There is a bird poop splattered picnic table right in front of the terminal. You might want to bring a plastic tablecloth with you. And booze.
4) There used to be a Thrifty rental counter at the airport until about a month ago. Supposedly some other company will be taking that over, but noone knows yet which company.
5) The only hotel which will pick you up is the Days Inn. And they have a Denny's next door, and advertise "a separate lounge".
6) The airport staff say there are taxi services, but they probably will gouge you. No prices were mentioned.

Leaving
1) The TSA staff were very, very thorough. Maybe cause they don't have so many people to practice upon. Or maybe because of the proximity to the border. Either way, I was wanded and patted down more intensely than at any other airport.

JAXPax I'm sure will want to post his pics.

Crap, one of my trips has a brief stay at the Econo lodge. Anyone who uses the cabs, lets compare prices. They'll never expect us to be organized! I'll try for the Days Inn for the others.

Trip 1 - Jun 05 - Jun 06 (in at 10pm, out at 6am. yuck! hope we don't hit any elk on the way to the airport)

Trip 2 - Jun 12 - Jun 13 (in at 10pm, out at 6am)

Trip 3 - Aug 11 - Aug 15 (SFO-ART-SFO nested with 4)

Trip 4 - Aug 12 - Aug 14 (ART-SEA-ART nested w/ 3)

hmmm. cedric thinks I might be able to borrow the hose out front to shower if I choose to jog in from downtown.

I've posted a few pictures on one of the other threads on the topic:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...=422433&page=5

All in all, an interesting trip and everything ran surprisingly smoothly given six segments in one day through a variety of airports with turboprops and Mesa/Air Midwest involved.

The B1900D is quite fun.... small enough for people in opposite ends of the plane to carry on loud conversations before the engine starts (as SeeYa can attest about the husband/wife the first officer split up).
It seems they had the heat on the entire flight (especially the ART-PIT leg) but it came out at floor level. Meanwhile, there are gaspers/air vents in the armrest that were blowing freezing cold air.

I'm glad that there were two of us there in the same boat. I'm not sure doing the Watertown shuffle alone would be quite as entertaining.

Are there even an X-ray machine and walk-through metal detector at Watertown, or is everything done by hand?

Oh, there is a metal detector and an x-ray machine, AND that table with the bomb-swab machine. Though it seems they like to wand people in addition.

I had a good laugh when I first saw ART airport as well! I have lived here for nearly four years now, but have never flown out of ART, generally because fares from ART are usually about $100 higher than fares from SYR.

One thing about ART- Don't get there 2 hours early. Maybe 20 minutes, but not 2 hours. Anyways, I have to run somewhere real quick, I'll post more in about 20 mins.

BTW- Love the pictures!

Ok now, about the airport-

It is about 5 miles outside the "city." Also within about 10 mintes of the airport is beautiful Sacket's Harbor. However, there is nothing around the airport for a couple miles.

Hotels-

Best hotel IMO is the Best Western(?) in downtown Watertown. Right across from the library, the state office building, and public square. About a 10-minute ride from the airport. If you are here for a day or two your best bet is to rent a car and drive down to Syracuse. Lots more hotel options there.

Thanks for the update!!!

I think I'll just bring a book and/or videos (they do have power outlets in the terminal, don't they? :eek: ) and stay inside security for my "connections" going PIT-ART-PIT on my XXX-PIT-ART-PIT-YYY itineraries. :)

You can't stay inside security. There isn't really a secure area.... when the inbound flight lands, they start processing the few passengers through the single checkpoint. They've got a cubicle wall with a couple of hard benches up next to the window that you have to walk behind the security equipment to get to. Other than that, even if you sat in there, I'm sure they'd make you get rescreened as the whole area is basically unattended except when they are getting ready to board a flight.