Totally Different Operations

Where to go? I wanted to go to Europe (obviously). However, airfares were not as low as I would have liked (I really like going for $300, even if it means sitting in "the back"). The next place to go was the left coast, specifically to Christopher's parents. Unfortunately, his mother was going to be out of town. While his Dad would be around, the $450 price tag was a bit steep for four days. One night (why does it seem I do all of my airfare planning after 10pm?) I found a decent fare to Orlando for Labor Day weekend. Christopher was enthused (he's never been to Epcot; neither have I, but I wasn't quite as excited about it). What the hell. Take two days off work, book the trip.

But wait. Before I booked the trip, I remembered that MCO was very special in the Delta system. Four days a week (Thursdays through Sundays), Delta runs 777s between ATL-MCO. Ah, THERE is a good reason to go to Orlando. The L (non-upgradeable) fare was about $220, the K fare was $240. Worth it to get the shot at the upgrade. I figured most people bound to MCO would be VMM (visiting Mickey & Minnie) and not VFF (Very Frequent Flyers), so hopefully we wouldn't have much competition for the F class seats.

01Sep DL1043 dep BOS 0815 arr ATL 1112 767-300 breakfast/snack
01Sep DL  18 dep ATL 1155 arr MCO 1317 777-200 snack (F only)

05Sep DL2460 dep MCO 1955 arr BOS 2250 737-200 (Delta Express)

Ah yes, the DOWNSIDE to the 777 flight. It meant an 0815 departure from BOS. But it would be worth it, right? It BETTER be worth it. I had to be up at 0545 for an 0645 departure from home. I don't get up that early to go to WORK (I don't get up at 0645, even!). Luckily, two things panned out. I had my dialing finger working hard on August 29 and hit jackpot: segment upgrades for both BOS-ATL and ATL-MCO. Heh heh heh. BusinessElite on the 777! Oh yeah, and domestic first on BOS-ATL. Whoopee, it meant breakfast instead of SkyDeli.

01Sep
We were out the door on time at 0645 and at Logan early, 0705. It took all of two minutes to check in. I was very glad of my Medallion privileges, as the coach check in line was snaking around. We showed our IDs, went into Press Relay (and I bought a Games World of Puzzles), and we were off to the gate, C28.

It's been a while since I've been on a 767-300, but they only called boarding 25 minutes before departure (0750). No problem for us, we were on board and sitting in 2C&D. When we got the upgrades we had originally been put in bulkhead seats (no thank you!) but I used the DL new online seatmapper to move us to more civilized seats. I want my laptop in front of me thank you very much!

DL1043, sch dep BOS 0815, actual 0826, sch arr ATL 1112, actual 1132
767-300, N114DL, 8 FA's (3F, 5Y), Seats 2C&D. Breakfast

The door was closed a few minutes late, 0820, and we pushed at 0826 - a far cry from Delta Shuttle and their door close and push back in the same minute. We had quite a lengthy taxi (during which the FAs passed out menus for breakfast), and didn't take off until 0846 (from runway 22R). We had only a 43 minute booked connection in Atlanta, and I already knew we'd be arriving at B1 and leaving from somewhere on E. Gulp.

No point worrying about it now. After takeoffs, there was the obligatory hot towel service. Linens were brought around afterwards, and the FAs came around to take breakfast orders. I chose my usual (cold cereal), while Christopher chose pancakes with apple-maple (I think that's what it was) sausage. There were plenty of hot breakfast breads passed around, including some scary-looking bagels (why doesn't DL use the same supplier for mainline as they use for Shuttle?), an unidentifiable muffin (the FA kept having to explain to everybody what it was), and croissants. I went easy and chose the croissants. In addition to my cereal, I had a banana (badly bruised), fruit bowl (mostly melon), and an overly-sweet yoghurt (I don't like my yoghurt with corn syrup, thank you very much). Christopher's pancakes came with the typical fake maple syrup and the same melon bowl I skipped.

The remains of breakfast were taken away, and we pulled out our laptop to watch a movie, selecting "Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad". There is no movie shown BOS-ATL (although there was a movie on this route some years ago). There was the usual Delta Horizons tripe which was, well, tripe. The music selection was pretty good, however. Channel 11 had some good songs (thank goodness I didn't have to listen to the country music part!).

We started to descend at 1050 (which to me meant an 1112 arrival was still possible), the seatbelt light was lit at 1104 and final followed a mere two minutes later (1106). Unfortunately, we didn't touch down until 1124, 12 minutes after our scheduled *gate* time. Gulp. Connecting flight gate information was read out. As I expected, we were due in at B1, and out of E something (it ended up being E26, thankfully close to the centerpoint of E). As we taxied past E, I noticed our plane: the Salt Lake City Olympics 777!! We've never flown in a special livery plane before (the closest being the Wally Bird labelled MD-88).

We pulled into gate B1 at 1132. We were off the plane, brushing by the captain, and galloping up the jetway. I started to run towards the train when a voice called - it was GA (my Delta Guardian Angel)! I had hoped to see him this trip, but didn't know if we'd have enough time or if he would be able to get off whatever he was doing to come and see us. Unfortunately, it seems that every trip we've taken through ATL when we've met him has been a short connection (due to a delay inbound). This will *not* stop me from trying to meet him, however. :-)

We dashed down B and onto the trains. The doors were closing on me but GA and Christopher hauled me inside before the train could close on my backpack. We pulled away and were off to E. We chatted about things on the way (no, I'm *not* telling you :-), and unfortunately, we arrived at E very quickly. Up the long escalator, take a left at the centerpoint, and they were just calling all rows, all passengers for DL18. We gave them our ETBAs (pronounced "et-buh"), but they were wrinkled, so the machine ate mine (I hadn't flattened it because I was expecting Terminal E to have scanner-readers rather than magstripe readers) . GA laughed (and chided me to flatten it next time). He said that our bag would make the connection with no problem.

DL 18, sch dep ATL 1155, actual 1213, sch arr MCO 1317, actual 1336
777-200, N864DA, ? FA's (?C, ?Y), Seats 13A&B. Snack

On board our very first 777. The first thing I noticed was the SPACE. Ohmygod this plane is HUUUUGE. OK, so it's the same cross-section (seat number wise) as the L1011, but the L1011 never felt this big. And the L1011 never had overhead bins like THIS. I've seen videos, I've seen photos, and I've even heard personal descriptions (including from GA). But there's nothing quite like touching one yourself, and watching the hydraulics in action. The bins are absolutely CAVERNOUS. We managed to fit two bags and two jackets into one of the *mini* 1/3 sized bins. And had no trouble pivoting it overhead to boot!

The cabin had LCD videos overhead, not video CRTs. While Christopher went off to one lav, I went to another. I just had to try those pneumatic seats. :-) The taps were even cooler - no pushing with one hand and getting the other one wet. Instead, push the tap (you can push hot and cold at the same time), and the water runs for several seconds while you can lather up. Note that I visited the huge handicapped-accessible lav at door 2R. Ohmygod, I could have held a party in here. :-)

All seats, including coach, had individual videos. While the departure/safety videos were on, there was a "VA" (video announcement?) caption on each screen. When an announcement was being made over public address (whether by cockpit crew or cabin crew), there was a "PA" caption on each screen. The plane was (unsurprisingly) equipped with Airshow.

After returning from the (way cool) lav, and exploring the (way cool) cabin, I sat down in my (yes, you guessed it, way cool) seat. Yes, boys and girls, this seat *is* noticably wider than the BusinessElite seat on the 767-300 (which I flew exactly one year earlier: September 1 1999). The cool and collected FA came around and took our pre-flight drink orders. We both asked for bottles of water and she brought them back very quickly. Note, however, that they are Evian bottles, which is what is typically doled out on the 777 (and not the Delta-labelled water provided by Pure American). No matter, I'll drink just about any bottled water.

We pushed back late (see more on this later), 1213. We taxied by some construction at the end of Concourse E. Are they expanding again? It doesn't seem like very many gates would be added. After rotating around, we taxied out and took off from runway 9L at about 1221. I say "about", because unlike my usual fastidiousness I did not mark down the exact time. Why, you ask? Very simple. I was *BLOWN AWAY* by the takeoff performance on the 777. Ohmygod, I've been on some overpowered planes before (the 757-251, for one), but never one quite like this. Rolls and Royce were in complete harmony as we accelerated down the runway and hurled into the sky.

Once done exclaiming over the wonders of the takeoff, the seatbelt sign was off. I took time playing with the 15-way fussy seat. I went all the way down into "sleep", but as there was so much to do, I didn't stay there. Instead, I played Trivia (which I sucked at), Crosswords (likewise), and Hangman (which I did well at, and no, not on "basic" level) on the built in IFE. I also listened to music (theirs, not mine, although I did have my MP3 player). Once they started their run of Country Music (that I had so been so glad that the 767-300 domestic did not have earlier), I turned it off. Each seat had two lights - the overhead and the built-in on the seat. And the 777's overhead vents are VERY powerful - much better than the sucky vents on the MD-11.

Meal carts trundled down the aisle (meal carts?? they never use meal carts on a 767-300 in domestic F!). Linens were placed, and snacks were offered. The snack was salad with lettuce, tomatoes, corn, bacon, and chicken. There was a green goddess dressing (yummy!), a warm roll, and chocolate chip cookie. I ate my salad and some of Christopher's (he's not into "rabbit food"). Another FA came around and very graciously offered wine (no thank you!). I did have more water (glug).

Unfortunately, my 777 odyssey could not continue forever. The seatbelt sign was lit at 1307, final was rung at 1321, and we touched down precisely 1331 (I *like* a captain who understand that final means "ten minutes to landing", and not "twenty three minutes" or "three minutes"), which is what Airshow had been predicting all along. We pulled into the gate a few minutes later than scheduled, at 1336.

We did not rush off the plane. Why should we, when this was one of the best commercial flights I've ever had! Instead, we let the forward BizElite cabin clear and went up to chat with the cockpit crew. Speaking of cavernous, the 777 cockpit is just that! There are two full jumpseats, neither of which are sitting within a nose of the captain's armpit (a la 737-200). We had a GREAT chat with the cockpit crew who were very friendly people, and were clearly happy to meet two people who were not under the age of 12. They cycled through many displays, showed us their electronic checklists, explained their cockpit email system (they can email from the cockpit!), demonstrated their cockpit printer, etc.

The 777 is truly the most impressive bird in the Delta fleet. I love the Tristar, I really do, but it doesn't hold a candle to the 777. I look forward to scheduling myself on a BOS-somewhere flight round trip on a 777 (perhaps BOS-JFK-CDG-JFK-BOS). I can't wait to sleep in a 777 BizElite seat, or keep myself amused with the IFE offerings.

We spent four days in Orlando (well, three in Orlando and one day at Kennedy Space Center, which was way cool), due back at 1955 on Tuesday. But because of a spate of bad weather the previous couple of evenings (between 1830 and 2030), we chose to stand by for an earlier flight in the day. Much earlier. The two flights previous from the 1955 were booked solid, so we chose to be conservative and plan for the 1145.

05Sep
Except we got to the airport so early that the counter agent threw us on the 1055 flight. It was already 1015! No problem, forty minutes. Enough time to check our bag, scamper across to the train (which we just made), and get to our gate (91). Except we'd skipped breakfast (thinking we'd have plenty of time to eat at the airport). Christopher stood over the bags while I ran to Burger King. The moronic clerk said "I can't change a twenty", and I said "I have to board my flight in FOUR MINUTES", and suddenly she found the change (!).

The counter agent hadn't been able to assign us seats, but when I arrived back with the food we'd been called. He assigned us 8C&9E. We got the guy in 9D to swap into 8C which we was happy to do. There was an absolutely huge guy sitting in 8D, which unfortunately meant that Christopher was pinned into his seat for the entire flight. This guy had reclined his seat completely, and then fell asleep leaning into the aisle (which meant the FAs had to squeeze by him).

The previous night I had checked the seatmap for this flight on the web and there were lots of empty seats. The FA even exclaimed how flight the full was ("this was supposed to be pretty empty!").

DL2504, sch dep MCO 1055, actual 1052, sch arr BOS 1350, actual 1335
737-200, N324DA, 3 FA's, Seats 9D&E. "DelEx Snack"

The door was closed *early* 1050, and we pushed back just two minutes later. When we were coming to get on board, Christopher exclaimed that we just missed the chance to ride in the Powerpuff Girls plane (it was at the next gate over). Oh well. We taxied out and took off at 1105. I noted that the safety briefing was the old script (with the exception of "lap" instead of "hips").

Ung. This 737-200's seatpitch absolutely sucked, especially compared to our last flight (777-200 in BizElite). Delta's website quotes pitch as 30-32". If we weren't in a 30" row I will eat the next inflight magazine I come in contact with. With my feet flat on the floor and the back of my knees pressed against the back of my seat, the front of my knees barely touched the seatpocket in front of me. Ouch.

The FAs soon came around with snacks (snack box containing Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Pretzels, Quaker Oats Cereal Bar, and a Tootsie Roll) and drinks. I had more water ("just the bottle, no ice"), which seemed to please the FA. I made a lav run later, noting just two empty seats on the whole plane (both middles near the very back). I expect with the 1055 flight and another flight just 50 minutes later, anybody who gets to the airport early is thrown on the earlier flight. I would hazard a guess that the 1145 has more seats open.

The DelEx FAs wore different uniforms than Delta mainline. Not quite as fun-loving as Herb, but eminently practical (and safe) trousers rather than shorts. The three of them made many trips up and down the aisle filling trash bags, encouraging passengers to give them all of their trash. As I later found out that this plane had to make a quick-turn before it left for Tampa, this work done ahead of time was a good thing.

I did puzzles during the flight and listened to my MP3 player while Christopher read his book (too pinned in to do anything else). The seatbelts were lit for turbulence about the time we hit New York City, but the captain rang final at 1318. Another textbook (10 minute) landing at 1328, runway 4R. We taxied to gate 36 and docked there at 1335, 15 minutes early.

We went down to claim our bags. Our flight number was not posted on any of the monitors. Unlike the rest of the people on the flight (not counting Christopher :-), I'm not dumb. I fly DL often enough to know that DelEx bags always come out at Carousel 3, so we went and stood there right at the bottom of the conveyor. Sure enough, the belt started moving and our bag, while one of the last ones off, did arrive. We got in a cab and got home.

I can't get over how different the DelEx flight was from the 777 flight. Both had polite FAs, but the comparison of the seat pitch was amazing. I know that DelEx is low cost (and thus low pitch), and also serves leisure pax (who tend not to fly enough to know what "real comfort" is). BOS-MCO is one of the longest flights in the DelEx system. I can't imagine flying much further in one of these birds.

The 777 was, of course, incredible. I am looking for 777 opportunities again in the future. Anyone with suggestions, drop me a line. Unfortunately, DL is pulling the 777 off of the ATL-MCO run from October, so it'll have to be international. Darn, and here I am with two passports waiting. :-)

Next trip: ??? DCA (November). Hopefully something before then!

Back to my trip reports page

Back to my homepage