#flightreport

Please forgive me if this post comes off a little whiny. As I say to AvGeekBF a lot: he's created a monster.  Flying comfortably and with status is something you quickly get used to.  So when I have to go it alone - in coach  (the horror!) - the difference just seems all the greater.

Last weekend, I visited my hometown of Atlanta, GA for a family gathering.  Delta has long been my preferred carrier, mostly because I grew up in ATL and Delta has it's vice-like claws over a majority of the gates there.

But I've been very impressed with Delta's growth and focus on service quality over the last few years.  There's a friendly tenor to the brand now, which feels winking and a little hip.  Like a southern JetBlue, I guess.  (I really enjoy their new flight safety video, although I really miss Smiley Winky guy and Cheek Bones girl from the old one.)

But first a gripe:  Delta refused to disclose our gate until after I arrived at the airport, and then it turned out to be one of the rare occurances that a Delta plane was leaving from Terminal 6.  Which means I walked from my super-secret-special-parking location to Terminal 5, only to be told I had to turn around and go back to Terminal 6 (which I'd just walked past.)  Big deal?  No. But a little annoying.

You must parade past Alaska's slick check-in modules to get to security at Terminal 6.  It all feels a little cruel.  But once inside the concourse, there's a Coffee Bean... so that helps a little.

Now onto my next gripe:  as a Delta Skymiles Amex cardholder, I'm entitled to priority boarding in Zone 1.  But that's after First and SkyPriority (which is apparently something different) - about 1/3 of the plane.  And then about another 1/2 of your plane will also be entitled to board in Zone 1.  So can we really call it "priority" boarding, Delta?  I'm going to get all Georgia on you:  don't polish a turd and call it a diamond. I generally find the boarding process on Delta to be anxiety-inducing.  There's always crowding at the door, probably because 3/4 of the plane has "priority".  (Sidebar:  I'm terrible at math and prone to exaggeration.)

I appreciate the slight boost up the line, but by the time I boarded the overhead bins in the first ten rows were full - mostly by SkyPriority jerks sitting towards the back of the plane who are jerks and jerkily stow their bags up front.  Jerks.  There must be a better way.

Behold my spacious coach seat!

Behold my neighbor's lustrous head of hair!  I should've offered him a scalp massage.

However, notice what's missing?  I managed to catch one of the few flights that's lacking personal VOD.  Womp womp.  Lucky for me I was buried in work, so I spent the flight toiling away and it didn't matter.  But the Delta VOD system is pretty great, so I was sad not to see it's cheerful interface.

Food & bev is one place I will gladly give DA props, as it's improved by leaps and bounds over the years.  I bought a slider combo that came with chips and dessert for around $10.  The sandwich wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible.  Should've had the fruit and cheese plate, though.  

New rule:  always go with the fruit & cheese.