Last month, I went on a flight that originated at ZFV.
ZFV is the airline code given to the Philadelphia 30th Street Amtrak Station. Yes, the “flight” began with a train ride from Philadelphia to Newark Airport. Huh? Why, Kathy, if you live in New York, would you go all the way to Philadelphia to fly to New Orleans? Well, there was an amazing sale a few months ago on United Airlines. If the flight began at ZFV it was nearly $200 less than if it started from Newark – even though that was the very flight that I flew on. So, I decided to take advantage of this and turn it into a mini-Philadelphia vacation at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco before the New Orleans vacation (for the record, I skipped the EWR-ZFV portion on the return trip home).
Although I read up on this whole ZFV thing (see this thread in Flyertalk), I was still a little uncertain, so we made sure to show up at the Amtrak nice and early. In fact, I felt like Harry Potter on his way to school looking for Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross Station. All went well though – we got our tickets with plenty of time to spare.
photo courtesy of rottentomatoes.com
We ventured over to Amtrak’s Acela Club. As a United Airlines Club member, I was entitled to free access (see here), and I was curious what it looked like. I am not one to speak negatively, but it was disappointing. It was narrow, dark, dismal and outdated. The attendant was not friendly and we could not even figure out how to use the coffee machine. Of course, there were positives – the big leather chairs were comfortable, the individually wrapped pound cake was good, as was the free wi-fi. It was also nice to gaze down into the station. The best I can say is that it served its purpose.
here are some photos:
Acela Club, Philadelphia
Acela Club, Philadelphia
globe
Acela Club, Philadelphia, looking down into station
And then we were on the train on our way to Newark Airport
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A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
The best part of that lounge is that you can take the elevator down to the tracks and skip the long lines for boarding.
Thank you Seth! I read about that (I think in the Foursquare tips when I “checked in”) but was afraid to try it out. Now that’s really sounding like Harry Potter!