[9942] in APO-L
Nationals transportation info
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Deborah Nina Cherry)
Fri Oct 28 23:48:31 1994
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 1994 18:57:29 -0400
Reply-To: Deborah Nina Cherry <dc30+@ANDREW.CMU.EDU>
From: Deborah Nina Cherry <dc30+@ANDREW.CMU.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L%PURCCVM.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
I've compiled a bunch of information about the various organized trips
to Nationals. Here is the text version, but a much easier to read
version is available via WWW at
http://illuminati.mercury.acs.cmu.edu/apo/national/nationals_transportati
on.html
If you have questions about any of these trips, please contact the
person listed in Contact: I don't know any more about these than what is
here.
If you are organizing a trip to Nationals, send me the info and I will
try to add it to the list as quickly as possible, but you should also
post on your own so that the info gets out quicker.
Yours in LFS,
Debbie Cherry
Life Member, Kappa Chapter
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA
INTERNET or BITNET: dc30@andrew.cmu.edu
-----begin here-----------
A PHI O NATIONAL CONVENTION
TRANSPORTATION INFO
Table of Contents
GENERAL INFORMATION
Train
ORGANIZED CHARTERS AND ROAD TRIPS
From Pittsburgh, PA
From IN, OH, WV, KY (Pgh/West. PA nearby)
From Phladelphia
From Baltimore/WashingtonDC
From Ithaca/Syracuse NY
OTHER DEALS
American Express Student Card
Companion Fare
Discount through New England Supermarkets
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Many discount fares may require you to stay over a Saturday or other
restrictions.
Some fares have blackout dates around the holidays, make sure you tell the
travel agent exactly when you need to travel, and how flexible you can be.
Keep in mind other airports you may be able to get to that may offer better
deals.
Get your tickets early, it's a peak travel season.
Although Southwest does have cheap fares to Dallas, they do not go to
DFW Airport,
which is where the convention is. It goes to Love field. There is a
shuttle bus run by
Star Shuttle which leaves Love Field every half hour for DFW. The cost
is $12. It is
about a 45 minute trip, depending on traffic. So, if you can get a
Southwest flight for
at least $24 less than another airline, you can save some money.
(courtesy of Stephen
A. Curry, SCurry@Trinity.edu)
There are also some bizarre ways to get around this, if you are willing
to change
plans, etc. I have included this at the end for those interested. Click
here for the info.
Train:
Call 1-800-USA-RAIL for details. (I know of someone doing this from NYC for
about $270).
Something to keep in mind if immediate payment is a problem: When you make a
reservation, you have 30 days to confirm it with a credit card, but they do not
actually charge your card until 30 days before travel begins, which
would be around
Nov. 25. Depending on your credit card billing date, you may not have to
pay it until
1995!
Carnegie Mellon Univ. specific
There is some info and schedules on Amtrak in/afs/cs/user/spok/train
If you are considering flying or taking the train to Nationals, one
excellent source on
alternatives is the American Express Travel Office in SEI. I have found
them very
helpful and patient on convoluted plans. If you have some extra time (or
already have
something to do at SEI), you can stop by and talk to them in person
(check-in with
the gaurd at the front desk and he'll give you directions). Otherwise
you can call
them at x8-6165 during normal business hours. They do NOT charge an additional
fee for their services.
ORGANIZED CHARTERS AND ROAD TRIPS
From Pittsburgh:
Section 62/64 Charter flight
$334 Round-trip. Due by Nov. 13.
Depart Greater Pittsburgh Airport 12/26/94 at 12:32pm, arrive DFW 2:53pm
Depart DFW 1/2/95 at 5:14pm, arrive Greater Pgh. 8:52pm
Contact: Theresa Klier, H:(412)-682-0216, W:(412)-562-5050
From IN, OH, WV, KY (Pgh/West. PA nearby)
Region V bus (24 hour ride)
$145, $80 non-refundable deposit due by Oct. 29.
Departure destinations from:
Purdue Univ (Indiana)
Cleveland, OH
Columbus, OH
Cincinatti, OH
Morgantown, WV
Lexington, KY
Probably will be some car pools from Pgh area to Morgantown or OH
Departing early 12/26 and returning on 12/31.
Contact: Stephanie Bennett, 35 S. Congress, Rm. 723, Athens, OH 45701;
(614)-594-5053; SBENNET1@OUCSACE.CS.OHIOU.EDU
From Philadelphia:
Section 92 Charter vans (23 hrs, leaving from UPenn campus):
approx $50 round-trip, confirmation deposit due Dec. 1.
Depart UPenn campus on morning of 12/26
Depart Dallas night of 1/1, arrive philly late night 1/2/95 or early
morning 1/3/95
Contact: Riz Shavelle, (215)-387-9013, shavelle@mail.sas.upenn.edu
From Baltimore/Washington DC:
Section 92 Charter flight:
$259 round-trip
Departing from BWI airport.
Contact: Tony Bixler, (215)-387-9032
Univ. of MD charter flight:
$255 round-trip
(tentatively) Departing Dulles 12/27 at 10:15am
Departing DFW 12/31 in the afternoon (time TBA)
Still need more people to get this deal.
Contact: Ping Lin, (301)-294-0834
From Ithaca/Syracuse NY:
RV Road Trip:
$250/person for gas, rental, & mileage, and must be paid no later than Dec 15.
Must know by November 15 who is definately going.
Departing Ithaca area to Syracuse (then on to Dallas) early on Monday, Dec 26
Returning on Monday, Jan 02, 1995 (we'll be in Dallas for New Year's eve).
Contact: Allison Mayers at (607) 257-5500 [M-F, 9am - 5pm]
OTHER DEALS:
American Express Student Card
It may be too late, but one option may be to get a an American Express
credit card for
students. The membership fee is $55 and it gets you 3 vouchers for travel on
Continental for $159 for travel without crossing the Mississippi and
$239 to cross the
Mississippi. This voucher gets you a companion offer as well.
The vouchers come 2-3 weeks after your card, and reservations must be
made within
21 days before travel and requireds a Saturday night stay. (information from
American Express Student Card application)
Companion Fare:
I don't know what the current fare is with other airlines at this point,
but my sister
just called me tonight telling me that her agency is offering a
half-price of the
regular fare for each 2nd person on the reservation. If that doesn't
make sense... keep
reading, please.
Flying out of BWI ( USAir ) connecting probably in Charlotte, NC and then into
Dallas, Fort Worth. 1st person pays regular fare of $304.00 and the
second person
pays 1/2 price, about $155.00. Because this is a special deal, booking
reservations
must be done in PAIRS. How you want to divvy up who pays how much is up to the
two people, but that is about $229.50 per person. Purchase must be done
24 hours
after reservations and person standing as being the "first person" must
have a valid
credit card. Based on availability, if you want to inquire for more
information or
make reservations, please call Dimensions Travel at (202) 659-5151 and ask for
Su-Ling Wu ( "Su(e)" is what people in the office call her ). Travel
arrangements are
again DONE in PAIRS. If there's going to be any changes, it affects the
PAIR on the
reservation. There is a $35 minimum charge on any changes that on done the
reservation. Upon purchase, the tickets will be sent out to purchaser by
certified mail.
The fare is NON-REFUNDABLE and you just stay over a Saturday ( not a problem
if you're at Nationals ). Remember, everything must be done as a PAIR.
If you're going to make reservations, please, normally they make
reservations with
clients of companies, but because she's my sister, she's gonna go ahead
and make the
reservations. All she asks is that the person making the reservations is
who they say
they are on the credit card.
(Courtesy of John "Highway" Wu, highway@w3eax.umd.edu)
Discount through New England Supermarkets:
Okay I'm posting this message after a phone conversation with Carla Moran Theta
Zeta Alum..... so here goes.....
The best fair out of Boston/Logan that she could find was $464, but she
found a way
to get a hundred dollar discount on that ticket (here's where the
scribbles are a bit
confused so bear with me if it's out of order)
If you shop at Stop and Shop, and are able to save 100 dollars in
register receipts, you
can go to the customer service desk and for five dollars buy a voucher
that will give
you 100 dollars off that ticket provided you follow the following rules:
1. fly round-trip
2. you don't fly on the 22-24 26-31 2-4
3. And you fly in or out of MA/RI/CT/NY
oops the ticket was on Northwest and their 1-800# is 225-2525
(courtesy of John Grossi, qasama@WPI.EDU)
HOW TO FLY SOUTHWEST AIRLINES TO DFW:
Southwest airlines does not have continuous flight in and out of Dallas
Love Field
except to the four surrounding states due to the Wright Amendment which
was put in
place to make sure DFW was successful. Southwest does not fly out of DFW where
the hotel is because American threatens to put flights into Love field
everytime the
issue is brought up and Southwest owns the four state market.
However, there is a way to get around all this mess. Call Southwest
directly, do not
go through a travel agent. Tell them that you are willing to fly to one of the
surrounding states, take a layover of 2 hours or more, collect and
recheck your bags,
and then they will be able to price you a ticket. This makes it a
non-continous flight
and exempt from the Wright Amendment.
I have done this before for people and it works. And be insistant with
the airline
when you talk to them about it.
(courtesy Jim Porter, JPor466@AOL.COM)
