Bratislava for Christmas
Dec 19, 2022, 11:33 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Location: IAD
Programs: UA 1MM *G (recovered GS), SPG Nothing, Hilton Nothing, AA Nothing
Posts: 896
Bratislava for Christmas
Last year we had planned, as we have for most of the last three decades, to spend Christmas in Slovakia with family. But then the Delta variant rampage commenced and we ended up cancelling our trip. True we did take a few days to visit NYC via Acela, and we created a reasonable version of a Slovak Christmas Eve dinner complete with Kapustnica, but in hindsight we probably should have gone to Europe as planned. That perspective comes a year later, perhaps informed by my own thankfully mild case of Covid just in time to have run its course for our Summer trip, but in any case we eagerly anticipated a return to the Old Country this year, tripledemic or bust!
A pleasant surprise as we began planning travel was a real find - An AAdvantage Biz award ticket on AA metal that avoided punitive LHR fees.
Thus today I found myself in a pre-scheduled Uber to BWI (in hindsight not the best deal at about $75 - Incould have gotten a real time Uber for about $30 less).
So, the trip:
AA BWI-CLT-MUC (AA award, F and Biz)
LH/OS/LH MUC-(stopover)-VIE-FRA-IAD (UA saver award).
Follow along or ignore!!
A pleasant surprise as we began planning travel was a real find - An AAdvantage Biz award ticket on AA metal that avoided punitive LHR fees.
Thus today I found myself in a pre-scheduled Uber to BWI (in hindsight not the best deal at about $75 - Incould have gotten a real time Uber for about $30 less).
So, the trip:
AA BWI-CLT-MUC (AA award, F and Biz)
LH/OS/LH MUC-(stopover)-VIE-FRA-IAD (UA saver award).
Follow along or ignore!!
Dec 19, 2022, 11:47 am
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Location: IAD
Programs: UA 1MM *G (recovered GS), SPG Nothing, Hilton Nothing, AA Nothing
Posts: 896
AA 1223 BWI-CLT F/2B
For some strange reason, BWI only has a few TSA Pre lines open, such that the posted wait time for non Pre was 1-3 minutes while the Pre times were posted as 12-15! In the event the wait was only about 10 minutes and I was glad not to have to disgorge electronics from my small roller or my feet from my shoes
Boarding was fine and plenty of overhead space up front, and the very friendly and professional F FA offered full PDB. Free Apple Music streaming and a decent Barclays offer rounded out the IFE.
Wifi was $12 for the one hour flight so I demurred, but they offered a taste of WiFi if I watched an ad - 20 mins for watching a one minute ad seemed like a decent deal, until my first draft of this post was lost as I crossed the 20-minute threshold. Ah well.
The FA was great - attentive and helpful, so much so that I offered him one of my ancient (15 years?) AA appreciation certificates, which he assured me “still counted”.
On time arrival and off to the AAdmirals club, first the smallish and fairly crowded C club. In short order I decamped to the larger D/E club to await my TATL flight to MUC. Pretty tasty spicy Bloody Mary at the bar, fwiw.
For some strange reason, BWI only has a few TSA Pre lines open, such that the posted wait time for non Pre was 1-3 minutes while the Pre times were posted as 12-15! In the event the wait was only about 10 minutes and I was glad not to have to disgorge electronics from my small roller or my feet from my shoes
Boarding was fine and plenty of overhead space up front, and the very friendly and professional F FA offered full PDB. Free Apple Music streaming and a decent Barclays offer rounded out the IFE.
Wifi was $12 for the one hour flight so I demurred, but they offered a taste of WiFi if I watched an ad - 20 mins for watching a one minute ad seemed like a decent deal, until my first draft of this post was lost as I crossed the 20-minute threshold. Ah well.
The FA was great - attentive and helpful, so much so that I offered him one of my ancient (15 years?) AA appreciation certificates, which he assured me “still counted”.
On time arrival and off to the AAdmirals club, first the smallish and fairly crowded C club. In short order I decamped to the larger D/E club to await my TATL flight to MUC. Pretty tasty spicy Bloody Mary at the bar, fwiw.
