DL 1792 ATL-LGA 6:40 pm-9:02 pm seat 4C First Class 30 Jan 2009

DL 1792 ATL-LGA 6:40 pm-9:02 pm seat 4C First Class

We boarded and pushed back on time. First Class boarded first, then zones 1 and up. We did not receive a pre-departure drink, but there was a pillow, blanket, and mini Dasani at each seat. The flight attendant did collect all coats to hang. We pushed back on time and after a 15-minute taxi, we departed at 6:58 pm. Once we were above 10,000 feet, the flight attendant came by with hot towel service and place mats for dinner. She then took drink orders and served our drinks. Dinner was a Greek salad with romaine lettuce, feta cheese, sliced grilled chicken, and a diced vegetable combination of red peppers, yellow peppers, purple onion, and cucumbers. It was served with olive oil balsamic vinaigrette dressing, a roll, and a small slice of cheesecake. The flight attendant passed through the cabin with drink refills as needed. Because of a 160 mph tailwind, we landed 21 minutes early, at 8:41 pm. The pilot must have come in for a fast landing, because when we braked, it took us a good while to slow down and we were thrown forward from our seats, with our seat belts barely holding us back. In spite of the landing, I would rate the flight an A+ based on the level and quality of service I received in First Class.

DL 5130 TRI-ATL 4:32 pm-5:35 30 Jan 2009

DL 5130 TRI-ATL 4:32 pm-5:35 seat 8B exit

We boarded with Medallions and specials first, which is not always the norm at TRI. The plane was about 75-80% full, with a few seats for people to move and have a row of their own. We shut the door at 4:27 pm, backed away on time at 4:32 pm, and were airborne at 4:40 pm. Although the kiosk says “beverage” for this flight when you check in, it is now always, “due to the short duration/by request only.” Otherwise, the flight was quiet and quick–we landed 15 minutes early at 5:20 pm.

The Icelandair Saga Class Experience: BOS-KEF-CDG roundtrip 4 and 9 Jan 2009 by VPP

I would like to extend a warm welcome to my guest blogger, a businessman, 20+ year frequent flier, and husband of a former flight attendant.

Below is his first trip report for a recent trip on Icelandair in Saga (business class.) And for clarification, TQOATIT is his nickname for me, his travel assistant (aka The Queen of All That is Travel! LOL)

Icelandair Trip Details
————————————————————
Sunday, January 4, 2009:
FI 630 B752 departing BOS at 8:35 p.m. arriving KEF at 6:40 a.m. +1 Seat 2F, “Saga Class”
FI 542 B752 departing KEF at 7:50 a.m. arriving CDG at 12:10 p.m. Seat 2D, “Saga Class”
————————————————————
Total Trip Cost: $1,477.40, Completely Refundable
Actual Airfare: $1,447.00
Actual Miles Flown: 3,809
Yield: $0.38 per mile (For Confirmed “Saga” Class)
Taxes & Fees: $30.40, 2.0% of ticket price

First off…the receipt does say “$30.40″ in taxes…that just can not be right…but it’s what the receipt says.

Thanks to TQOATIT for buying these tix. We all take for granted how simple it is to, say, go to CO’s web site and buy tix on www.continental.com. Trust me, not the same way going to www.icelandair.com. Web commerce is still being developed in these places.

First decision is “when to leave.” Tickets say “check in required 2 hours in advance” and of course, you can’t check in on line. The bus to BOS I’m planning to take gets in at 6:50 pm….which is an 1:45…but the next earlier one deposits me in BOS 4 hours plus early. No thanks. So, I’ll take my chances and get there at 6:50.

Interested to see how this airline is…will take as many notes and pics as I can….if this client situation works the way I hope it does, I’ll be needing Icelandair a few more times shortly.

So, stay tuned! Here we go!

Greetings from the Aer Lingus Gold Circle Club at Logan…got in, no troubles.

As noted above, based on numerous input, made the decision to drive up and get here with at least 2 hours to spare. Drive took 1:15 as there was ZERO traffic…and the L&T, SBH zoomed in, dropped me and that was that.

Had one scare though as the L&T, SBH and TQOATIT were quizzing me….”did you remember underwear? Socks?” etc., etc., etc. Suddenly, I remembered I hadn’t checked to make sure my passport was in my stuff…it was, thankfully…and I never take it out unless something odd is happening.

TQOATIT quizzed, “Itinerary? Train tix?” Negative on both…I can barely remember my name, how can I be expected to do that??? (And the itineraries she creates ARE very handy.)

In any case, got the the club and they were faxed for me.

Check in was easy. FI’s counter is well marked and delineated for “Saga” Class vs. “Economy” Class. There was me and 3 chicks…not hard on the eyes I might add, in line. I got my BPs, Saga FF number is in the record and off I went.

Club is sparsely appointed and NO ONE in it…like, NO ONE. Did find a good, cold Harp and some chips though.

More later as the details emerge…

Okay, seriously, this airline is VERY cool, especially with the new interiors.

Greetings from KEF and the Saga Lounge near my gate! Great to be seen in a bankrupt country.

Color me an FI fan…will ABSOLUTELY fly them again to Europe as an option. The challenge is, I’m guessing they are a little bit like YX, awesome to fly, just not easy to find something that works time wise.

Boarding was easy, Saga Class and “people needing assistance” were boarded first. Settled into 1C and looked and saw 2D and F….which had a football field of space. I can’t quite get my legs totally straight in 1C….but I was invited to take 2D or F for more space. There were only 7 of us in Saga Class of 22. So, I took 2F, no one next to me in 2D….and spread out. I mean, VERY spacious, VERY comfortable. Almost as comfortable in those seats as you can be on an airplane.

Saw the other seats and they looked nice as well….but make no mistake, 2D & F are THE seats! 1A & C are fine…but they are, in reality, probably the least desirable seats in the cabin…although I did not see the last row.

Airplane was IMMACULATE and new inside. IFE was VERY cool…only thing was strange is in my seat, you have to haul it out to watch the safety announcement and then put it back for take off. But once up, I took it out…there are 15 movies, TONS of TV shows, a dozen games, music and the historical perspective of FI as well as info on Iceland. There is NO WAY to get bored.

Champagne, the real stuff, served on he ground, once in the air, crackers and a beer, Icelandic of course, and then a dinner menu…three choices…pork, beef or fish…I chose fish, which was salt cod served with risotto and grilled asparagus….as well as a hot roll, butter and then salmon sushi. Desert was a chocolate tort and then bon-bons. Very good…some of the better fish I’ve ever had on an airplane.

Had Drouhin Pouilly Fusse (say what? Wine THAT good on an airplane?) They had 2 choices of white and red…and they came by often.

Of course, everything served in real glass, with real nakins, silverware, etc.

Ate and then played Sudoku and Tetris on their IFE…time FLEW, literally…and then I arrived here in KEF.

Crew was SUPER friendly, although, very, very senior.

This lounge is DECKED OUT! Very nice! I could hang here a while.

Off to CDG! We’ll see how a breakfast flight is!

In and sitting in my room in “snowy Paris!” Coming down pretty fair at this time.

2nd flight, JUST as good. Full breakfast served…including the trifecta of processed pork porduct…ham, sausage and bacon with an omlete…or, I could have had pancakes.

Couple things that were interesting…

I got to witness the first “seat stealer” of my flying career. We were about to get on the runway….and suddenly I feel a tug on my seat…a guy moved up from Economy plus and just plopped down! Could NOT believe it…and once we were in the air, the F/As were a little shocked…and promptly asked him for a Boarding Pass and then tossed him. LOL Talk about a low hanging set of cajones!

Also….2D & F on this aircraft were decent, not great seats. The seats themselves were new…but the closest, overheads and other interior was not. It was very clean, but obviously not new, like the other. Ironically, 1C on this bus was probably the best seat…or 1A…go figure. There was a lot of space…but it was a solid wall, so I couldn’t stretch out.

last thing….the F class divider is on a mechanism that moves and adjusts…so, this bus had only 10 seats and only 3 were occupied. The divider was moved to behind row 3. So, rows 4, 5 & 6 were the nice Saga Class seats…just no Saga service. And the “stowaway” cam from 4C….which they kicked him back to. LOL

Both flights, Coach was full…Saga, not.

Really, REALLY like the IFE…there’s almost TOO much to do.

Okay, now back in the opposite direction….

Icelandair Trip Details
————————————————————
Friday, January 9, 2009:
FI 543 B752 departing CDG at 1:20 p.m. arriving KEF at 3:50 p.m. 1C
FI 631 B752 departing KEF at 5:00 p.m. arriving BOS at 5:50 p.m. 2F
————————————————————
Total Trip Cost: $1,279.03, Completely Refundable
Actual Airfare: $1,018.00
Actual Miles Flown: 3,809
Yield: $0.267 per mile (For Confirmed Saga Class)
Taxes & Fees: $261.03, 20.4% of ticket price

And now, since the ticket prices were very different, lets take a peak at how everything combined and stacked up….

Combined Ticket Price VanMetrics:
Total Trip Cost: $2,756.43, Completely Refundable
Actual Airfare: $2,465.00
Actual Miles Flown: 7,618
Yield: $0.323 per mile (For Confirmed Saga Class)
Taxes & Fees: $300.43, 10.9% of ticket price

First thing to note here…and I just noticed…the United States taxes the friggin DAYLIGHTS out of these tickets…look at the taxes flying OUT of the US and into KEF/CDG….and then compare them coming INTO the US.

From BOS – $30.40
To BOS – $261.03

And yes, it does note it on the ticket receipt…not sure anyone remembers, but I was wondering why the taxes were so low on the outbound…only to then see monster taxes back into our country…

But, alas, I’ll keep my feelings on taxes for the Roach Motel….

TQOATIT secured this, as she does all tickets…great job, not easy as FI’s e-commerce leaves plenty of room for improvement.

Check in at CDG was chaotic…got here early to get to the I-care lounge for “connectivity” issues only to find they would only check me in 2 hours prior. So I had to sit out in the masses…very chaotic. Did walk by the US check in…MOBBED. I mean, MOBBED! As was United.

Saga must be wide open as the guy offered to seat me ANYWHERE. I stuck with what I had, in hopes it was the same as it was coming…row 2 on the starboard side rocked.

Sitting in the I Care lounge…300 times better then the horrific US lounge in MAD…nice, but not at the level of the Envoy lounge in PHL nor the Saga Lounge in KEF. Not sure I’ll be visiting the Saga Lounge in KEF as I’d like to get a t-shirt or something…

Okay…TR…here we go…ROCKIN’ airline…I know of AT LEAST 2 more trips to the other side of the pond…unless something changes, I’ll be on FI…

CDG-KEF

As close to missing a flight as I EVER want to be. In fact, I was CERTAIN I was going to miss this…and without the help of a professional, Spanish business woman, I would have missed it.

Noticed on my boarding card the flight started boarding at 12:30…50 minutes prior to departure. I thought that was odd…than at 12:40 I thought, “maybe I should get going.” I did…and VERY quickly, I understood that rationale. The Icare lounge is a long, long way from the gates…and, you have to clear the 2nd round of Passport control and then security.

Passport control was simple…I ran up, gave them my passport and they said, “have a nice day.” Then another hike to the gate area…long hike…and I got there and realized, “holy crap, there are 50 people in line to get screened”…and it was 12:50. So, I stood there…SLOW… in America, I think that line would have been dealt with in 10 minutes. But there were LOADS of tourists…in addition to them not realizing your toothpaste needed to be out, they were going through EVERYTHING. Finally, I said to this woman, “I need to catch that flight they just called last call on, do you mind?” She didn’t speak good English but pointed to my airplane and said, “that one?” I said yes…she said, “hurry.” Then I got sort of blocked and she came to my aid and took me to the VERY front os security…and everyone was reasonably considerate. And sure enough, they wanted to go through ALL of my crap…I was just certain I was doomed. LOL But, they asked me about my vitamins, I said “keep them if you must, I need to go.” She threw them back in my bag and onto the airplane I ran. Scared half to death.

Only 2 of 14 seats in Saga occupied…I was in 1C…they suggested I move…turns out Row 1 on Icelandair is Saga is the worst row. Row 2D&F are THE best seats…maybe in aviation for J or C Class. So, I took up space in 3C and had the entire row to myself. Great F/A…very pretty, well dressed, etc. I LOVE their uniforms and how classy they looked. Wanted a pic in the worst way, didn’t have the cajones to ask for one.

In the air, I ordered an Icelandic beer and then the woman came around for lunch…choice of tenderloin with a baked tomato and gorganzola or Haddock baked in a lobster cream…I had the fish..and frankly, that’s the best fish I’ve ever had on an airplane. (Pics coming) The wine was awful…turns out the Pouilly-Fuisse is only offered on KEF-BOS/JFK/MCO/MSP/YYZ runs. I sat back, relaxed and actually did a bunch of financial work.

Landed in KEF…nearly dark…but still enough light to see how beautiful it is. NCFL, landings and takeoffs in KEF were fine, easy. There was a little breeziness coming in from CDG, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I will say, landing in KEF is a little like landing in, say, BKW….there isn’t a lot going on there. Snow and ice on the ground since my visit on the 5th. Did some shopping, wanted a T-Shirt and hat…and then hit the Saga Club for a few. Actually, that Saga Club in KEF is the 2nd nicest departure lounge I’ve been in, after the Envoy Lounge in PHL, oddly enough.

KEF-BOS

Took a download on e-mail, then, after my last experience in CDG and knowing I had to clear (again) passport control, I left. Got through that and off to the gate. The seat chart was up…and I noticed there were only 2 of 22 in Saga…and the 2 of us were sitting next to one another. LOL (And the guy was my size and a hard core Bostonian. ) So, I knew I would take 3C.

As I got on the airplane, they had a HUGE display of Iceland water and papers, so anyone could take what they wanted. Nice touch. Got on, sat down…very attractive and well kept crew. Champagne was served and water…and I settled in and relaxed.

Plane pushed on time and shortly, we were in the air.

The menus were handed out…choices were Reindeer from Greenland, Pork belly from Spain or Black Cod from Iceland in a lemon butter sauce with barley…I had the fish…again…3 times in 4 flights. It was EXCELLENT as well. I ate and enjoyed it…and I drank that whole damned bottle of 2007 Joseph Drouhin Pouilly Fuisse. I noticed that is a $25 bottle of wine…WHEN is the last time ANY airline had wine of that quality on board? (Not to mention, I had just been there. )

After dinner was coffee and liquor cordials…I had a Baileys and coffee and then settled into working again.

Landed fairly early…and had a smooth trip through customs…had an agent who didn’t want to intimidate me, nice person.

So, there you have it…really a great trip. And I know TQOATIT had to work harder on that one then say, your typical CO trip as their e-commerce isn’t up to the standards of the rest of US carriers. But it was worth it. When I go to London here in the spring, I’ll do so on FI, for sure.

TSA Rules: Outsmart Security with Non-Liquid Alternatives to Ordinary Toiletries

http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/09-01/tsa-rules-outsmart-security-non-liquid-alternatives-ordinary-toiletries.html

Before the TSA ban on liquids on planes, I never thought much about the tiny bottles of lotion or old tubes of lip gloss buried in the bottom of my purse. I didn’t think twice about taking my full-sized toiletries in my carry-on bag. I happily bought perfume at the Duty Free shop during international layovers. Then, after the TSA ban took effect, I just started packing all my liquids into my checked bag.

EWR-ATL-TRI 11 Jan 2009

DL 2013 EWR-ATL 1125A-150P 757 3C
DL 5670 ATL-TRI 505P-604P Satan’s Chariot seat 1A

It took about an hour and a half, but I made it to EWR through VERY treacherous, icy conditions and awful, speeding drivers. I printed my BPs at a kiosk, Clear took me to the very front of the line of about about 25-30 people at security, and I thawed out in the CRC, as John currently has no heat or defrosting capability in his car–it broke Friday evening–you know, Beth Effect rearing its ugly head. Let’s just say I froze my derrière off in that car, even layered up.

Attached are EWR CRC photos. The NW club is directly across the hall. Wonder which one will close?

The morning spread was pretty good – yogurt, muffins, apple and cherry newtons (kinda like fig newtons, but larger and with fruit spread in the middle), apples, biscotti, Biscoffs, trail mix, pretzels, and coffee with a choice of Mini Moos or real skim milk (no brainer!)

The only funny thing was the napkins…they were branded “FlyBy Spirits by Rande Gerber and Song.” Song? How long have they been gone?

Sometimes my trips are pretty mundane, which is good. That means that all is well and consistent. Today was a little different, with a few twists to keep in interesting, both good and bad, now that I have landed. Let’s just say clubs come in really handy on days like this!

I left the club at 10:55 am. As I was leaving, I checked the monitor and noticed it said my flight’s status was 11:15 am and boarding already, instead of 11:25 am. When I arrived at the gate, they were already boarding zone 7. We boarded through the 2nd door of the 752. When I arrived at my seat, a very well-dressed, male FA asked me for my BP (I thought he thought I was sneaking up to F!) but it turned out he was using the BP stubs to mark our coat hangers. Yes, the first thing he asked was for my coat! However, during the entire boarding process, I was never offered a pre-departure drink, although everyone else was being offered one! Beth Effect? You decide!

As usual, all 24 F seats had a blanket, a pillow, a mini Dasani, and ear buds.

The young man seated beside me was escorted to F by an FA with a standby BP in his hand. Once he was seated, he turned to me and told me this was his first flight and he was returning home after seeing his dad in New Jersey. He actually took Greyhound up, and refused that for his return, so his sister, a DL employee, got him a buddy pass. Not bad scoring an F seat on your first buddy pass flight! After being seated, he took out a Bible and started reading. I told him I felt safer already! During takeoff, he kept his window shade closed for a couple of minutes, but then as we ascended, he finally opened his shade and enjoyed the view!

The FAs also brought up to F two military men heading back to Iraq and the pilot recognized them for their service and the plane applauded!

During boarding, the pilot came out to the front of the F cabin, introduced himself, recognized the NY-based FAs, thanked us for choosing Delta (twice, at the beginning and the end of his speech!), and told us why we were leaving early. The headwinds all the way to ATL were expected to be between 145-150 mph, which would put us into ATL about 20-25 minutes later than scheduled, so they elected to try to depart a little early to minimize our possible late arrival. Deicing was not required. I have to say, he was very personable as he spoke to us—he made eye contact with all of us and smiled the entire time. He seemed very genuine and very human. It was a very nice touch. He then went to the coach cabin and made a similar speech, but used the PA system.

We did not push back until 11:20 am, close to our originally scheduled time of departure of 11:25 am. We were airborne around 11:38 am and our flight time to ATL was estimated to be two hours and 15 minutes. In-flight service was the usual beverage service and snack basket in F. A female FA worked F during the flight and she wore the famous red wrap dress and black boots. However, she took the boots off and put on “sensible” shoes to work! She was very polite, smiling, and seemed to love her job!

The lady across the aisle had one of the baby laptops I read about, nicknamed “laptots.” I HAVE to get one of those! It was awesome!

DL actually showed a MOVIE on this flight, The Longshots, based on the true story of Jasmine Plummer, the first female to play Pop Warner football as quarterback for the small town Minden Browns! Should have seen the protection she had from her line, especially when she was roughed up! Rapper Ice Cube played the uncle/mentor/coach, Curtis Plummer. Of course, there were a few side complications along the way to the Pop Warner Super Bowl (like Jasmine’s distraction caused by the appearance and disappearance of her estranged father and the requisite motivational speech by her uncle), but it was a cute, inspirational, feel-good movie, appropriate for an NFL playoff day!

The FA came back multiple times for refills, but I only had two (strong) Bloodies, since I have to drive in a few hours. (Or at least I thought when I typed this!)

In-flight the pilot came on and apologized for the long flight, but the headwinds ended up being 180-185 mph. Believe me, ffolks, this was the longest EWR-ATL flight I have ever been on since I have been doing this, since 1997!

During the descent, my seatmate asked me, “Does this always happen to your ears?” I don’t know about everyone else, but to this very day, every time I fly I experience the ear altitude deafness, so I offered him my advice on how to gently clear his ears a bit!

We landed at 1:53 pm, three minutes past published departure. When I deplaned, I looked at the monitor and my TRI flight was not listed, so I went to the next set of monitors, and saw my flight was CANCELLED. As I was walking to the nearest club, I started receiving my alerts from FS and DL. I got to the club and get this, as Gold, I was on STANDBY for the next flight. About an hour later, I was finally assigned a seat, 1A.

The last flight, finally…

We boarded all rows, all zones at 4:45 pm. I overheard the GA tell a customer there were 24 passengers on standby, so I was lucky to be literally crammed in the corner of the plane in 1A with a large, older man blocking me in and his elbow in my side nearly the entire ride. Lovely.

We shut the door, then sat there at the gate waiting on fuel. We pushed back 17 minutes past published departure at 5:22 pm and took off 29 minutes past scheduled departure at 5:34 pm. There was no bev service scheduled “due to the short duration.” We landed at 6:14 pm, 10 minutes past published arrival.

At least the scenery was nice, although the window is like waist-level. What’s up with that?

So glad I’m not flying again for three weeks. My head hurts, I’m hungry, and I think I’m getting sick from being so cold this morning (myth my a$$!).

TRI-ATL-EWR 9 Jan 2008

DL 5130 TRI-ATL 432P-535P CRJ 8B Exit
DL 2020 ATL-EWR 715P-928P MD-88 3B

I was upgraded at my three-day window for both mainline flights.

I arrived TRI a little later than I normally would because I had to run a couple of errands on the way home and hit the bank. I had checked in, but not printed, so I printed at a kiosk, and was the only person in line to pass through security.

I went to the TRI Business Center (inside security, if you ever fly here; has cubicles, chairs, and a work table away from the gates) to type this. I noted on the kiosk that it said it was SNOWING in EWR, so I was keeping my fingers crossed for no Beth Effect!

My first flight departed at 4:40 pm and arrived at 5:25 pm., 45 minutes en route on Satan’s Chariot in 8B Exit with no seatmate! However, there was no in-flight beverage service due to the short duration. Blah, blah, blah…really uneventful, though, and I got a lot of reading done in 45 minutes.

Upon arrival in ATL, I had THREE messages from Delta–one voicemail and two e-mails–announcing my delay. At least they LET ME KNOW PROACTIVELY!

The second flight went well, albeit late. We boarded up and pushed back at 8:20 pm, instead of 8:10 pm, because we had to wait on traffic parked behind us. Then we took a nine-minute departure hold and were airborne at 8:37 pm. The crew was very funny and upbeat. The male working F came by numerous times. I had one pre-departure drink and two in-flight, and I think the guy beside me ended up having one pre-departure and three in flight! We also had the standard Delta snack basket. I was able to read more, as the MD88 has no IFE. The guy beside me had a personal DVD player and watched a movie. We landed around 10:20 pm.

I really appreciate Delta’s technology and the updates that were provided to me. And I am so happy to have a CRC membership and a place to relax when I am delayed.

Best Kept Restaurant Secret in the NYC Area

Best Kept Restaurant Secret in the NYC Area
Guest Author: Elizabeth Smith

Virginia’s State Tourism Slogan Celebrates 40th Anniversary

Virginia's State Tourism Slogan 'Virginia is for Lovers' Celebrates its 40th Anniversary in 2009

First trip report of 2009! LGA-ATL-AVL 1 Jan 2009

Pre-trip report
I arrived DL’s terminal at LGA to a HUGE crowd! I had already checked in, but had to check a bag, so I went to the First/Medallion line, which only had about seven people in front of me. Then I went to the Clear line–thank God for Clear–and the nice agents whisked me to the FRONT of the shortest line (there were about four checkpoints open today because of the huge crowd.) I LOVE Clear! Please, if you need/want a membership, contact me, so I can share with you a code that gets us both a free month for the referral! I am SO GLAD I renewed through Feb 2010! Because of Clear, I was able to enjoy some breakfast snacks (mini muffins, biscotti, trail mix, yogurt, etc.) and coffee in the CRC and type this!

DL 913 LGA-ATL 11:00 am-1:54 pm 738 Seat 1B (only aisle available when I was upgraded)

When I arrived at the gate, zone 3 was already boarding. As I stopped at my seat 1B to stow my laptop bag and purse in the overhead, I turned around and a male FA was behind me already offering to take my coat and asking for my pre-departure drink order! ^ I ordered a Bloody (which prompted a smile from the FA!), which I received with a slice of lime in a DL/Coke-branded plastic cup. There was also a mini Dasani, blanket, and pillow at my seat.

We pushed back 20 minutes past published departure because we had to wait on weight and flight data from ATL, as well as a tow from the gate. We took off 44 minutes past published departure at 11:44 am. Gotta LOVE LaGarbage traffic, even on New Year’s Day!

In flight, we were offered a full beverage and snack basket service. I ordered another Bloody, which arrived this time with a slice of lime in a plain glass. The snack basket had peanuts, granola bars, Sun Chips Originals, and Biscoffs.

This flight also offered the standard DL IFE TV shorts and DL programming. Ear buds were offered for sale in coach for $2.00.

The First Class FA (the flight’s team leader, as she called herself) came back to offer us all refills TWICE, for a total of three passes through the F cabin!

The flight was amazingly quiet and relaxing. My seat mate slept with her neck pillow and eye mask, while I caught up on reading December 2008 issues of PC Today, Laptop, and PC World. All of these magazines reviewed the same devices and they also made me want to go out and buy one of the new mini laptops, aptly called “lapTOTS,” for all of my travels! At about 2.5 lbs. each and a $400ish price tag, they would satisfy my need for connectivity on the road!

I must also note that the NYC-based crew presented themselves very nicely! The lead FA wore the dark blue navy wrap dress with the flared long sleeves, the two males wore the dark blue suit (three-button jacket) with dark blue turtlenecks, and the other female wore the dark blue pant suit with vest, top, and sweater. All had the red DL handkerchiefs nicely folded in their pockets! They all looked great!

One of the male FA returned our coats upon final approach and as he handed them to us, he said, “Thank you for flying DL, Happy New Year!”

EXCELLENT crew!

We landed at 1:42 pm, 12 minutes before published arrival!

Flight Experience Ratings
Check in – A
CRC LGA – A
In-Flight Comfort – A
In-Flight Service/Crew – A++++
Having a Clear Card – A++++

(Geez, LGA was freaking PACKED!)

DL 5022 ATL-AVL 3:10-4:07 pm CRJ Seat 8B Exit

Like many Express or Connection carriers, we boarded late, at 2:56 pm, but in 10 minutes, at 3:07 pm, we had shut the door (my FS alerted me we were already Active/Departed before I had powered down!). We actually took off at 3:20 pm, 10 minutes past published departure.

This FA was anal retentive! After the door was shut, one pax moved to an empty row and the FA announced loudly over the PA that everyone was to remain seated as she had already submitted the seat count! When she passed through a 2nd time to make sure we were buckled up, etc., she stopped and asked the pax who moved where she had moved from.

Luckily flight time was scheduled to be 31 minutes, take off to touch down, and I had no seat mate! Ms. Anal Retentive did not offer a bev service, but passed through the cabin many times to strictly enforce all the rules! I made sure to cut off all of my Blackberry connections before starting this trip report, so I would not be called down/called out for being a rule breaker!

We landed at 3:51 pm, 16 minutes before published departure!

My 2008 Flying Totals

2008 Flight Totals

CO 1,666/2
DL 55,716/62
NW 10,010/20
UA 6,000/8
US 20,365/31

Total = 93,757 miles/123 flights