BOS-DFW-PHX-ATL-BOS

Fare was booked in K class ($30 more than L class) and the original itinerary:

13 April
DL 1181 dep BOS 1605 arr DFW 1905  727-200  13D&F
DL 1161 dep DFW 2045 arr PHX 2119  MD-90    12A&B

17 April
DL  348 dep PHX 1150 arr ATL 1812  757-200  27D&F
DL  404 dep ATL 1940 arr BOS 2215  757-200  27D&F

13 April

We arrived at the airport in good time, at about 1445 (having decided at the last minute to take a cab as we'd left work much later than we'd planned - as usual!). Wow was Logan busy. The five Medallion/First Class agents were working like crazy, and there were a good six or seven people in front of us in line. The coach line was even worse! However, the M/FC line soon cleared, and we were through. Our wait list for the first flight still hadn't cleared, however. Oh well - at least we theoretically had seat 13E blocked open for us. Funny story: the agent was obviously trying to go as "paperless" as possible as he didn't even give us a ticket jacket. He just handed us our boarding passes and folded up our baggage claim receipt to give to me. In retrospect, this isn't a bad thing (as my house is almost up to the windows in those silly ticket jackets).

We killed our time at Logan traditionally before heading to gate 29 and our 727-200. The plane was in old livery and was sporting some nice oil slicks in the traditional "JT-8D disease". I asked at the desk about the upgrade, and they said to wait in the boarding area. Later, the gate agent made an announcement telling certain people to wait in the boarding area, but we weren't among them. WEIRD. Were there seven people who were GM or higher on a higher fare class than us? Now I remember why I book 757s and their high percentage of F seats!

DL1181 sch dep BOS 1605, actual 1610. sch arr DFW 1905, actual 1842
727-247, N294WA, 4 FA's (1.5F, 2.5Y), seats 13D&E. Dinner.

Boarding was called at 1540. We got on board during Medallion boarding only to find somebody else (NOT Medallion) sitting in 13E. Huh? And there were other empty seats on the plane, too! I told the woman in 13E that my husband and I were together and asked her to move to the window. She said "can I sit on the aisle?" to which I responded "No!". Turns out she was travelling with somebody who was sitting in 12A&B and wanted to be closer to them. Grr. The flight attendants did a TERRIFIC job in enforcing "bin hogs". One couple got on board and put their bags over row 12 only to be told to move their bags closer to where they were sitting. Heh heh heh.

The 727 interior was the new Delta blue and grey (rather than the garish orange and yellow which I've seen in other 727s). The overhead bins were rather small! Big enough for us, of course (the laptop went overhead, our backpack down below), but people with rollaboards had trouble. Still, that didn't preclude us from pushing at 1610 (just five minutes late), and we took off thirteen minutes later, 1623.

The captain quickly turned off the seatbelt sign and the FAs did a drinks service with new snackmix (well it's "summer harvest plus" - a few chex and the seasoning is a bit spicier). Drinks service took FOREVER - there were only two FAs in coach at this point (two were up in FC doing dinner service). Drinks done, there was a quick cleanup, and dinner began. By this point all of the dinners had been served in F, so one of the FAs came back to help (bringing meals by hand). The dinner was spinach lasagna (with no choice). I'd forgotten about the limited galley space on the 727! Accompaniments were an onion kaiser roll, salad with honey french dressing, and a yummy lemon cake. The lasagna was pretty good (and I think it was meatless, or if there was any meat it was well hidden). There was another drinks service with the meal.

Funnily enough, there was a family sitting in 13A-C and 14A-C. The kids (ages 9-11 or so) were sitting in 13A-C, and one of them actually rang the flight attendant call button to ask for a different meal (!). No, you eat what you get, actually. She was told there was no choice so she picked at the meal and gave the rest to her (human vacuum) brother.

I knew I didn't want to watch the movie and it was a damned good thing, as I'd forgotten the 727-200 was entertainmentless. The flight passed pretty quickly, even though the block time was listed as 3h 25 min. I did some writing for work and read. Christopher just read.

The seatbelt sign was lit at 1820, which meant one thing: we were going to be EARLY. Yuck. We already had almost two hours scheduled in Dallas, I really didn't want any longer. The captain rang final at 1831 and we touched down, amidst a pile of AA planes, at 1838. A quick taxi later and we were at gate E30 at 1842 (27 minutes early).

We deplaned and were off down the concourse ... but wait, there was no concourse! We were on the satellite terminal, which meant we had to go downstairs (two sets of escalators) and on the moving walkway (or not, actually, since it wasn't working), up a huge escalator, and then out onto the concourse. Our connecting flight was scheduled out of gate 32, which sounds deceptively close to gate 30. I hate Dallas-Ft Worth.

Since we had tons of time to kill we wandered up and down the terminal. We found that (1) the food concessions are a little better since the last time we killed time at DFW, (2) the non-food retail stores are pretty damned lame (a whole store devoted to MAGNETS). I was also reminded of another reason why I hate DFW: the narrow hallways. No matter that this airport is used as a Hub, the hallways (and curved shape of said hallways) are not conducive to walking along at a good clip. All it takes is one Granny-and-family to block up half of the walking width of the hallway. Ugh.

After we walked around we settled at gate 32. The flight was due in late from FLL and boarding wouldn't actually begin (scheduled) until 2100. We sat down, and I stayed with the stuff while Christopher grabbed a snack. A young mother was feeding a baby nearby (in anti-Maryanne style, I should note). CNN Airport network was full of the Elian Gonzalez thing (sigh), so I digged out the hardback book I'd brought and started reading through it. After Christopher finished his snack he wandered around the gate area looking for power outlets. ANOTHER reason I hate DFW: there are no power outlets in most gate areas (this gate area had one, but it was dead). What on earth lulled me into booking a connection through DFW on a 727-200? I would have been happier on a pair of 757s through Salt Lake!

The FLL plane finally arrived, not as late as anticipated, and the plane was cleaned quickly. There was not much catering to be done (just drinks), so we actually boarded slightly behind the originally scheduled time at 2050.

DL1161 sch dep DFW 2045, actual 2116. sch arr PHX 2119, actual 2130
MD-90, N9??DE, 3 FA's (1F, 2Y), seats 1C&D. No meal.

We got on boarding holding cards for 1D&2D. The guy in 1C was right in front of us, and we asked him if he'd swap back to 2D. He looked at the lack of legroom in the MD-90 bulkhead row and jumped at the chance. We had to stuff everything up overhead (except one book each), but quickly settled. The FA took our jackets and our drink orders (water! in a bottle please!) while the coach pax filed past.

The door was closed at 2114 (24 minutes to board a full MD-90, about standard), and we pushed just two minutes later. Takeoff was 2129, only thirteen minutes on the ground at a major hub (clearly we had missed the rush).

Once up in the air the FA did another drinks service (more water!), and later came around with a snack basket (typical for this time of night). Snack baskets used to be bags of summer harvest mix and biscoff cookies. Well the snack basket has changed! The first selection available was the old pal summer harvest. The second was one of my standbys, Rold Gold pretzels. The third was some kind of nuts (I didn't take any). But it was the fourth selection that blew me away: Granola Berry Crunch. Think "snack mix for breakfast" and you're there. Granola clusters with slivers of almonds and dried berries. YUM. I can see this becoming a favourite of mine in the months to come...

While the MD-90 is the foster kid of Delta's fleet, I'd forgotten how nice of a plane it was. The handrail is very nice, especially in case of turbulence. The lavs are impeccably well laid out. Even better, the PSUs (passenger service units) are very nice, with directional lights and great air vents. Once we were aloft, the captain said that the flight would be 1h 57m en route (which would put us into Phoenix only a little late).

I read the flight away while Christopher fell asleep (!!!). As those of you who read my trip reports regularly know, Christopher is not a great sleeper on planes. He slept through the seatbelt light at 2112, but not through final which was rung just four minutes later (2116). We touched down at Phoenix/Scottsdale Sky Harbor International Airport at 2130, and taxied over to gate 17. We were off to collect our bags and rental car (which thanks to a long Avis line and inefficient baggage handling, arrived at the same time), before going east down 202 and north on 101 to Christopher's grandmother's in Scottsdale.

17 April

I knew we had a good shot at upgrades on a pair of 757s, but I took no chances. I called for an upgrade at the Paradise Valley Mall from a payphone, and was confirmed for both legs immediately, 5C&D PHX-ATL, and 4C&D ATL-BOS. No dicking around this time.

We left Christopher's grandmother's in good time (0945), because we didn't know where we'd be able to find a gas station en route to the airport. We got off 202 on one of the exits and drove around for quite a while before finding one... only to arrive at the road to the airport and find another gas station right there. Typical, eh? The search for gas put us much later into Sky Harbor than I wanted, but the car rental return was very quick (and on the same level as the ticketing desks, unlike the car rental pickup which was one level above), so we were in the Medallion line by 1045, plenty of time.

After checking our one bag in, we headed upstairs past the construction. Christopher perused the bookstore and I perused the magazine stand, after which we cleared security and found two seats facing the ramp. From there we saw a DL 737-300 (N951WP - ex West-Pac??), and lots and lots of HP special livery planes (Phoenix Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Ohio, and at least one other). Going through security, it was the first time in a long time that our laptop was not selected for secondary screening (the security agents usually want to sniff it to see if it contains a bomb).

I was hungry, so I went out to the landside part of terminal in search of food. Let's just say that there are lots more options in this poor man's terminal at Sky Harbor than there were at DFW. I chose to get a glass of milk from Johnny Rocket's (just $1.29 for 12oz, less than the $1.79 for 8oz that the airside place wanted). I had a stash of Cadbury's chocolate in my bag, so I nibbled a Cadbury bunny (buck buck buck) and drank my milk down.

The catering and cleaning crew was taking a long time. To keep us interested (or perhaps to feel self important) the gate agent kept coming on the PA and making inane announcements, like the weather in Atlanta (who cares? I bet most people on the plane were connecting!), the movie in flight (more on that in a moment), and other things. At the same time, the DL plane at the next gate over was being loaded by Jesse Ventura (or somebody who looked like him) - only THREE rows at a time!! "Rows 43 to 45". And he was enforcing it, too! Perhaps in those stupid DL ads where they have the luggage tags which say "fly ......", I should fill one out that says "with Jesse Ventura as my gate agent". :-)

DL 348 sch dep PHX 1150, actual 1151. sch arr ATL 1812, actual 1828
757-200, N615DL, 6 FA's (2F, 4Y), seats 5C&D. Lunch.

Boarding was called late at 1128, and we quickly went on board. Yay, a door 2 board. Every first class passenger's dream: a door 2 board (the dream extends to a door 1 deplane :-). We sat down and were offered our choice of drinks (water in a bottle, the nice thing about water in a bottle is that if you don't finish it, you can cap it up and keep it, unlike every other drink served where they have to take it from you before takeoff). Our jackets were taken, too (something done regularly in the winter in cold weather destinations but sometimes can be neglected in the summer and/or warm weather locations).

We pushed back at 1151 and were airborne from runway 26L at 1208. Soon after, the FA came around to pass out lunch menus! The details:

Mixed greens (lettuce, carrots, cukes) with "Sesame Oriental Dressing" (was actually Thai Vinagrette)

Entrees:
Ancho Chile crusted Omaha Steaks Filet Mignon served with Pepita Rice and a medley of Zucchini, Corn and Red Pepper, accompanied by Mint Horseradish Sauce

Orecchiette Pasta (basically bowties) complemented by Portobello Mushroom Sauce with Herb-roasted Chicken (diced), Peas, diced Tomatoes and Parmesan Cheese

Corned Beef and Swiss Cheese Sandwich enhanced by Dijon Horseradish Sauce, offered with Lettuce and Tomato and Mustard-accented Cole Slaw

Grain Waves Organic Rolls (Christopher's was French, mine was multigrain)

Dessert
Newman's Own Ice Cream Sundae with your choice of Caramel and Chocolate Sauce, mixed Nuts and Whipped Cream.

&nsbp;

[Note that the dates on this menu are 3/23-5/17, so if you're flying DL in F during those dates, expect to see this menu]

The FAs then took lunch orders. Christopher chose the steak, and while I had been dithering between the sandwich and pasta, I chose the pasta (mostly because Americans just can't do corned beef the way that me, a British person, expects). The FAs put linens out and did pre-lunch drinks.

I do like personalized service in first class, but when you're sitting back in row 5, it seems to take FOREVER for the food to arrive. Row 1 gets fed WAY before row 5. I got hungry just hearing the clinking of the plates (of course, row 1 also finishes way before row 5 which means they're pinned to their seats, so I guess it all comes out in the wash :-).

Christopher said his steak was "excellent" and he absolutely loved the rice accompaniment (I agree, as I tasted both). My pasta with chicken was pretty good, and that's high marks for somebody who had never had portabello mushrooms before that day (I've been a rabid anti-mushroomer for years, and I'm trying to change my habits but it's difficult). I skipped dessert, but ended up eating some of Christopher's (typical :-).

I had wanted to watch the movie, which I thought was "Anna and the King", but since DL now runs two movies a month (one on the 1-15 of the month, and another on 16 until the end of the month), I got screwed. The last showing of Anna was April 15, so instead we had some stupid movie with Sissy Spacek and some guy riding a lawnmower across the country. I read and did some puzzles instead. The flight crew was very unchatty. Many flight crews yap on and on about "we're now going over New Mexico, look out the right side and you'll see Albuquerque, in about ten minutes we'll be going over El Paso". Yawn. Unchattiness was a nice change for a daytime flight (most night flights are unchatty).

The flight went quickly, and the captain lit the seatbelt light at 1751 EDT, followed by final at 1803. We touched down on 27L at 1819, but it took us nine minutes to get to the gate (even though we were just a few hundred yards away, we had to cross the active departure runway to get there). Our arrival gate was T5. On our way to the gate we saw the brand new livery 777.

This was Atlanta, home of our Delta Guardian Angel. Usually, Guardian Angels don't work past 1700, but just our luck, GA is working evenings this week. He didn't manage to meet us off the plane (we got off sooner than he thought), but he did meet us at the gate for our connecting flight (which was next door at gate T4).

We sat and talked for a while. GA mentioned that Delta is installing some expanded overhead bins into select planes to fit rollaboards transverse. GA asked if our 757 had this retrofit and we said no. GA said they're in testing right now on just a few planes. There was lots of talk about the new DL livery (I hate the tail and so does GA, while Christopher mourns the loss of the cheatline).

Our connecting flight was called for boarding at 1910 but we didn't get on board until 1925 (well, would *you* if you were sitting chatting with *your* guardian angel?). So we bid GA goodbye and got on board our last leg of the trip.

DL 404 sch dep ATL 1940, actual 1943. sch arr BOS 2215, actual 1201 757-200, N630DL, 5 FA's (2F, 3Y), seats 4C&D. Snack.

The first thing I noticed on boarding was that there were BusinessElite pillows and blankets on each seat. Christopher stuffed his on the floor. I chose to use mine! The second thing I noticed was how sucky row 4 is for watching the inflight entertainment. Luckily, the only thing on this route is "Delta Horizons" (it's not long enough for a "real" movie). Obligatory drinks service (yes, water).

We pushed back at 1943 and took off at 1956 from runway 27R (the one we crossed after arriving from PHX). Soon after, the FAs did another drinks service and came around asking for snack orders. The options were pasta with chicken or meatloaf sandwich with vegetable soup. Christopher had the pasta and I passed. Each snack came with a roll and cheesecake (I'll admit, I had some of his cheesecake). The FAs also passed out unlimited snackmix (so I took a bag of each of my three favourites).

The flight was quite bumpy, and the FAs were even instructed to sit for a while. That ended (thankfully, as I had overfilled my bladder and needed to make a pitstop), and the rest of the flight was uneventful. I did lots of puzzles while Christopher finished his book. Neither of us read the new Sky Magazine (we actually read that the weekend before when we went BOS-LGA-BOS). All it is is the same old content with a new typeface - oh, and the puzzle is now at the very back!

Seatbelt was lit at 2139, MUCH earlier than I anticipated. I expect that due to the turbulence the captain elected to cruise at a higher speed. Final was just five minutes later (2144) and we landed on runway 4R at 2155. We took the "grand tour", arriving at gate 28 (the FO thought it was "26" and actually came on the PA to announce we were being towed in, which is the protocol for gate 26) at 2201.

Off we went down the concourse, arriving at bag claim (5! Not our usual!). The light and buzzer flashed, and wouldn't you know it, our bag was SIXTH off. Perhaps that Gold Medallion tag is good for something?

All in all a very good, solid trip. I doubt I'll get too many more legs on a mainline 727. I was actually hoping that DL404 would have its 757 subbed by a Tristar as I don't have many more chances on that one either.

Next trip (& report) : probably DCA & RDU, May. Either that, or San Diego, June.

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