Erratic loads BOS-DCA
May 25, 2011, 8:22 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: UA MM
Posts: 1,580
Erratic loads BOS-DCA
Just a heads up, friends. I've flown the shuttle between BOS and DCA gosh, I'm sure more than 50 times. Go to the airport, walk up to the machine, get a ticket for the next flight. OK sometimes Sunday PM have to wait one flight.
So on Monday I was shocked when I showed up at Logan at 10:15 A and the next available seat was 8P!! I stood by a number of flights but there were very few seats going and those of higher status were getting them. Eventually got to DCA, but not on US. And, Monday evening, the 9P return flight for Wednesday was sold out and there was but one seat left on the 7:30 - for which I paid the princely sum of $800!
I gather it might have to do with graduation events, e.g. Harvard Med is tomorrow (Thursday) and there may have been weekend graduation events over last weekend. So probably a time-of-year phenom but just passing my observations on.
So on Monday I was shocked when I showed up at Logan at 10:15 A and the next available seat was 8P!! I stood by a number of flights but there were very few seats going and those of higher status were getting them. Eventually got to DCA, but not on US. And, Monday evening, the 9P return flight for Wednesday was sold out and there was but one seat left on the 7:30 - for which I paid the princely sum of $800!
I gather it might have to do with graduation events, e.g. Harvard Med is tomorrow (Thursday) and there may have been weekend graduation events over last weekend. So probably a time-of-year phenom but just passing my observations on.
May 25, 2011, 8:43 pm
#2
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: pvr
Programs: US C.P.
Posts: 546
Just a heads up, friends. I've flown the shuttle between BOS and DCA gosh, I'm sure more than 50 times. Go to the airport, walk up to the machine, get a ticket for the next flight. OK sometimes Sunday PM have to wait one flight.
So on Monday I was shocked when I showed up at Logan at 10:15 A and the next available seat was 8P!! I stood by a number of flights but there were very few seats going and those of higher status were getting them. Eventually got to DCA, but not on US. And, Monday evening, the 9P return flight for Wednesday was sold out and there was but one seat left on the 7:30 - for which I paid the princely sum of $800!
I gather it might have to do with graduation events, e.g. Harvard Med is tomorrow (Thursday) and there may have been weekend graduation events over last weekend. So probably a time-of-year phenom but just passing my observations on.
So on Monday I was shocked when I showed up at Logan at 10:15 A and the next available seat was 8P!! I stood by a number of flights but there were very few seats going and those of higher status were getting them. Eventually got to DCA, but not on US. And, Monday evening, the 9P return flight for Wednesday was sold out and there was but one seat left on the 7:30 - for which I paid the princely sum of $800!
I gather it might have to do with graduation events, e.g. Harvard Med is tomorrow (Thursday) and there may have been weekend graduation events over last weekend. So probably a time-of-year phenom but just passing my observations on.
May 25, 2011, 8:52 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: UA MM
Posts: 1,580
No but it did get me an aisle seat and the full can of coke.
May 25, 2011, 9:04 pm
#4
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: US Airways Chairmans Preferred
Posts: 148
I'm sure graduation events played into it, but on Monday, LGA was posting some delays and cancelling some of the shuttle flights from BOS, so a lot of people were moving to different flights that day to avoid the ground delays.
May 25, 2011, 10:06 pm
#5
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, SPG Gold, HHonors Diamond, Avis President's Club
Posts: 386
On Friday last week I was supposed to connect in DCA then shuttle on to BOS. My flight had a mechanical issue and the delay was going to make me miss my 1:30 flight, and there was not a single seat available for the rest of the day. I had to go to PHL and take my chances instead. I thought that was odd.
May 26, 2011, 5:48 am
#6
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
US Shuttle is essentially an elite route. There are CP doing walk-up all the time and others who may not have quite the status but are on corporate rates which treat discounted bucket as full Y for all purposes. This creates serious availability problem for *S/*G and US elites at below CP. For instance, GS desk at UA can probably secure a seat from inventory when the kiosk won't. Options are DL (which isn't technically a shuttle, but who cares, it's a relatively frequent aircraft), Acela which seems long on the BOS-WAS run, but not really if you can't find a US seat for 6-8 hours. Union Station is 15 mins on Metro from DCA, and AirTran which runs to IAD from BOS. If you are in BOS, the Airtran option is appealing. If at DCA, not so much to run out to IAD.
May 26, 2011, 7:48 am
#7
Join Date: May 2005
Location: SJC/BWI
Programs: UA 1P
Posts: 45
Why not BWI?
Seems to me if you're going to be stuck at the airport that long, why not just take a BOS-BWI flight (Jetblue/Airtran/Southwest all have large amounts of non-stops), and if it's a weekday, hop on the Amtrak or MARC commuter train from BWI to DC (weekends I guess you'd have to take the taxi/bus to the Greenbelt metro). Or just do a one-way car rental from BWI to DCA (which is usually treated as a co-location for most rentals).
May 26, 2011, 9:00 am
#8
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA | IAD | BWI | BOS | OSL
Programs: AMEX Plat, AA EXP, DL Diamond Medallion, US, B6, SPG Gold,Marriott Gold,Hilton Gold,Starbucks Gold
Posts: 1,388
Seems to me if you're going to be stuck at the airport that long, why not just take a BOS-BWI flight (Jetblue/Airtran/Southwest all have large amounts of non-stops), and if it's a weekday, hop on the Amtrak or MARC commuter train from BWI to DC (weekends I guess you'd have to take the taxi/bus to the Greenbelt metro). Or just do a one-way car rental from BWI to DCA (which is usually treated as a co-location for most rentals).
May 26, 2011, 9:08 am
#9
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL, AA 1MM LT GLD, SPG PLAT, National Exec Selc, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Silver
Posts: 8,278
May 26, 2011, 10:24 am
#10
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, SPG Gold, HHonors Diamond, Avis President's Club
Posts: 386
Jet Blue now does BOS-DCA about 5 times a day.
May 26, 2011, 11:37 am
#11
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA | IAD | BWI | BOS | OSL
Programs: AMEX Plat, AA EXP, DL Diamond Medallion, US, B6, SPG Gold,Marriott Gold,Hilton Gold,Starbucks Gold
Posts: 1,388