Mad (short) weekend in Brussels

So as the school term wound down, I pondered going away. The only difficulty was, Christopher was committed to work over Memorial Day weekend (the obvious weekend to go away). Delta did have some pretty awesome fares going, though. Perhaps the weekend before? But where? The fare sale was only on Delta metal flights. Thanks to the Comair strike, our options out of JFK were very limited, and included Zurich, Amsterdam, and Brussels. We've done Zurich. By the time we were ready to purchase the tickets, Amsterdam's cheap seats were gone.

So Brussels it was. We booked the tickets exactly seven days before departure. I immediately sent the record locator off to my Delta Guardian Angel (hereafter known as "GA"), who rewarded me with seats in row 21 on all legs. The only thing I was not pleased by in the whole setup was that our tickets were paper. Even GA couldn't fix that!

Our itinerary:

18 May
DL 138 dep BOS 1640 arr JFK 1805    767-300  21F&G
DL 140 dep JFK 1855 arr BRU 0825+1  767-300  21F&G

20 May
DL 141 dep BRU 1115 arr JFK 1330    767-300  21F&G
DL 139 dep JFK 1440 arr BOS 1550    767-300  21F&G

For such a short trip, I saw no reason to subject us to the "jet lag diet", which works really well (my husband claims it just induces jet lag early. He might be right!). Nor would we have much luggage to haul along: just one backpack each (plus a packable canvas tote bag to carry anything we'd purchase there).

Friday morning we went to work as usual, but left by about 1430 to make it to Logan early. I know that the suggestion for airport appearance on International tickets is 120 minutes, but I also knew that Logan would likely not be busy around 1500 on Friday (it wasn't), and that our check in would be no more complicated than a domestic flight (it wasn't). When we arrived, a Red Coat came by and told us we could check in at the gate (he saw we had no bags). "We're flying internationally", was Christopher's response. The Red Coat smiled and said "ah, ok". Even with five people in front of us in line, we were through in a matter of minutes.

We hung around landside for a few minutes, but as the ticket line grew longer, we chose to clear security and beat the ensuing rush. As usual, the flight was due to depart from gate 26. The equipment came in from LAX, which concerned me, as DL has a habit of cancelling the LAX-BOS run if the pilot's nose tickles. But the plane wasn't just in, it arrived early. The plane was dressed in "Leo Mullin" or "Deltaflot" colors.

We hung around the gate area for a while, reading the Boston Globe and a copy of USA Today (we bought the former, and picked up the latter from an empty seat). Pet peeve: the cleaning guy came along and tried to trash all of the newspapers we were done with. Why not just leave them for somebody else? A newspaper does not inherently only have one "read" in it...

DL 138 sch dep BOS 1640, actual 1652. sch arr JFK 1805, actual 1815
767-300, N1200K, 8 FA's (4C, 4Y), seats 21F&G.

The gate agents called for boarding at 1623, first "Business Class", then Medallion. The Delta website implied that the flight would be a relatively empty one. I didn't care whether it was or not, as we were in row 21. Our jackets went overhead, and backpacks at our feet.

Row 21 in Delta's 767-300ER is absolutely the best coach seat you can find on a Delta plane, bar none. Not only do you get lots of leg room, you also get TWO tray tables (more on that later :-) - one in the arm of your seat, as well as one on the seatback in front of you. In addition, you're right near the lav. This is a negative (in the middle of the night) and a positive (all other times).

The door closed at 1650, and we pushed back at 1652. After a typically long Logan taxi, the captain performed a rolling takeoff on runway 22R at 1708. Wheee! While waiting on the ground, the captain told us it would be a "40 minute" flight. The lead FA also added that due to the short duration of the flight, there would be no cabin service in coach. I won't even rant here about how DL Shuttle, same stage length, manages to serve not just a beverage but a snack. All I wanted was a lousy bottle of water!

No water (and not enough time to care), the seatbelt sign was lit at 1726: it had only been off for ten minutes! We were soon on the ground, runway 22L, at 1747: a 39 minute flight, not 40. Unfortunately, since we landed early, we had to wait on the taxiway. DL pushes many flights to Europe at 1800, and there wasn't a gate available for us until just after then. So we hung out on the tarmac. It was a great opportunity to planespot. JFK certainly has lots of different equipment from different carriers. Christopher took the time to bemoan the loss of the cheatline, and continued to complain of the predominantly white bodies on most airline liveries.

Enough time for complaining. We finally docked at gate 26 at 1815 (28 minutes after landing). The NYC based cabin crew did announce gate assignments. BRU was originally to be out of gate 15 (Terminal 3), but by the time we reached JFK the flight was at gate 23, a mere three gates over. Yay. The LA based cockpit crew wished us "adieu" as we hustled out the door and across the concourse.

Of course, they weren't even boarding Brussels yet. And even worse, the CDG flight was at the next gate. The idiotic gate agents for CDG forgot to preface their announcements with "Paris", or even say "Paris" in any of their announcements, so the BRU pax kept storming the gate thinking it was row 35-45 boarding. Well yeah, if they wanted to go to Charles de Gaulle ("Beautiful Day").

Both CDG and BRU had 3-4 gate agents. The problem is, while the CDG agents forgot to say "Paris", they were at least competent in following Boarding Procedure. The gate agent for BRU announced Business Class, and then went straight to rows 35-45. Christopher and I walked up and he said "we're not boarding your row yet". Ahem. "Medallion?" said Christopher. He deigned to let us on. However, he didn't scan our tickets, but just ripped off the boarding pass stub.

DL 140 sch dep JFK 1855, actual 1909. sch arr BRU 0825+1, actual 0816+1
767-300, N195DN, 8 FA's (4C, 4Y), seats 21F&G.

We went on board and settled in to good ole row 21. This time, we put one backpack overhead with our jackets and left just one at our feet. On each seat was a pillow (typical tiny coach pillow) and blanket (wrapped in plastic). There was also a menu in the seatback pocket.

Before pushback I visited the large lav. There are two lavs midships on the DL 767-300ER. The bigger lav is the one further to the rear than the other. There's a hallway running between them, like this:

<-- more coach row 22 row 21  row 20   BizElite -->
               big  aisle  smaller
               lav  """""  lav
<-- more coach row 22 row 21  row 20   BizElite -->

Unfortunately, this 767-300 didn't have an extra tray table for row 21!! :-( I really like having the extra tray table to put my glasses and a bottle of water on in the middle of the night. Argh! Well, it's not like I could DO anything about it...

The door was closed at 1857, but we didn't push back until 1909. No announcement was made (but we did push back before the CDG flight, even though CDG was scheduled to depart earlier than us). I can only imagine that we were late leaving due to transferring bags. We took off at 1928 on runway 13R.

The captain came on making the oligatory announcement about cruise altitude (33000 ft) and flight time (6hr 43 minutes). He said we'd arrive "on time!". He also made the "warning" about an extra pilot on board (do some passengers really get panicky if they see a uniformed person snoozing in the cabin?). Then the lead FA came on. Boy did she have the SQUEAKIEST little voice. More on that later in the trip...

The FAs rolled down the aisle to do a pre-dinner drinks service, which I honestly wish they'd just abandon on east coast to Europe redeye flights. It takes way too much time. In any case, the FA claimed there was no bottled water. But wait, I'd seen some earlier! She said "oh, that's only in business class". Yuck! So she handed us each a cup of water (at least Delta has bigger cups now), along with "delta-air.com" napkins. Old stock!

After cleanup, the FAs rolled back down with dinner. The menu is below (and it's 5/01 E/C-A, ATL-BRU/DUB/LGW/MAN/SNN, CVG-LGW, JFK-BRU/DUB/MAN/SNN. Yes, you read that right. Still JFK-MAN! Old template! :-). As always, food only. If you really care, email me and I'll type up the wine info:

Delta (widget) welcomes you aboard

Salad
Mixed Garden Greens offered with Italian Dressing

Entrees
Please choose one of the following Entrees.
Steakhouse Selection: Beef Tenderloin enhanced by Ranch Barbeque Sauce, presented with roasted Red-skin Potatoes and Green Beans with Red Pimentos
Lasagna with Chicken Bolognese: Thin, layered Pasta served with a hearty Chicken and Vegetable Sauce

Roll and Butter
Cheese and Crackers

Dessert: Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate

Good Morning
Minute Maid Orange Juice (4oz carton)
Fresh Fruit (Banana)
Turkey-Ham and Cheese Omelet served on an English Muffin
Fruit and Grain Bar (Apple Crisp)

I, of course, skipped dinner. Christopher didn't, but neither did he have either of the selections. He chose to order a special meal, in his case, LSML (Low Sodium Meal). The meal arrived first (before anybody else's), was not (as obviously) mass prepared, and contained other than the traditional selection. Oh yes, he'll be ordering that meal again. Heck, *I* might choose a special meal next time...

As usual for an overnight flight, I took the window and Christopher had the aisle. I soon conked out, and managed to get about 2.5 hours sleep. He didn't get as much (perhaps an hour or a little more), but that's better than nothing. FAs came around throughout the night offering water in the dark (must have been difficult for them to pour into cups. They should have bottles instead! OK OK I'll stop soon, REALLY I will...)

Breakfast soon rolled around. I ate mine, while Christopher nibbled at his. Afterwards, I made a trip to the lav. My favourite big lav was taken, so I went aft. Hey, what are those seats? Oh, those were the four seats reserved for FAs in the rear of the cabin on the F/G side. They had awesome seat pitch, and one thing that I really want on DL Int'l coach seats: wings on the headrest! It looked like these seats came straight out of a DL Shuttle plane.

The seatbelt light was turned on at the exact same time we nosed over to descend: 0743, and final was rung at 0800. I took the time to study the FAs and noticed a predominantly male crew. OK, perhaps not 100% male cabin crew, but more than half, which is pretty unusual.

We touched down at 0809 on runway 25L, and were soon at gate B4 at 0816. I watched with interest the juxtaposition of Brussels Zaventem airport. Concourse C seems to have the worst qualities of a stereotypical Eastern European airport. Concourse B is much nicer. Concourse A is still being built, and Christopher said "hey it looks like the Fleet Center" (from Boston).

We were off the plane and en route to immigration. Only one EU line (which I guess is better than NONE), but it didn't move very quickly. The agent insisting on OCRing all passports (why? the British just look at your expiration date and make sure you're you). Christopher objects to being scanned for no reason, so he made sure we both used our Irish passports (which are not computer readable). Chalk one up for privacy!

While in Belgium we visited Mini Europe and the Atomium, Marks & Spencer (and the food hall!), Waterstones (for the latest Terry Pratchett in Transworld imprint), and the Brussels Urban Transport Museum (from which we took a Tram ride on a gorgeous 1900 vintage tram). Then we stayed at the Royal Windsor Hotel, near Brussels Central Station. The weekend rate was 4750 BEF for a Godiva Room (bigger room with box of chocolates), and the rate included full breakfast. Yum. I'd stay there again! Not during the week, though, it's much more expensive!

Sunday morning found us back at BRU again. On the train ride from downtown, a couple boarded at Brussels Nord station. They had Delta Medallion tags. Hm. Once at BRU we got off the train and went upstairs to the Delta ticket desk. Delta is on row 11, which is at the very very VERY end of the terminal, near the entrance to the gates for Concourse C. I suspect this is a recent change, due to their breakup with Sabena. Our boarding passes were printed on Sabena ticket stock.

We'd hoped to see more of landside, but the line for passport control was nutso. Once again, why have outgoing passport control? The British don't, and they are VERY paranoid about their borders. Oh well. We went through the European line (even though we were both travelling on US passports), and it was quicker. Once through, we shopped a little, purchasing some chocolate and a new leather wallet for Christopher.

The line for security was just as long as the line for passport control, so we didn't dawdle. Through security, and down to gate B1, which is just the other side of security. Before we left home, I checked the seat maps for this flight and it looked VERY full. When we got to B1, I asked how full the flight was, and the gate agent said "VERY!". I asked if volunteers would be needed, and the agent hemmed and hawed and said "probably not". "Keep me in mind!", I responded.

We walked down the terminal a little ways, and then sat down to wait for boarding. It was called around 1035 for Business Elite. At 1040 "Frequent Flyers" was called, which we took to mean Medallion. Down four ramps, and onto the plane N192DN.

The same cabin crew we had JFK-BRU was on our flight. Some of them even recognized us (gulp!). They came around offering French language newspapers (what, no Guardian? no FT? What is this world coming to??). Menus, pillows, and blankets (albeit not wrapped in plastic) were at each seat. The soap in the bathroom was also not sealed. They must only refresh blankets and soap in the USA.

DL 141 sch dep BRU 1115, actual 1116. sch arr JFK 1330, actual 1250
767-300, N192DN, 8 FA's (4C, 4Y), seats 21F&G.

The door was closed at 1111, and we pushed back at 1116. The safety video was shown, first in English (new version) and then French. On the way out, only the English version was shown. The FAs also passed out customs forms. The squeaky voice lead FA stated that families with different last names must have two forms. Well, we never needed one before and told her so. We only took one form (and in the end it didn't matter).

We took off on runway 25R at 1132, after quite a long taxi across the airport. After the seatbelt sign was turned off, the woman of the Medallion couple who was on the train with us from Gare du Nord came by en route to the lav. Boy did she look longingly at our seats! She couldn't have them, though, although she certainly could have had the guy in row 22. He was hacking the whole way across the Atlantic. Ask me again in five days if he was contagious.

Drinks service first (more water), followed by quick cleanup and then lunch. As usual, Christopher got his first, which consisted of chicken in a reddish sauce, white rice, and broccoli. Salad of baby corn, cukes, grape leaf, and tomatoes. Sabena salad dressing. Jacob's cream crackers. Low sodium bread/toast. Fruit salad. Tiny chocolate.

The (food only) menu for the rest of us in coach was:

Salad: Seasonal Garden Greens (iceburg lettuce) with cucumber slices and julienned carrots, offered with Ranch Dressing.

Entrees
Please choose one of the following Entrees
Sweet-and-Sour Chicken: Roasted Chicken Breast topped with Sweet and Sour Sauce, served with Corn, Green Beans, and Lemon Rice
[I had this. The rice wasn't very lemony]
Mediterranean Pasta: Tossed with a rich Cheese Sauce, complemented by a saute' of Tomato and Eggplant

Mini Milk Roll (not crusty so I didn't eat it, and it was wrapped in plastic) and Butter
Edam Cheese (close to velveeta in texture) and Crackers

Dessert:
Apple Slice Cake (with raisins and sultanas - yum!)

Cadbury's Milk Chocolate miniature (mmmmm!)

Refreshment
A mid-flight Ice Cream service will be offered (ice cream bars)

Snacks
Turkey-Salami and Cheese on a Wheat Roll
[it was actually without Cheese and on French, not Wheat]
Vialetto Almond Biscuit [mmmm]
Cappucino Chocolate

After the main meal, FAs came around offering coffee and tea. The guy in row 21 very snottily asked her to remove his lunch tray (and where was she supposed to put the hot pot of coffee?).

Two movies were shown: What Women Want (Mel Gibson, yuck), and Fish Called Wanda (John Cleese - that's more my style!). I also did puzzles and read. Christopher just read. It was a nice and peaceful flight.

At 1120 (EDT), snack was served. Christopher's snack consisted of 2 roast beef sandwiches on the same toast he had with his lunch, as well as the same almond biscuit and chocolate. I asked the FA why the snack was being served so early. Apparently the flight was due in very early to JFK (1240).

The seatbelt sign was lit at 1224 (although we had started to descend at 1214), and the FAs made announcements (in three languages) regarding descent. They did not make any connecting gate announcements. We touched down at 1247 on runway 13R, and made a VERY quick turnoff to dock at gate 10 (in Terminal 3, thank goodness) at 1250: 40 minutes early!

We were soon off and down the jetway to the hallway. Once we got to the hallway we tried to run ahead of the other people to beat the lines. Sure enough, we got to an immigration officer quickly. He OCRed each of our passports. Mine was fine (it's 4 weeks old, for goodness sake!), but Christopher's gave him trouble. Apparently he had to weed out the terrorist Christopher Davis'es to find the right guy! :-).

The signs to customs exit pointed to the wrong way... or perhaps it's not wrong if the place is more full. We ran around looking for the RIGHT exit, and were through customs in moments, even after handing in our declaration with a "yes" box checked (the one for food. Marks & Sparks, what can I say? :-).

So now it was around 1300, and we had 1hr 40 min to kill before our plane left for BOS. What to do? Delta's terminals at JFK are not conducive to killing time (unless you're in the lounge). We've been to Terminal 1 before. I persuaded Christopher that we should walk to Terminal 4 to see the expansion. After customs, we exited and followed the signs. Due to construction, the walk was partly along a road, and it was quite a lengthy walk too - at least .5 mile from door to door.

Terminal 4 (aka IAB) is not the third world nation it used to be. It's light and airy, and everything is clean. The place, of course, was dead, as it was very early, and the airport tends to be busiest from about 1400 onwards (with flights arriving from Europe and then leaving again later). Northwest runs a flight to Tokyo in the afternoon, but it was delayed, hence many Asian people sitting around looking dejected.

We killed about twenty minutes, and then walked back to Terminal 3. We followed the signs for Business Elite. I forgot how weird Terminal 3 was set up. When you arrive at Terminal 3, if you're in BizElite you check in (and check your bags), and then clear security. Why is that odd, you ask? Because if you're not flying BizElite, you check in AFTER you clear security. Meaning that seventy pound bag full of mementos for Grandma has to fit on a security belt. Yuck.

We had no seventy pound bags (and in fact, we're out of Grandmas :-(, so we cleared through to find the terminal just about deserted. Our flight to Boston was scheduled to leave from gate 6, so we sat there for a while waiting for the plane to be called for boarding. The couple who was on the plane in Brussels and flight BRU-JFK was sitting in the gate area to Boston. Christopher joked that if they got on the T with us in Boston, he was going to quiz them about why they were trailing us. :-)

I knew this flight was going to be very empty. However, I thoughtfully went up to the counter and asked the agent to reprint our boarding passes. We'd gotten our boarding passes for JFK-BOS printed in BRU, but it was on Sabena stock, which is not barcoded. The agent very huffily declined to reprint. Oh well, I was just trying to make his job of closing the flight easier. Sure enough, once boarding was called, neither of the boarding passes were readable by the barcoder. The magstripe reader accepted my pass, but not Christopher's. (No, it wasn't magnets. They'd both been sitting together in his pocket). That's what the gate agent gets for ignoring me.

DL 139 sch dep JFK 1440, actual 1437 . sch arr BOS 1550, actual 1548
767-300, N???DN, 8 FA's (4C, 4Y), seats 21F&G.

Quick flight, quick pushback. The FAs were very friendly, and several of them were "senior mamas" (that's what one of them called themselves - not my term!). It was quite interesting, listening to them discuss the intracacies of scheduling trips. One of them plans to sign on for the Dubai run, just to avoid frequent trips to the airport! It's apparently an eight day run. The things some people do to avoid driving!

Even though the captain announced no drinks, the FAs passed out water bottles anyways. The flight was very empty. If there were sixty people in coach I'd be surprised. Once on the ground we were off as quickly as we could, and made the shuttle bus to the T by a hair.

An incredibly quick trip, but good nonetheless. I'll be ordering one of those special meals for my next flight (in coach, at least. Not BizElite :-). Delta was, as usual, very good throughout. My only quibbles were: (1) gate agents at JFK, and (2) no little water bottles JFK-BRU and BRU-JFK. All in all, that's not much to complain about!

I'll put in a prayer of thanks here to my GA for making this and all other Delta trips possible.

Next trip: ??? Something between now and the end of June
Trip after that (and report): DUB- July! BizElite. :-)

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