Back in the spring, I decided to book a trip home over the long weekend. I figured a quick break in the middle of my internship might provide a nice time to relax a bit, and I was right. Once Friday rolled around I was looking forward to seeing my family, getting a home-cooked meal, and also catching up on sleep.
I had three choices – United out of Dulles, Southwest out of Baltimore, or US Airways out of National.
United was quickly crossed off the list, simply because I didn’t want to deal with the time or expense of getting to Dulles. In fact, I didn’t even check their fares.
So my decision was quickly narrowed between Southwest and US Airways. At first I was leaning towards Southwest, the carrier I’m most loyal to. They have plenty of nonstops from Baltimore to Providence, and plus I’ve never had a bad experience with them.
But in the end I went with US Airways – for a few reasons. First, they were only $5 more expensive than Southwest. I would save on airfare flying out of Baltimore, but those savings would have been quickly eaten up in the costs of getting to the airport. I was only carrying a bag onboard so Southwest’s generous luggage policy had no effect on my purchase decision. Most importantly, National is incredibly convenient for me because it has a Metro stop right across from the terminal.
So, with that background, let’s get to the trip report:
US Airways Flight 1724 (DCA-PVD)
Aircraft: Airbus A319, N716UW, New Colors
Seat: 15A
Pushback: 9:12 PM (3 minutes early)
Takeoff: 9:26 PM
Landing: 10:21 PM
Gate Arrival: 10:24 PM (8 minutes early)
I was only in the office for a couple of hours on Friday, so a friend and I decided to go spotting at Gravelly Point (highly recommended). Since I was getting off at the airport Metro stop anyway, I figured I’d head over to a US Airways kiosk and print out my boarding pass. I had checked-in online the night before, but didn’t have a chance to print my boarding pass.
US Airways encourages passengers to check-in online by offering boarding in Zone 3 – a decent perk considering it takes minimal effort. Naturally I was a bit surprised, then, when a Zone 5 boarding pass popped out of the kiosk. I figured that US Airways, like Southwest, would hold your boarding position after checking in online, but apparently not. I can’t say this is a huge complaint but I was a bit annoyed.
Anyway, I was back at the airport a few hours later to catch my flight. After traveling to and from Dulles earlier in the week, I really began to appreciate the convenience of National. Getting from my dorm room at Catholic University to my gate took only about 50 minutes, and that includes changing Metro lines midway. And naturally, getting to and from National is a lot cheaper than it is at Dulles.
Once I had cleared security (which was a breeze), I was on a mission: to have my first Five Guys burger. A bunch of my friends have highly recommended the place, and they were completely justified in doing so!
After my food excitement, I just hung out in the terminal, waiting for the flight to board. Since I was in the last boarding group, I was a bit concerned that there wouldn’t be any bin space left, but was happy to find some near my window seat (15A).
Once I had settled in, the flight crew began making their initial announcements. Oddly enough, at one point our flight was referred to as the “shuttle” to Providence. (If this is a sign that US is about to ramp up their PVD-DCA flights, I would be happy, of course. 
)
I was quite happy when our A319 pushed back early and taxiied to Runway 19 for takeoff. A left turn after departure offered some great views of DC, and later on in the flight I really enjoyed peering down at Philadelphia, and later on, New York all lit up.
Only soft drinks are complimentary on US Airways, with booze and snacks available for purchase. Considering the short length of the flight, I didn’t see any need in getting any food, so I just opted for a ginger ale. As soon as I put down my tray table I remembered that US Airways utilized onboard advertising.
Another new thing I noticed was an onboard menu – something that was added since I last flew on US Airways last july. On one hand, I thought
there wasn’t much of a point to it since most of what’s in there can be found in the in-flight magazine already. But the menu does give the airline more flexibility in terms of showing off the items available for purchase, and my guess is that the advertising that’s sold in the menu recoups the cost.
As we crossed over Long Island we began our descent into Providence. Our 180-degree right turn to align with Runway 23 offered some great views of downcity, and soon we landed and pulled into gate 5 for an early arrival.
US Airways Express Flight 1724 (PVD-DCA) – Operated by Republic
Aircraft: Embraer 175, N115HQ, New Colors
Seat: 14A
Pushback: 5:00 PM (10 minutes early)
Takeoff: 5:14 PM
Landing: 6:15 PM
Gate Arrival: 6:21 PM (18 minutes early)
When I arrived at Providence, I was happy to find a nice relic from a years ago on a sign outside the terminal. I could barely see it, but thanks to my friend Nicole’s photoshopping skills, here it is:
Anyway…
Security at Providence was a breeze, as it usually is. Once I got to my gate, I noticed that the inbound flight was a bit delayed, so I worried if we might leave a bit late, but those fears were unfounded as boarding began ontime. Since I had access to a printer this time, I was able to board with Zone 3, and then walked down a jetway that has seen better days.
I was looking forward to riding in this E-Jet. First, I would be able to cross the E175 off the list of aircraft I have yet to fly. Second, I think these
aircraft are very comfortable, and debunk some of the rumors about how uncomfortable regional jets are.
My only complaint is the windows. From my seat (14A), the window wasn’t very well aligned, and I had to look backward most of the time. From my look around the cabin, it seemed that many seats weren’t well aligned with the window. Though that’s more of an issue with US Airways’ decision on cabin configuration than anything.
Anyway, we pushed back early, and began taxiing to Runway 5, only to turn around a few seconds later to head to Runway 23. Soon, we were off.
The flight was pretty basic – I spent most of my time looking out of the window, and there certainly were some good views of Manhattan to be had.
Service was very quick and I opted for a Coke. Both Republic flight attendants were incredibly polite.
I was a bit bummed as we began our descent because it appeared that we would not be flying the River Visual approach for Runway 19, which I think is one of the most interesting and enjoyable out there. But I soon realized that we would be landing on Runway 33 – another fun final descent. Not as interesting as River Visual, but it was interesting – the pilot is about parallel to 1/19 until about the threshold of that runway and then makes a quick turn. Fun!
After that it was a quick taxi to the gate, and we ended up pulling in a bit early.
Concluding Thoughts
I’ll be honest. After spending twelve hours on Virgin America last week it was a bit underwhelming to board a US Airways A319 devoid of IFE. But I can’t say that matters a whole lot on a short flight, though. US Airways has been focusing on a lot of the fundamentals lately – on-time performance, cabin appearance, etc. And both my flights had clean aircraft, good service, and arrived early. Can’t really complain about that!
(Used in lieu of traditional signage behind the check-in desk.)
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