TRI-CVG-PHL-ATL-TRI March 29-30

DL 6256 operated by Chautauqua TRI-CVG EMB 145 seat 12 A exit:
We took off at 7:00 am and landed at 7:40 am. We had the mini Dasani and choice of three snacks (large, Delta-branded Biscoffs, crackers, and peanuts) service. I dozed as I was very sleepy.

DL 5093 operated by Comair CVG-PHL CRJ seat 8B exit aisle:
Not much to say here! The service was the same as the previous flight. This was a CRJ flight, so not as much room, but no one was seated beside me in A, so that was great! The FA was very funny and lively. We actually boarded and departed late due to an unknown maintenance issue aboard the aircraft, at 9:35 am, but we arrived 15 minutes early–the flight time was only 1 hour 10 minutes from takeoff to touchdown at 33,000 feet.

DL 743 PHL-ATL MD-88 seat 27D aisle:
As we were boarding, DL FAs twice recognized the servicemen aboard the flight and we all applauded–a very nice gesture.

The plane was not full, so I ended up without a seatmate at the last minute. However, coach legroom on this plane was not as tight as US.

We boarded and departed the gate on time. However, US ops in PHL definitely impacted departures. Our taxi in PHL was 45 minutes! We finally took off at 10:45 am for the one hour 40 minute flight to ATL and we were still scheduled to arrive on time, maybe even 5 minutes early! While waiting in line, it felt like the old ATL. At least I earned double miles for flying in and out of PHL on this trip!

Coach service included the standard beverage and three-snack choices. The FAs looked sharp in their red-trimmed white blouses. One more note of interest–DL collects cups and cans separately from other trash for recycling.

We landed in ATL at 12:37 pm, 1 minute late. (We were actually slowed by ATC/misty weather in ATL!) Upon arrival, after I turned on my cell phone and Blackberry, I had two e-mails and three voicemails from DL about a schedule change, that my connecting flight was already delayed by an hour (and I already had a long layover!) After I deplaned, I went to a kiosk (they have them behind security for issues like these), logged in with my SM number and PIN and it noted my schedule irregularity and allowed me to change to the earlier flight–and I got the last seat! If I had been brave, I would have gone for a bump, but I was afraid with the other flight so delayed, I might get stuck in ATL. And as much as ATL has improved, I really wanted to see my own bed and my kitty Einstein today!

DL 4274 operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines ATL-TRI ATR-72 seat 2B aisle (the farthest to the front I have ever sat on this rear-boarding prop):
We boarded on time, elites and specials first. However, due to some late-arriving passengers and luggage, we did not take off until 3:05 pm. However, we landed at 3:55 pm, about 10 minutes early. We had no service “due to the short duration.” I fell asleep with the props just humming away! LOL!

One more note–we had a serviceman aboard home only for 18 days, so the FAs requested that we allow him to deplane first and thank him for his service. He was the first one off to a round of applause!

Another good DL experience!

Booking a US Airways itinerary using a dollar-amount voucher

This e-mail to US Airways after they called me explains what happenend when I tried to redeem a dollar-amount voucher with US Airways.

Thank you for calling me.

What I attempted to do today was book a multi-city roundtrip ticket as
follows:

April 23 TRI-RIC (by way of CLT), departing 12:59 p.m., arriving at
5:00 p.m.-ish
April 25 RIC-LGA (direct), departing at 7:00 p.m., arriving 8:30 p.m.
April 27 EWR-TRI (by way of CLT), departing 11:00 a.m., arriving 5:41
p.m.

With the schedule I had selected, the trip priced out at $463.xx. I
was trying to use either a $200 off region 1 Take Flight Certificate
voucher OR a $200 Electronic Travel with US (E-TUV).

The first agent said I could not use either voucher. The second agent
said I could use a voucher but she could not get the same fare basis
codes and priced out at $123 more. The third agent was the same agent as
the first call and hung up on me as I was trying to share the Terms
and Conditions of the vouchers, and the fourth agent had me on hold for
20 minutes and returned to tell me that I could not use either voucher.
None of the agents would transfer me to a supervisor or a help desk.

Neither voucher I have says that they are invalid on this type of
ticket. In fact, both state that they are good for ONE TICKET on US or US
Express.

I would like to book this today if the fare is still available.

Thank you again for calling me. I would be happy to call someone to
take care of this today.

Sincerely,
Beth
—————————————————————————————–
A longtime HP employee from PHX called me and after a 73 minutes and 7
second phone call, I now have a reservation held until Sunday. I must
redeem my Take Flight Certificate at the airport today or tomorrow.

What I learned is:

1. No E-TUVs or Take Flight Certificates are supposed to be used for
multi-city itineraries. The person I spoke to said that she did not see
a problem with it at all, as it is like redeeming a coupon for $ off,
so she is going to follow up with some clarification of policy and
wording, so it is more clear about how such vouchers can be used. She said
that HP and US policy wording still had discrepancies and/or were
inconsistent and often misunderstood by agents, so this might have caused
the problem. But as it stands now, e-vouchers are supposed to be used
for pure roundtrips only. However, she went ahead and honored my $200
off Take Flight because of the trouble I experienced.

2. In QIK/SHARES, this person was unable to generate the same fare
basis code for one portion of my desired itinerary. When she went to the
website, she did find the K fare code. Digging more into QIK/SHARES,
she did find that there were two K fare code seats left, so she had to
override the system and make notes in my itinerary to be able to use that
fare code for my ticket. She confirmed that it was a valid, available
fare code and that I was absolutely right about it existing (duh!)

I will give kudos to this person and her supervisor who called me.
However, I promise that when I finish redeeming what vouchers I have left,
two $200 and one $250 voucher, I am DONE with this company.

March 22-23 ROA-DTW-LGA roundtrip

NW 5849 March 22 ON TIME departs ROA 6:10 am Arrives DTW 7:47 am Gate C20

We boarded about 20 minutes before departure–specials, SkyTeam elites, and those in the exit row first. There were 38 passengers. We had a standard bev service with snacks for sale. We actually departed at 6:15 am and landed at 7:22 am, 25 mins early to snowy DTW.

I visited the main WC today. It is huge. Snacks included cereal bars, granola bars, apples, bananas, and yogurt.

NW 540 March 22 ON TIME Departs DTW 8:49 am Arrives LGA 10:26 am Gate 10

We boarded on time, same boarding priority as the earlier flight. Our pre-departure drink was a choice of OJ or water (small, plastic NWA cups.). We departed at 9:15 am and landed at 10:20 am. We had a great crew. The in-flight service was full bev in glassware with bananas and cinnamon pita chips.

I just ticketed my itinerary from yesterday at LGA! The agents assumed it would be screwed up! It was funny. I said, “It better not be! Tempe took 73 minutes to do this after four other agents couldn’t!” They just laughed!

Great flight to NY! Two Bloody Marys in glass and a fun seatmate, an ATA FA. They do military charters in and out of the war zones, and the Hillary and Barack campaigns, among others, and are now based at JFK. We also bragged about our cats and talked about the US/HP merger!

NW 541 March 23 DELAYED – now estimated to depart LGA at 6:30 am and arrive DTW at 8:25 am Gate A77

NOTE: The last few headers of my NW trip reports are the actual “My NWA” flight alerts that I receive as part of my My NWA profile.

I went to nwa.com and checked for the reason for the delay and it was required crew rest. I was happy to see the reason shared online with customers and also relieved that it was not mechanical or weather-related.

I arrived LGA at 5:05 am and was through security by 5:15 am, so I was able to visit the WC this time. It was very small, but nice. However, the CRC is better so I will go there instead for future DL/NW pre-flight time. I watched CNN and had OJ and an apple.

We boarded at 6:00 am, closed the doors at 6:20 am, and took off at 6:40 am. I slept through the bev service as did most of us, but I got OJ (in a small, NWA-branded glass, of course) upon request before landing at 8:00 am, just about 10 minutes late. Given it was Easter, F was not full. In fact six of 16 seats went empty. Total flight time was one hour 20 minutes.

NW 5848

NW 5848 (Northwest Airlink operated by Pinnacle) was scheduled to depart DTW at 10:30 am. It was on time until shortly 10 a.m., when the boards posted a time of 10:49 am. Not a problem, I thought. I proceeded to the gate from the WorldClub to wait just in case. There was no agent and only a few people at the gate, including an unaccompanied minor and his red-coated escort, and the crew of my flight. (This escort actually stayed the entire time and he himself boarded the UM.)

Since there was no one at the gate, I decided to check nwa.com mobile for the reason for the delay. This is what it said:

Delayed – Awaiting connecting customers

I continued to wait. Finally an agent stopped at our gate and typed, made a call, and printed, but did not make any announcements. The captain walked over and said something to her that I could not hear. He came back and he said to the other two crew members something about the plane coming from Quebec being at the A gates. 10:49 am came and went. The board finally changed to 11:30 am without a word from the gate agent. The crew continued to chat about them taking away the original plane. The gate agent left and another agent replaced her. The pilot went to her and said something. A passenger or two also went to talk to the gate agent. The captain got his phone out and made a phone call and I heard him say something to the effect that our aircraft had been parked for 45 minutes and when was someone going to bring it over. Then he hung up and told the other crewmembers that there was no one to tow the plane to our gate. Someone came over and asked the captain if we could just go to that gate and he said we were not allowed. I decided to check nwa.com again and this time it said:

Delayed – Awaiting the arrival of incoming aircraft

Finally around 11:30 am (11:30 am passed without a change to the board and no announcements), the agent announced our plane was at the gate and that we would board as “soon as we are situated.” The crew boarded. Another ten or so minutes passed. She announced that we would board in about five minutes. Around 11:45 am, we boarded–all NINE of us. We sat on the airplane another 35 minutes before the door was finally shut. As we backed away from the gate around 12:20 pm, almost two hours late, the captain came on and apologized for their being no ground crew for our plane. The flight itself was fine–one hour and five minutes, takeoff to touchdown. We landed ROA at 1:35 pm., about an hour and 35 minutes late.

This delay was avoidable if there had been a ground crew and someone to tow the plane to our gate. Furthermore, NW was in direct violation of this policy below found in the published Customer Guide/Customers First Program, as there was not a single announcement made during the entire hour and a half I was at the gate, from 10:00 am until 11:30 am.

“If your flight is delayed or canceled before boarding…Our agents will make announcements at the gate at 15-minute intervals on the status of the delay…”

Latest US Airways encounters!

This was the exchange concerning my US Airways problems on March 8-16.  Watch out–they will some how make it your fault! Please read from the bottom up!

Dear Beth,

I apologize for the delay in a response in not addressing your issues as presented in your initial email. I have completed the research in locating the reasoning in your return flights having cancelled out of the system. When you were accommodated on Flight 1624 in First Class from Charlotte to LaGuardia on March 8, our system reissued a ticket as a confirmed flight. Unfortunately, the system does not permit agents to list passengers on flights prior to the confirmed flight to be placed on a standby basis if seats are not available. However, there is a standby list that is separate from your confirmed reservation that is available at the airport for each individual flight. As you were placed by request on the first possible flight, when you aren’t boarded on that flight the agent rolls you to the next flight as you experienced on March 8. When they had a seat available and boarded you on Flight 1202 and scanned your boarding pass the system checked you in on that flight in your record; however, the system was still holding the seat for you on Flight 1624 and when you didn’t board on that flight because you were already checked in the system automatically cancelled out the return flights due to a no show status.

Due to these types of occurrences, flight operation changes, and unforeseen system glitches, we advise passengers to call to confirm their travel arrangements prior to their departure. I am pleased to hear that you did contact the website and were able to avoid the excess time on your departure date to have your flights reinstated. The reason for such a long wait for having the ticket reinstated is due to the process used to show the original ticket for reinstatement being returned to an unused status. The rule governing the ticket if the passenger does not cancel their reservation prior to departure or no shows a flight the ticket becomes null and void. I apologize for the time it took for the agent to assist you in reinstating your ticket.

I can assure you these problems did not occur due to traveling on award tickets. We do not handle our passengers by the ticket they purchase.

Beth, as a Platinum Elite Member, we appreciate your loyalty and value your business. Your input as a Platinum Elite is uniquely important to us and we look forward to welcoming you aboard another US Airways flight in the near future.

Sincerely,

Executive Liaison

Office of the Chairman

US Airways

---

From: Beth
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 7:06 AM
To: Executive Office
Subject: Re: Platinum Preferred Card and Itinerary E0WXJG – WT2422197A

March 18, 2008

Dear Ms. xxxxxx,

Thank you for your prompt reply, but I am afraid I am confused. I specifically stated that the adverse weather and flight cancellation was understandable. My issues were with the agents who were either unwilling or unable to help when the original flight canceled and the limitations of QIK/Shares when it comes to the rebooking and standby processes.

More importantly, you have not explained to me why the remainder of my ticket for return travel on March 16 was canceled and why the online agent had to experience such long wait times to reinstate my ticket.

I would appreciate it if you could address these issues.

Thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
Beth

—– Original Message —-
From: Executive Office <executive.office@usairways.com>
To: Beth
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 9:33:14 AM
Subject: RE: Platinum Preferred Card and Itinerary E0WXJG – WT2422197A

Dear Beth,

Thank you for contacting the Executive Office of Customer Relations at US Airways regarding your travel experience this past week.

The cards for our Elite members have been submitted and should arrive at the address registered on your Dividend Miles account between March 15 and 31. We have an outside company that processes those cards and once we submit the request, which is automatic when the update of the accounts process on March 1. Please accept our apology for the confusion caused when you contacted the Preferred Desk regarding your Platinum Preferred Elite card.

I apologize for the inconvenience you experienced when our flight was delayed getting to the gate in Charlotte you’re your connecting flight to La Guardia cancelled due to zero visibility in New York. You have every right to expect our flights to operate as scheduled although sometimes maintenance issues with the aircraft simply mean we must cancel a flight. We don’t make these decisions lightly because they disrupt our customers’ schedules and lives. We apologize that this happened in your situation. It is particularly disappointing to know our employees failed to provide the level of service you expected. This matter will be reviewed with the Station Manager in Charlotte.

Beth, as a Platinum Preferred Elite member your feedback is appreciated and provides us with an opportunity to make positive changes. The intent here is to use your feedback as a training tool and to make positive changes for the future.

We appreciate your loyalty and value your business. We look forward to welcoming you on board another US Airways flight in the near future.

Sincerely,

Executive Liaison

Office of the Chairman

US Airways

---

From: Beth
Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2008 4:30 PM
Subject: Platinum Preferred Card and Itinerary E0WXJG

March 16, 2008

Dear Customer Relations and Executive Offices of US Airways,

I will start this e-mail with a thank you for a positive experience today, March 16, 2008, on US Airways and Piedmont, flights US 1247 and US 4359. The operations and in-flight service on both flights were great. This is the way it should be every day on US Airways.

However, preceding negative experiences unfortunately clouded this rare positive experience. These are the experiences I would like to address, because these instances are preventing me from booking future travel on US Airways.

The first issue is that I have never received my Platinum Preferred card. I contacted the Platinum Preferred desk on February 27,2008, and the card was to be reissued to arrive in two or three weeks, but it has not yet arrived. I realize this may appear insignificant, but Star Alliance Gold status confirmation is provided on this card and one must have this to be able to access other Star Alliance lounges when traveling internationally. A boarding pass indicating status is not sufficient proof.

My other problem has to do with itinerary E0WXJG. Before an agent chastises me in a form letter reply for complaining about the weather in the Northeast on March 8, 2008, please know that my experiences do not have to do with weather, but with operations under normal conditions as well as an inept reservations system and agents either unwilling or unable to properly assist passengers.

I was also flying on an award ticket. Although my trip was “free,” I expect to be treated as well as any other customer, as I paid for quite a few tickets to earn this one.

On Saturday, March 8, I was scheduled to fly US 4570 from TRI-CLT and US 938 from CLT-LGA. UA 4570 was a quick, 30-minute flight that went without a hitch–until we arrived CLT and were stuck on the taxiway for another 47 minutes due to an operational “traffic jam” and the unavailability of an alternate gate at which to park the aircraft. The weather in CLT was not a factor in this deplaning delay.

I finally arrived the gate around 10:35 a.m. From this arrival until 2:30 p.m., I awaited the departure of US 938, which was delayed due to ground stops in LGA and subsequently canceled. I found out about the cancellation from my fiancé and flightstats.com, before the gate agents. Once the announcement was finally made, the gate agents advised the crowd of passengers to go back through security to the ticket counter to be rebooked. I was shocked–why not advise them to call the 800 number or see Special Services? Most of the crowd left for the ticket counter and I felt badly for the poor advice they had received. And why were the gate agents themselves unable or unwilling to assist some of the passengers?

Being a frequent flyer, I called the Platinum Preferred line and an agent confirmed me on the 8:00 p.m. departure, US 1624. I asked if I could stand by for any other flights to LGA and she said yes, but she was unable to do that on her end. Therefore, I was forced to find an agent who was not busy and willing to assist me. I did find someone who put me on standby for the 4:10 p.m. departure, US 802, but could not standby list me on all of the LGA flights before 8:00 p.m.

I did not get on the first flight, but was told that the list rolls over to the next flight, US 1202 scheduled to depart at 6:15 p.m., so I went to that gate to check on my standby status. When I arrived, there was no standby list, as the gate agents of the earlier flight had not closed out the flight, which triggered the rollover. I waited another 15-20 minutes and inquired again, and was told again that the list had not been rolled over. The flight began to board. Somehow toward the end of the boarding process, I was called to board as well. Although we took an ATC delay, we did finally depart CLT after nearly two hours of sitting on the plane in CLT.

On March 14, 2008, I decided to check on my return scheduled for today, March 16, 2008, and discovered that the rest of my reservation had been canceled! I was in Bermuda and could not call, but I used online chat to find out what happened and to attempt to get my reservation reinstated. I was online for 45 minutes with the agent. She was unable to tell me why my reservation was canceled. Furthermore, she had to wait 16 minutes on hold with another department for approval to reinstate my LGA-CLT leg because it was an award ticket. After she received approval, it was another 15 minutes until she could reissue the ticket and e-mail me the confirmation, again because it was an award ticket. I did not realize that holding an award ticket could cause so many challenges for the agent assisting me.

I hope that you will take the time to carefully consider my comments and concerns, because my current impression of US Airways remains disappointing. If this is the way that you treat your loyal customers, I shudder to think how the infrequent traveler feels after similar experiences.

Sincerely,
Beth

March 8-16, examples of good and bad travel!

US 4570 (Piedmont), TRI-CLT, Dash 8-100, seat 4C exit aisle:
This flight was quick and uneventful save the bumpiness. We departed on time and arrived 32 minutes later. There was no beverage service and the FA’s jump seat was broken, so she had to sit in 1C. However, when we arrived CLT, runway traffic and another aircraft occupying our gate caused to sit on the plane another 47 minutes–longer than the actual flight–both props running and burning fuel! IMO, CLT is the new ATL and US is the old DL of yore. I have crappy luck on US. I see NO improvement.

US 1202, CLT-LGA, A319, seat 1A window:
US 938 was scheduled to depart 11:35 am, but cancelled three hours later @ 2:30 pm due to weather (although US 1644 to LGA at 1:00ish did depart late!) The GAs sent everyone back to ticketing outside security for rebooking (!), but I called Platinum Preferred instead and was rebooked on US 1624 departing at 8:00 pm. I found a nice GA who printed my boarding pass and put me on standby for the 4:10 pm, US 802. It was delayed until 5:00 pm due to a late arriving aircraft (international arrival) and air traffic. They asked for volunteers due to weight and balance restrictions and also called for an accurate count of children under 12. US 802 took another delay until 5:30 pm, and then finally boarded up everyone, including volunteers, and I did not get on. So I went to the next flight, US 1202 at gate B6. I inquired twice at the gate about the rolled-over standby list and apparently the previous flight had not been closed out, which is what triggers the rollover, so it had not been rolled over yet. They started boarding and all of a sudden my name was called and the GA had marked through my 21E seat assignment and given me 1A. The flight was scheduled to depart at 6:15 pm and finally left CLT at 8:05 pm and landed at 9:20 pm. Much of the power was out in the US terminal at LGA, so the jetway was not working and we had to deplane by stairs, go through some offices, and came out in baggage claim!

I had a celebrity sighting on the flight, Cameron Mathison. I noticed him because I went to the lav and when I came out we were face to face and almost ran into each other! I wish we had run into each other!

In flight I had wine, then per my seatmate’s recommendation, two Glenlivets on the rocks! Very good and very potent! He was a lawyer from New Orleans married to a French girl in NY. We had a grand time. He was also from the canceled 11:35 am flight!

What a long day! US is very weak when it comes to handling IRROPS!!

DL 5504 (CRJ) and DL 365 (737-800) JFK-BOS-BDA March 9, exit row 8A/B and business class 3C/D:
What a difference a day and a different airline make! We departed JFK late at 7:40 am due to the late arrival of the captain (wonder if he forgot DST?), but arrived early, 35 minutes later, at 8:15 am. We had only a 30-minute connection and when we arrived the gate, boarding had started and we had been upgraded. The flight left 20 minutes late due to a minor maintenance issue (unknown) and another aircraft noticed a rear door not closed (I assume there is a visual indicator outside) so the first officer went back and took care of it. We still arrived on time at 12:05 pm BDA time. The flight time was only one hour 40 minutes. We had a standard beverage and snack service on both flights (glassware and IFE on the 2nd flight.)

DL 364 (737-800) and DL 5513 (CRJ) BDA-BOS-JFK March 15, business class 2C/D and exit row 8A/B:
My 11th anniversary with John! (We met March 15, 1997!)

Our airport shuttle (a huge bus!) arrived at the resort at 12:50 pm. We were the only two passengers to board! We drove the couple of miles to the airport. There was a business class check-in with no one in line. We checked in, turned in our pink Bermuda tourist cards, and proceeded to US Customs. We passed quickly through and proceeded to regular security, where again there was no line! Once we were through everything, we realized that we were two hours and 15 minutes early for our flight! We had lunch and discovered an executive lounge, for all airline club members and first class passengers. We entered and there was NO ONE in the lounge, not even an employee at the front desk! The lounge was very basic, with no bar and only a hot drink machine. I tried to get online, but could not connect to two wireless networks that my computer found.

About 30 minutes before departure, an announcement was made that our flight was delayed by approximately an hour. The aircraft arrived around our original departure time. We boarded around 3:45 pm BDA time (one hour ahead of the East coast.) In BDA, there were no jetways, just stairs, like in the good old days! They called specials, then the zones in numerical order. However, they did honor Breezeway boarding which allows all SkyTeam elites to board at their leisure.

The aircraft was a refurbished 737-800. The seats in both classes were medium blue leather. There were seven of 16 passengers in business class, when they moved 8 up from coach just before departure. I am not sure if they were elites or not; a few did not appear to be, but who knows these days. There was one open seat in the front.

We were served non-alcoholic pre-departure drinks due to customs regulations. They were served in DL/Coke branded plastic cups.

We departed one hour late, at 4:19 pm.

Once in the air, we he had a full beverage and snack basket service (with glassware.) I had Amstel Light, which the FA partially poured from the can into my glass and then gave me the rest of the can. For seconds, she just brought the open can. Snack choices were Sun Chips, peanuts, Captain’s Wafers, granola bars, and Biscoffs.

Delta On-Air was the IFE, which is a series of television shows. I noticed “Friday Night Lights” and “Two and a Half Men,” but did not watch them. Headsets for all customers are complimentary on international flights.

We arrived at BOS at 5:17 pm ET to cold and overcast conditions. We arrived at gate A17 and had to hoof it to the commuter terminal, gate A10. We walked up just as the GA called elites to board.

DL 5513 was a Comair CRJ. We had exit row seats 8A and B. Our FA was Jewel and was one of those “stickler for the rules” types. She made the four of us in the exit row answer a series of questions with verbal responses and said that we had to read the seatback card, even if we flew this row every week! She also fussed at someone who got up to use the lavatory too early. At any rate, we departed at 6:20 pm and landed at 7:02 pm 42 uneventful minutes. She gave us water only “due to the short duration.” We arrived 30 minutes early at JFK.

Note:
Delta calls first class on this short international flight Business Elite and one upgrades into X, business class. DL still has nice business elite ticket jackets as well. However, the service we received was standard domestic first class. I would not have paid for this class with only snack basket and beverage service each way.

March 3-5: ROA-CVG-MCO-ATL-ROA on DL; my first Clear experience

March 3, DL ROA-CVG-MCO:
This trip report is going to be very short. My EMB 135 flight from ROA to CVG was flawless, complete with DL’s standard bev and snack service (in case you have not figured it out, your choices are peanuts, Biscoffs, or crackers.)  We left five minutes late and arrived early.  I was in seat 9A (the equivalent of 12A on the 145).

My 757-200 flight from CVG-MCO was also great.  We departed the gate five minutes early and arrived 10 minutes early to MCO.  The flight was one hour 40 minutes.  I was in 1B in F.  There were a few empty seats up front (of 24 total.)  We had a basic drink and snack basket service.  The FA was great–she refilled my wine GLASS three times (for a total of four!)

And believe me, I needed all that wine when I got to MCO. MCO is a freaking tourist nightmare. What a zoo!  I had to wait 30 minutes on my shuttle (although I pre-booked/pre-paid online.)  It took another 45 mins. to get to my hotel.  Once I got here, it was time for my reception, which also ended up being dinner!

March 5, MCO and Clear:
My shuttle arrived at my hotel at 12:30 pm, picked up a large group of travelers, and we arrived MCO at 1:15 pm I had to check in with an agent because of a schedule change that messed up my E-ticket. However, I still made it through security by 1:30 pm because I had the Clear card. This was the process:
1. I approached the first Clear agent and showed her my Clear card, ID, and BP.
2. I went to the second agent and she also looked at my boarding pass, put my Clear card into a machine, and the machine asked for a print of my right index finger for verification.
3. I went to agents three and four and they personally escorted me to the very front of a line!

So I was near my gate area two and a half hours early!

DL 58, 757-200, seat 27C exit row aisle (no one beside me):
There were 10 seats available in F and I was number 26 on the upgrade list!

We left the gate on time and were airborne by around 4:10 pm. The flight was bumpy at times. We received a standard beverage service with peanuts (no choice of Biscoffs or crackers.) There was also in-flight entertainment (IFE) which was television shows. Headsets were $2.00 in coach, yours to keep. I passed! We arrived one hour later, around 5:10 pm, approximately 20 minutes early.

Delta CRC, C Concourse:
I spent about two hours here tonight waiting on my delayed flight to ROA. I had never been to this club. All the amenities were there, but the décor was “1970s funky/modern.”

DL 4496,CRJ, seat 10C aisle:
The flight to ROA was absolutely full and very uncomfortable, as I had a large man beside me who took some of my personal space. I originally had an exit row seat, but when there was a schedule change, I lost the seat. At any rate, the plane departed 45 minutes late, at 8:55 pm. However, it was a short flight and we landed at 9:45 pm, only 12 minutes late. We had the standard beverage service, with the three-snack choice.

March 2: HPN-ATL-TRI

DL 6498, HPN-ATL, E170 with F class, op. by Shuttle America, seat 2A single side
I arrived HPN to discover that they do not operate the Clear line every day. However, my flight was early, so I passed through security quickly. My flight was scheduled to depart from Door C! (Let’s Make A Deal, anyone? This airport has overgrown itself! LOL!) Anyway, we boarded late. When I sat down, there was a blanket and a bottle of Dasani at each seat in F. There were only two of us in F. We departed 17 minutes late, at 7:17 am. The in-flight service was a standard beverage service and a snack basket. This was similar to US except that my coffee and Bailey’s was served in a real mug. Even Shuttle America has real mugs! Other than this, the flight was uneventful. We landed an hour and 52 minutes later in ATL, early, at 9:09 am.

DL 4307, ATL-TRI, CRJ, seat 1C
I was scheduled on a TRI flight leaving at 12:05 pm and was not looking forward to three hours in ATL. I deplaned my previous flight at B7 and looked at a monitor and saw another TRI flight boarding just down the hall at B17. I made my way to the GA and he happily put me on the earlier flight at no charge. He chatted with me about my upcoming hectic flying schedule–it seems that all of one’s SkyMiles profile shows in the system and he could see all of my upcoming DL flights. He thanked me for being so nice and for flying DL and I boarded, the last passenger to board. We sat at the gate longer than expected due to a small maintenance issue and while waiting, the wonderful FA, Tiffany, served us snacks and water. We departed 20 minutes late but the flight was only 35 minutes. In spite of the short duration, Tiffany gave us a full beverage service! We arrived at 10:35 a.m., still early! This was a great day to fly Delta!

February 29: TRI-ATL-HPN

DL 4550 TRI-ATL, ATR-72, seat 16B
This large prop plane’s entrance is in the back and the aircraft requires a tail stand!

Huge announcement–TRI has a bar and food service again, both upstairs and through security!

We boarded and departed on time and landed early, 55 mins. in flight, 42 pax of 50 possible. No service in flight. Due to weather, the ascent was BUMPY!

Crown Room Club
I had about an hour and a half in ATL and I spent it in the CRC in Terminal E. Nice snack selection–carrots and celery, white cheddar cheese, pretzel mix, Biscoffs, Nutella, and pre-packaged hummus! I enjoyed two (free) Atlanta Sweetwater Pale Ales.

DL 6492, ATL-HPN, EMB 170 op. by Shuttle America, seat 16B, no seatmate, so I moved over and took A and B!
This bird is incredible! It has powerful engines, a clean, two-tone leather interior, and was spacious (floor to ceiling is 6 feet 7 inches and the seats are wider according to the seat back card.) It has a small F section that I will get to try Sunday, with 1×2 seating, two rows (6 seats total.) The pilot and I chatted on the jetway and he said it was only a year old.

We departed on time, took off from ATL at 9:00 pm. The flight time was 1 hour 30 mins., but upon arrival to the HPN area, the runway closed due to the weather (visibility) and we took a 30 min. hold in the air. We finally landed at 11:10 pm, but they closed the runway again and we had to sit on the tarmac for another 30 mins. until another plane could move out and we could park. I think this was the first time that I had ever been on a completely snow-covered plane. You could not see out the windows.

As the pilot said, “the safest part of our journey was over.” And was he ever right! It took about an hour to get to Yonkers. The roads were absolutely horrible (we saw the plows heading out on our way home!) Closer to Yonkers, the weather was more of a mix, so we were able to get up the hill to where John lives (Yonkers is a hilly city if you have never been.) Whew!

17 days, 16 flights, and 11 airports!

I have 16 flights in like 17 days in/to/from 11 different airports (TRI, ATL, HPN, ROA, CVG, MCO, CLT, LGA, JFK, BOS, and BDA!) I think I have lost my freaking mind!

Fri, 29 Feb 2008
DL 4550 TRI-ATL 5:15 pm-6:41 pm
DL 6492 ATL-HPN 8:35 pm-10:59 pm

Sun, 2 Mar 2008
DL 6498 HPN-ATL 7:00 am-9:33 am
DL 4537 ATL-TRI 12:05 pm-1:24 pm

Mon, 3 Mar 2008
DL 6385 ROA-CVG 1:10 pm-2:26 pm
DL 1649 CVG-MCO 3:08 pm-5:16 pm

Wed, 5 Mar 2008
DL 58 MCO-ATL 4:05 pm-5:36 pm
DL 4893 ATL-ROA 8:10 pm-9:33 pm

Sat, 8 Mar 2008
US 4570 TRI-CLT 9:12 am-10:11 am
US 938 CLT-LGA 11:35 am-1:29 pm

Sun, 9 Mar 2008
DL 5504 JFK-BOS 7:00 am-8:30 am
DL 365 BOS-BDA 9:00 am-12:05 pm

Sat, 15 Mar 2008
DL 364 BDA-BOS 3:19 pm-4:35 pm
DL 5513 BOS-JFK 6:00 pm-7:35 pm

Sun, 16 Mar 2008
US 1247 LGA-CLT 8:15 am-10:20 am
US 4359 CLT-TRI 11:25 am-12:31 pm