Discounted Hotel Rates for Aircrew

"Airport Accommodations," or the pink hotel slip, has been saving hotel needing crewmembers for quite some times in IAD.

It's been a while since I've used them, but each time I did, I was very pleased. Ask a die-hard Dulles commuter, and they'll probably know about the 'Airport Accomodations' pink slip.

It's really easy. Just call the number on the slip (1-800-705-2189) and you'll speak with an operator who can reserve a hotel room for a very good rate. I don't think I've spent over $70 for a night, which is not bad in the D.C. area.

You must be a crewmember to get this discount, as the hotel desk will check your crew ID upon check-in. Also, the sooner you call, the better. The really good rates get snagged pretty early, leaving the higher rates for the late-comers.

There are many other cities where Airport Accommodations serves:
Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Orlando, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Tampa, and of course, Washington D.C.

If you need a pink slip and you're near a printer, you can click the scan below, and then right click and select 'Print...' The real tickets are 8.5" x 3" printed on both sides. Hopefully, no one will care that they are not originals, since you have your crew badge and all...

Good Luck! Tim

LHR: Oyster Card

It was raining when my captain and f/o told me to meet them at 'La Tasca', a Spanish Tapas restaurant. The tube now was a great option, and what a great time to learn about the Oyster card.

My only regret is that I did not try this sooner! It probably makes the most sense for someone who frequents London regularly, but since I seem to be getting a lot of LHR's in my line lately, I was probably the perfect candidate.

It was extremely easy to get one. Just walk up to the counter at any Tube station and buy one. The card costs 3, plus whatever amount you wish to initialize the card with. I initialized my card with 10, figuring that would be good for a few days of travel. And that was it!

Now, all you have to do to enter (and exit) the Tube turnstiles is wave your card over the yellow Oyster button and voila! Magic.

Here's some other cool stuff. Apparently, the Oyster system is smart enough to figure out what would have been the most economical fare to purchase based on what you've traveled. You'll only be charged the best price. For example, you travel one way 4 times - twice on the tube and twice by bus. If the all day pass would have been cheaper, then that is all that you'll be charged, rather than the separate one way fares.

It's also good on the London buses. No more fiddling with change and buying tickets...

If your balance ever gets too low, then you will be warned when you swipe. To recharge the card with more money, just go to a ticket machine and put more money on your Oyster card account. I haven't done this yet, but I hear it's pretty easy.

Well, that's it! Happy Oystering!

LHR: ATM Machine near Hilton Metropole

I heard a while back that there was a scam that ran for a little while at one of the ATMs on Edgeware. Apparently, someone put an ATM shell over the real ATM and was able to snag all the card information. Although this has never happened to me, it does raise an eyebrow.

If you're concerned about adding an extra level of safety to your trips to the cash machine, I suggest you use the ATM in the M & S store right across the street from the Metropole. It still charges the regular withdrawl fee (according to my bank statements) but it is probably the most secure location to withdrawl your money. The store is crawling with employees, it's well lit, and they probably have a security detail somewhere in the store. A crook would probably pass that locale for easier pickins.

LHR: Best Supermarket Beer Prices

If you're looking to have a crew room party, there is a good price on beer up the street from the Hilton Metropole (map).

SS Supermarket is very short walk (900 ft) from the hotel and for your perserverence, you'll be rewarded. At S.S. Supermarket, pint cans of Grolsch and Stella are 0.99p, but you can get 6 for £5 ( 0.83p ea). There are other beer brands there with similar savings if you buy in bulk.

To get to SS Supermarket, take a left out of the hotel and travel northwest on Edgeware towards the flyover (British for overpass...). There is an easy underground pedestrian walkway to spit you out on the other side of the flyover. After exiting the pedway at the top of the ramp you'll see the store about 150 feet further down on the on the opposite side of Edgeware with a convenient crosswalk right in front of it.

Here's a Map

If time is of the essence or you're just feeling lazy, you can go to Food City right across from the hotel on Praed street. The prices there are roughly the same, but they don't do any discounts.
For you late nighters, plan ahead, as alchohol sales are prohibited after 11pm (I think...please post if you know for sure).

If anyone knows a cheaper place, let's hear about it!

DCA to IAD Commute.

Alas! I finally was forced to try my plan B backup commute option of CLT-DCA then DCA-IAD via ground transportation.

You can obviously get a cab DCA-IAD if time is tight. Expect to pay about $60 and for it to take about 35-45 minutes. Supershuttle may also be an option for a cheaper rate, but there's a chance of having a non-direct route, depending on who you're travelling with and where they need to go.

So, here is an account of how to get from DCA to IAD via public transport. You'll pay $7.35 and allow for about 1:15 to 1:45.

• Washington Metro Rail Website
• Washington Metro Rail Map (pdf)

After arriving, follow signs to Metro/Parking deck. They are only posted outside of the secure gate area. Go to the ticket machine and look on the chart for the one-way fare to West Falls Church. It was $3.35 as of 7/27/08. With the Metro ticket machines, you don't tell it "where", you just tell it "how much." Use the up/down rocker switches to get $3.35 to display, then pay for your ticket. Some machines take credit card, some take cash. Some will give you change (in all coins, beware...)


View Larger Map

With your ticket, enter the station through the turnstyles. Go up the left hand bank of escalators (nearest the terminal). The signs will read Blue Line, Largo Town Center (as well as Yellow line to Fort Totten). When the trains arrive, be sure you're on the correct one. There is no 'next arriving' electronic sign on this platform (that I can remember), but there are electric LED signs on the sides of the trains telling you which one it is. Be sure to board the Blue Line towards Largo Town Center.

You stay on the blue line and get off at Rosslyn Station. Follow the signs to make the transfer to the Orange line towards Vienna, which is downstairs. On this platform I did notice an ETA sign telling you when the next train is arriving and what line it is (the Blue line in the opposite direction shares this platform).

Take the Orange Line and get off at West Falls Church Station. The exit is upstairs and throught the turnstyles. Follow the signs for Dulles Transportation, which is down the escalators to the left. Go to the bus stop with the 'Washington Flyer' sign.

• Wash Flyer Website
• Wash Flyer W.F. Church-IAD Schedule

The coach departs every half hour on the :15 and the :45. You'll stow your big bags underneath the bus. As a crewmember with valid ID the fare is $4, which you pay upon exiting the bus. Non-crew one way fare is $10. There was very little traffic, so the bus trip took about 20 minutes.

There you have it! The cost of $7.35 is way better than a taxi if you can spare the extra time. The trip time will vary depending on how lucky you are at the transfers. I just missed an Orange line transfer and just missed a Washington Flyer departure, so my travel time of 1:45 was probably a bit longer than the norm. I would guess that the average trip time would be around 1:30.

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It was a beautiful day, and I got some great shots on the approach into DCA. Not bad for a passenger seat and a cheap digital.

Georgetown University Campus

Watergate Apartments

Kennedy Center

Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument & Reflecting Pool

Washington Monument

DEN: Passport Renewal

OK, I know this topic is not exciting, but it might be of interest to those of you needing to renew your passport. Passport renewal can be a tricky subject for international aircrews, because you need to be able to have it done quickly. Although I still had about 1 year of validity remaining on my passport, I needed to have it renewed because some of the visas I must have (French and Chinese) require more than 18 months remaining on any passport before they will issue a visa.

I started looking into getting my passport done at the Denver Passport services office since I've had a few trips to DEN lately. Here is their vitals from the US State Department website:

COLORADO Passport Agency
Cherry Creek III
3151 South Vaughn Way, Suite 600
Aurora, CO 80014
Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., local time, M-F, excluding Federal holidays
Automated Appointment Number: 1-877-487-2778

Get an Appointment

Get an appointment using the number above. I'd recommend the earliest time. You can only make the appointment a maximum of 14 days in advance.

Bring Your Stuff

• 2 passport photos (print 'em at home using http://www.epassportphoto.com/ it's cool!)
• Passport application (online wizard, DS-82 Online Fill-in, or DS-82 Fill-in by hand)
• Letter from your airline authorizing you to have expedited service
• Your airline ID
• You current passport
• Credit card or Check. (It cost me $135. $55 for the book, $60 to expedite, $20 Security surcharge)
• Stuff to read/do, MP3 player etc.

Plan Your Transportation
I chose to travel via RTD bus. It was cheap and very efficient. The 83L is the line that you want from Downtown. Type in 83L in the Schedule Finder on the RTD website to get all the information you need about the route, including maps and schedules.

Any hotel in the Downtown Denver area will have easy access to the Denver Civic Center Station either by walking, or via the free Mall Ride on the 16th St Pedestrian Mall. From the Civic Center Station, you'll take the 83L to the Nine Mile Station Bus Terminal. You'll be riding the bus for the entire route, start to finish. It takes about 35-40 minutes, and costs $1.25 one way (RTD is considering a fare increase, so check their fares before you go or just bring a few extra quarters). You can just pay on the bus with your quarters or dollar bills, but exact change only.

Below is a map of the Nine Mile Station and the Passport office building. The Station is bounded by S. Peoria Street, S. Parker Rd, and I-225. Go under the I-225 and cross at the crosswalks to the Red Lion Hotel. The Passport office building is on the sixth floor of the office building right behind the Red Lion Hotel. I looked for an official US State Dept sign, but didn't see any. The building houses the University of Phoenix campus, and that name is prominently located on the top of the office building.

View Larger Map
Submit & Wait
It's cool if you're the first one in line. You know how that works. I'd try to be there about 10 minutes before they open the doors. There is a security scanner. A guard will preview your materials before he'll let you into the secure area. Once you're in the secure area, you'll procede to the information window where another person looks over your materials. You then get get your queue number just like at a typical DMV office. After you finally submit all your paperwork, it will probably take about 2-3 hours for you to get your passport. If you're hungry, the only place to eat nearby is the Red Lion Hotel. They have a pretty good breakfast buffet for about $8.

Return
Now you're an expert on the RTD bus service, so the return trip out to be a piece of cake. However, you now have a new Passport number, so if you have an international trip coming up, you need to notify your company of the new number, so that the Crew Manifest is correct on the General Declarations.

The Colorado Passport office was very good. They appear to be very understanding of Airline Crews and their need to get Passports done quickly.

It was a good deal to be able to get my passport renewed on a company layover, not on my free time at home. If you passport need renewing, give it a try!

Email me if you have any questions. If you use this info, please post your experiences so we can all benefit... Thanks!

Tim

The Backsack

I know I'm late to the party on this one, but I just discovered the 'backsack.' This is turning out to be a really cool addition to the suitcase.

What's the weary traveller to do if you want to go out for a few hours of sightseeing and you want to bring along some extra stuff, like a bottle of water, jacket, maps and perhaps a camera and iPod. Enter the backsack. An ingeniously simple design that can be carried like a bag, thrown over one shoulder, or worn on your back like a regular backpack is. The ropes close the opening of the sack when pulled keeping the contents relatively secure. It's made of nylon so it's very lightweight and strong. It folds up easily and takes up very little extra room.

The backsack is also great for bringing stuff to the pool or gym for your workouts.

I had been on the lookout for a collapsable tote bag, but when I saw this with its ability to be worn on the back, it sold me.

Now here's the cool part. I got mine at Marshalls on special for $5. There were a lot of different colors available there at the time, but black is always a winner. I just have to accept the Nike swoosh ad.

It's came in handy on the very first trip I took it on...

Tim