Part 1/2: Prologue

Part 1: New York LaGuardia (LGA) to Washington National on US Airways

Part 2: Washington Dulles (IAD) to Frankfurt (FRA) on United

Part 3: FRA – Vienna (VIE) – Skopje (SKP) on Austrian

Part 4: Arrival in Skopje, and Day 1 in Skopje

Part 5: Day 2 in Skopje

Part 6: A bit more Skopje

Part 7: Daytrip to Pristina, Kosovo

Part 8: SKP – Zagreb (ZAG) – VIE on Croatian Airlines

Part 9: VIE – Erbil, Iraq (EBL) on Austrian

Part 10: Erbil, Iraq

Part 11: EBL – VIE on Austrian

Part 12: Hilton Vienna Stadtpark

Part 13: VIE – Zurich (ZRH) – JFK on Swiss

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Part 1: New York LaGuardia (LGA) to Washington National on US Airways

In retrospect, it seems fitting that the above image was one of the first I saw on the M60 bus to LaGuardia. The last time I had approached LGA by bus had been when I had finished my excruciating summer term, and was bleary-eyed, disoriented, and simply wanted to leave New York for a brief visit to family and friends in San Francisco. But, I had still managed to scrape together some coherence in my head, and wonder, when, exactly, they were going to replace the Northwest Airlines logo on the terminal, leaving only a Delta logo, and continuing to eradicate any signs of the prior airlines’ existence post-merger.

That morning, before the departure of my first flight from LGA to DCA on the US Airways Shuttle, I received my answer. Work had finally begun. I, of course, wanted to find a bunch of answers myself this trip – no, nothing spiritual, otherworldly, occult, or bizarre, but simply wanted my upcoming trip to Iraq, Macedonia, and Kosovo to be a time of personal reflection over the last summer, and how I would handle the upcoming year, with organic chemistry, biology, various labs, MCAT taking, and oh, med school applications.  I wanted time to think, mull, ruminate, and set some goals.

Oh, and when I returned, have some answers for next year, and be ready to start anew.

The M60 took me to the US Airways terminal, and I disembarked, actually very excited to try the US Airways shuttle. I headed upstairs to check in.

Rather dingy US Airways area on the lower level of LGA.

US Airways check in area.

You see, this idea of the Shuttle flight has always intrigued me. It seems to be linked to this larger trope of East Coast mystery I had had for much of my life, growing up in San Francisco, attending school in Berkeley, and living in Berkeley for a year after college. Before I moved to New York City for more school, this idea of the East Coast shuttle flight seemed like an otherworldly entity – something filled with cachet and intrigue reserved for people on the East Coast, who need to connect Boston, Washington, DC, and New York with frequency. Yes, on the West Coast we had the former Shuttle by United, and continue to have frequent departures to Los Angeles from the Bay Area, but none of these flights drips with that quintessential East Coast allure as the Shuttle. Perhaps, I thought, if I finally grabbed a shuttle flight, I would understand more of this mysterious land – understand the people, their connects, and their reasons for these highly specialized flight. I felt like taking the Shuttle might finally integrate me more into this mysterious coast. Seriously – for a west coast kid, the east coast was a huge mystery – what with the Shuttle flights, boat shoes and seersucker pants on Cape Cod, ubiquitous Dunkin’ Donuts franchises, names for towns such as Newportsmouthdevonshire, and the fact, that like countries in Europe, each state seemed s0 easily accessible – they actually used Amtrak out there! For me, this could potentially be an anthropologically significant experience. I might soon be among members of Congress, high-powered business people, government officials, and someone with the authority to sigh, look at his watch, and say, “I’ll be on the next shuttle to DCA” and then head down to clean up a mess that’s developed within his corporation. Soon, I would be sitting within the ranks of Wall Street Journal ready, briefcase toting, Blackberry crunching folks.

I checked in at the machine, convinced that US Airways (US) wouldn’t be able to print my boarding pass without human assistance (I always seem to find trouble in the supposed “seamless” connection of the Star Alliance partners – they always seem to have trouble printing tickets issued by United), but miraculously, its pixelated graphical interface told me I had a boarding document coming. I headed towards security.

The intrigue and the mystery of the US Airways Shuttle is only compounded by this sign and its exclusivity factor. Did I now fit into the ranks of the East Coasters?

Shuttle Check-in Area

Security was a wonderful experience. The Shuttle has a tunnel in which one proceeds through security. There are ample TSA officers, not too many people in line, and it’s not rushed, whatsoever. Sure, it’s marred by the monotonic bark of a TSA officer reminding everyone “to keep their boarding passes” with them, but – and I absolutely mean it – this was the finest security checkpoint, next to the Lufthansa First Class terminal private security screening I have ever experienced. I was through in minutes, without my usual level of agitation, anger, or angrily composed letters of complaint in my head.

I had about 45 minutes, so I proceeded through the US terminal, checking out the ground action. Say what you want about US Airways, but, to me, they are the quintessential east coast airline, connecting all of those aforementioned mysterious destinations. Yes, I”m well aware that they are actually based out of Phoenix (I’ve stumbled by US Airways headquarters in Tempe, Arizona a few times on radio station baseball announcing trips in college. Ask me sometime about when my roommate/broadcast partner stepped in a hornets nest), but for me, they dominate the flying on the East Coast, to all of those catchet-laden destinations. That morning, activity was replete with flights to upstate New York, Maine, and New Hampshire.

US Q200. (Sorry for the quality – I was taking pictures through a window on a very bright morning).

US Express Canadair regional jet.

A cute little Saab!

Terminal activity.

I then spotted the US Airways lounge. While I wasn’t sure if I could actually use the lounge, or not, I figured I’d try on the basis of traveling in a first class Star Alliance itinerary later in the day, and then, try to mix in my Star Alliance Gold Status somewhere. The very kind agent at the desk wasn’t sure, either, but she let me through, even making sure to brief me on where everything was in the lounge.

Lounge entrance.

It was, of course, a typical domestic lounge. This one had nice seating, with plenty of space, and good views of the apron, though the blinding sun had a few people clad in sunglasses. I had a few glasses of orange juice, some yogurt, and best of all, grabbed a free copy of the NY Times. I had never seen the Times available in a domestic lounge. Perhaps, I was not supposed to remove it from the lounge, but there was no sticker or admonishment posted to leave it in the lounge. I’ll leave that to the legal experts to debate.

Seating.

Bar.

Typically domestic-lounge paltry food selection.

The famous US Airways coffee machines. I think these things are just ridiculous.

I think this is an awesome touch – picture books! I recognize some of these from my childhood.

Classy! Free NY Times!

And this . . . uhhhhhh . . . not so much.

The infamous US Airways plastic cups!

I then headed to the gate to await boarding.

US Airways Flight 2167 (Shuttle)
September 2, 2009
LGA – DCA
Departure: 9.00am
Arrival: 9.55am
Equipment: Airbus A319
Seat: 3A
Class: First

While awaiting boarding, I checked out the Shuttle waiting area. US gussies up their shuttle waiting areas to give it the feel of an office. Hey, even I used one of their desks and office chairs while waiting for a flight home from Boston to work on an essay.

Boarding began by, well, boarding everyone. Everyone just lined up, and ya climbed aboard.

Once on board, very friendly flight attendants (on US? Surprised me, too) offered pre-departure beverages – and, gasp, allowed people to order what they wanted. Very different from United, where you’re lucky to have orange juice or water exasperatedly shoved under your nose. Boarding proceeded quickly, and we pushed off the gate, beating the 9.00am Shuttle to Boston. After a rather slow taxi, the Airbus came to life, and rolled into the beautiful, bright morning, taking off over Riker’s Island and banking northwest, over Manhattan, and New Jersey, allowing for some beautiful views of the island.

At that point, I tried to sleep a bit while listening to my iPod. When that failed, I simply watched the beautiful scenery pass outside, and we soon began the descent into DCA. The weather was simply perfect for flying – cloudless, and sunny.

The approach into DCA is always a treat, with tight turns, rapid changes in speed, and the challenge to the pilots to keep the airplane withing some tight space constrictions. A bit of turbulence buffeted the Airbus on approach, and with spectacular views of the Georgetown neighborhood, we lined up with the runway, and the Airbus kissed the ground. After a short taxi to the gate, I deplaned, and walked through the beautifully-architecture DCA airport to its on-site Metro stop. National is simply one of the finest airports in the world in terms of convenience in connecting to public transit. I would take the Metro to Foggy Bottom to meet with some old friends from high school and college for lunch, before heading to Dulles for my evening flight to Frankfurt.

The weather remained excellent – not too hot, not too humid, under a vivid blue sky. I hadn’t been back to DC since a couple of mileage runs last year, that had given me a bit of time to explore the city with my friend Matt, and was itching to return. The Metro arrived, and I began the trek.