LGA-ATL-TRI on Delta 1 June 2009

DL 1777 ATL-LGA 9:55 am – 12:40 pm 757-200 Seat 2C Aisle
DL 5086 ATL-TRI 4:15 pm – 5:19 pm CRJ-200 Seat 8B Exit Aisle, changed to Seat 4B Aisle

My fiancé had to be at work at 7:30 am, so he dropped me off early at LaGuardia.  I passed rather quickly through the Clear security line, but it was not as efficient as previous experiences.  It was the “morning rush” and Clear apparently only had two employees working, one to verify identity and one to lead passengers to the shortest line.  Because of this, the service was slightly less personalized and I found I had to wait a little longer than before.  However, it was still quicker than the elite or regular lines.

I spent the next hour and a half in the LGA Sky Club.  There were not many snacks, but I was not hungry.  I just wanted a quiet place to work that had complimentary Internet, so the club worked.  A quiet place to work that has complimentary Internet is primary reason I have the membership.

My flight from LGA boarded on time and we pushed back about three minutes early, at 9:52 am.  However, we had to wait to take off (surprise, not!) and finally departed at 10:32 am, 37 minutes past scheduled departure.

The pre-flight and in-flight service was as expected.  Our seats were prepared for our arrival with ear buds, a blanket, and a bottle of mini-Dasani.  We received a full, pre-departure beverage service.  In-flight service consisted of Delta On Air short programming and a lunch and beverage service.  This time lunch was either a turkey sandwich or a Greek-like salad with cold grilled chicken, romaine lettuce, yellow and red pepper, cucumber, olives, and feta cheese.  Sides included the usual fresh fruit plate, breadsticks, and molasses cookie.  We also received the snack basket service as well, with the choices being Twix®, Biscoffs®, Pretzel Crisps®, apples, or peanuts.

We made up time in the air and landed at ATL early at 12:14 pm.  I made my way to the ATL C36 Sky Club, the location closest to my connecting gate.  There I enjoyed the quiet, the work, and an Atlanta Sweetwater Pale Ale.

I was scheduled to meet a friend who was flying through ATL.  He landed on time, but his aircraft took a delay waiting on a gate and during the deplaning process.  So when he arrived the Sky Club, he literally stopped in, had a brief look around, then departed!  The visit was maybe one minute long!

After he ran in and out, I packed up and went to my gate, one gate away from the club.  When I arrived, the agent was seeking one volunteer to take the next flight to TRI, so I volunteered.  However, there were a couple of misconnects, so she ended up not needing me.  However, in the process, I lost my exit row aisle seat and ended up in 4B.

We departed the gate at 4:14 pm, but had to wait to depart.  ATL’s afternoon rush hour must have reared its ugly head.  We sat in line with no air conditioning, which was really uncomfortable.  We finally departed at 4:47 pm, 32 minutes past scheduled departure.  The flight attendant, sensing how warm we must have all been, offered all of us a cup of ice water en route, atlhough no in-flight service was scheduled.  We arrived TRI at 5:23 pm, only four minutes past scheduled arrival.