Yesterday, our vacation to the Chesapeake Bay area ended, and it was unfortunately time to go home. This was not a total bummer, as we got to hit DC, and then fly home out of Washington Dulles international, which is probably one of the most diverse (airline wise) in the country. This is what I was really looking forward to the most. Well, that and the air and space museum. The museum was great, just as it always is. But, every time I go there, I always seem to find something new that I deem my “favorite” thing I saw. Usually it’s the Concorde, or the JU-52, or the plethora of planes they have collected from yester-year, but this time, it was one of the smallest planes on exhibit. Tucked in the back, under the wing of Iron Annie, was the little Rutan long-EZ. This aircraft in particular caught my eye, as I had just recently flown a long-EZ myself. The observation tower overlooking the airport was cool as always, although the wind was blowing the wrong direction to get any great shots. This wrapped up my time at the museum, and it was time to head over to the airport.
Right away I saw all of the many airlines that I had never actually seen in person, with KLM, AirFrance, and Lufthansa being pretty much the only internationals at ATL. After we got through TSA, it was even more overwhelming. We rode the train to terminal A/B, as delta is located on terminal A. We were able to visit the AirFrance lounge in terminal B, which was absolutely phenomenal. The food was amazing, and it was real food, not just the little snacks found by delta. After I ate, I grabbed my phone and camera and set out into the terminal. Right away I noticed all the internationals, including Aer Lingus, Saudia, BA, and AirFrance. As I wandered the terminal, which is longer than it looks, I had managed to get some great pics of airlines that don’t service ATL. It’s funny though… I always say that I am sick of delta when I spot at ATL, but it always brings a smile to my face whenever I see a good ole’ familiar widget at other airports. My legs had grown tired at this point, so I turned around to walk back, when I noticed I had wandered to the end of terminal A, and the lounge was at the end of terminal B. Let’s just say that the walk back was brutal. After stopping to take pictures of Austrian and BA, I had finally reached the lounge, where I plopped down in one of the big cushy chairs, and began to stuff my face with more food. The view of the ramp from the lounge was amazing. It looked over Silver Airways’ gates, which was nice to see, since ATL being their stupid anti-turboprop self, doesn’t let Silver use gates, and banishes them to the GA ramp. Silver actually flies a lot out of Dulles as I found out, with very quick turn arounds, and their gates were always occupied. Not too long after this, it was time to board. As we left the lounge, I noticed the Etihad 787 in the new livery, which looked even cooler in person. We reached the gate, and boarded our 717-200 that would take us back home.
Once we boarded, I was surprised yet again that this had the new interior, which really is very nice. The 717 is not a big thing, so it can get to feel a little cramped, so thankfully, we were seated in Comfort+, or economy comfort as it used to be called. We were third in line for takeoff; first being the massive British Airways A380, followed by a United Dash 8. The climb out was quick, given our relatively low cruising altitude of just above 20 thousand feet. The refreshment service was slower to start, unlike the trip up, and I was once again disappointed by the lack of choices in the main cabin. There was no IFE, but there was power and USB hook up at every seat, which was a nice addition. The flight was a short one, being just a little over an hour. The descent was pretty quick, and the pilots placed our aircraft firmly on the ground. Once we landed, we taxied to concourse C, which is unusual, as you normally come in to A or B on delta. Our bags were waiting on us at baggage claim, so we gathered out things, and headed home. Overall, it wasn’t a bad experience.
SCORING (1-10 scale)
TSA: 7
DEPARTURE AIRPORT: 10
AIRCRAFT: 8
IFE: N/A
REFRESHMANTS: 3
ARRIVAL AIRPORT: 9
Right away I saw all of the many airlines that I had never actually seen in person, with KLM, AirFrance, and Lufthansa being pretty much the only internationals at ATL. After we got through TSA, it was even more overwhelming. We rode the train to terminal A/B, as delta is located on terminal A. We were able to visit the AirFrance lounge in terminal B, which was absolutely phenomenal. The food was amazing, and it was real food, not just the little snacks found by delta. After I ate, I grabbed my phone and camera and set out into the terminal. Right away I noticed all the internationals, including Aer Lingus, Saudia, BA, and AirFrance. As I wandered the terminal, which is longer than it looks, I had managed to get some great pics of airlines that don’t service ATL. It’s funny though… I always say that I am sick of delta when I spot at ATL, but it always brings a smile to my face whenever I see a good ole’ familiar widget at other airports. My legs had grown tired at this point, so I turned around to walk back, when I noticed I had wandered to the end of terminal A, and the lounge was at the end of terminal B. Let’s just say that the walk back was brutal. After stopping to take pictures of Austrian and BA, I had finally reached the lounge, where I plopped down in one of the big cushy chairs, and began to stuff my face with more food. The view of the ramp from the lounge was amazing. It looked over Silver Airways’ gates, which was nice to see, since ATL being their stupid anti-turboprop self, doesn’t let Silver use gates, and banishes them to the GA ramp. Silver actually flies a lot out of Dulles as I found out, with very quick turn arounds, and their gates were always occupied. Not too long after this, it was time to board. As we left the lounge, I noticed the Etihad 787 in the new livery, which looked even cooler in person. We reached the gate, and boarded our 717-200 that would take us back home.
Once we boarded, I was surprised yet again that this had the new interior, which really is very nice. The 717 is not a big thing, so it can get to feel a little cramped, so thankfully, we were seated in Comfort+, or economy comfort as it used to be called. We were third in line for takeoff; first being the massive British Airways A380, followed by a United Dash 8. The climb out was quick, given our relatively low cruising altitude of just above 20 thousand feet. The refreshment service was slower to start, unlike the trip up, and I was once again disappointed by the lack of choices in the main cabin. There was no IFE, but there was power and USB hook up at every seat, which was a nice addition. The flight was a short one, being just a little over an hour. The descent was pretty quick, and the pilots placed our aircraft firmly on the ground. Once we landed, we taxied to concourse C, which is unusual, as you normally come in to A or B on delta. Our bags were waiting on us at baggage claim, so we gathered out things, and headed home. Overall, it wasn’t a bad experience.
SCORING (1-10 scale)
TSA: 7
DEPARTURE AIRPORT: 10
AIRCRAFT: 8
IFE: N/A
REFRESHMANTS: 3
ARRIVAL AIRPORT: 9