At the outset, hat tip to the ticket agent I spoke with yesterday on Delta's "Special Member Services" desk. As I wrote yesterday, the weather around the south resulting from Tropical Storm Fay had me worried about getting out of New Orleans and up to NYC. The gentleman from Delta-land suggested that, since I was a Platinum frequent flier, I should just go to Louis Armstrong International Airport (MSY) as early as I could and get away from the storm. I'm no stranger to the 6am MSY-ATL flight; I firmly believe that the sooner you're on a plane, the better. The airlines agree as well, particularly the ticket agent working the "First Class/Medallion" line at MSY. I handed her my ID and explained I was on the nonstop to LGA this evening. She needed no further explanation, keying in my name and re-booking me. Since leaving early in the morning is "same-day travel" as my evening flight, there was no charge for the changes.
I was re-booked on the 0640 flight from MSY to Cincinatti-Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). CVG is one of Delta's main hubs, along with Salt Lake City and the mothership at ATL. (CVG's air traffic has changed dramatically, and I have more about that on my YatPundit blog.) The itinerary had me connecting there to the CVG-LGA flight that I'm on as I type this.
We took a pretty roundabout route to get up to CVG from home, flying east along the Gulf Coast to around Ft. Walton Beach, FL, then turning north into Georgia, passing between Macon and Atlanta, finally turning back a bit west to come into CVG. This added about 15 minutes to our flying time. A delay of any kind can be perilous when making a connection at a hub airport, but this one worked out fine. We came into CVG at gate A18, and the next flight departed from gate A25. Since this flight is on a "regional jet" (ComAir/Delta Connection), the boarding process is less complicated. It's much easier to get 50-60 people aboard than 140 people on a MD88, or even more on one of the larger jets. That meant I had time for a bathroom stop. I had time to migrate to the center of Concourse A and the food court. I passed on that idea, however; having eaten Popeyes Chicken for dinner last night, the prospect of a Quarter Pounder now wasn't that appealing.
So, today was a "regional jet" day. The MSY-CVG flight was on a Chataqua Airlines' Embraer 145 regional jet. This is a 52-seat plane that has three seats per row. when you enter, seat A is on the right, with C and D on the left. I was in seat 3A, not bloody bad for walking up at 5:15am for a 6:40am departure. Seats on a regional jet tend to be even more cramped than their larger cousins, so it was nice that the agent at MSY took pity on my fat butt and put me on the side where the window seat is also the aisle seat. The flight was just fine, in spite of the circuitous route, since we had a pilot with a sense of humor ("Welcome from the front office. I'd like to introduce your flight attendant, Carol, who is a goddess in blue polyester.") Carol was also old enough to be his mother, not an uncommon situation with these very-young (and very low-paid) pilots on the regional carriers. She didn't even have to ask if I needed more Cran-Apple juice, as I nodded off after reading up on three chapters of the computer class I'm teaching tomorrow.
I woke up just as we were on final approach to CVG. De-planing is just as easy on the 145 as boarding. What was weird today was a regional jet parking at the airport's A concourse, but I'll save that for political commentary. Within half an hour, the gate agent at A25 was boarding the connecting flight a Bombardier CRJ-900. This jet has the same seat layout as the Embraer, but with the addition of three rows of First Class seats. Hat tip to the lady who re-booked me (gotta get her name next time, she's helped me numerous times and deserves an e-mail to Delta), for putting me in 1A, right up front. We were slow pushing back from the gate--the pilot said the ground crew was short-staffed--so departure was 20 minutes late. That didn't quite bother me for two reasons: First, getting into LGA is a matter of getting into the air. Barring weather issues, the FAA lets you land once you take off. Their strategy is to keep you on the ground until they can fit you into the metro NYC patterns. Since we weren't on a "ground hold," life was good. Life was better for the second reason, a flight attendant willing to freshen up my pre-takeoff glass of wine.
I would have had one of those lovely Delta "snacks" had I kept to the original itinerary on the MD88. The regional carriers just do the basket of junk food, so my chardonnay was accompanied by a pack of peanut butter crackers. Still, the wine is cold, and I'm taking a taxi to my hotel, which is a block from Times Square.
The Road Warrior has a tough call to make every Sunday. Do you sacrifice your day, taking the early flights out, or do you spend the day at home, heading to the airport at 4pm-5pm, hoping that the travel world hasn't gone to hell in a handbasket while you barbecued for family? Since Delta resumed nonstop service to LGA, I'm usually OK with the latter, even if it means not getting to Midtown Manhattan until 1am. Weather is the kicker, though, and the widespread remnants of a tropical system is about as bad as it can get. Best to take the long way to LGA.
I was re-booked on the 0640 flight from MSY to Cincinatti-Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). CVG is one of Delta's main hubs, along with Salt Lake City and the mothership at ATL. (CVG's air traffic has changed dramatically, and I have more about that on my YatPundit blog.) The itinerary had me connecting there to the CVG-LGA flight that I'm on as I type this.
We took a pretty roundabout route to get up to CVG from home, flying east along the Gulf Coast to around Ft. Walton Beach, FL, then turning north into Georgia, passing between Macon and Atlanta, finally turning back a bit west to come into CVG. This added about 15 minutes to our flying time. A delay of any kind can be perilous when making a connection at a hub airport, but this one worked out fine. We came into CVG at gate A18, and the next flight departed from gate A25. Since this flight is on a "regional jet" (ComAir/Delta Connection), the boarding process is less complicated. It's much easier to get 50-60 people aboard than 140 people on a MD88, or even more on one of the larger jets. That meant I had time for a bathroom stop. I had time to migrate to the center of Concourse A and the food court. I passed on that idea, however; having eaten Popeyes Chicken for dinner last night, the prospect of a Quarter Pounder now wasn't that appealing.
So, today was a "regional jet" day. The MSY-CVG flight was on a Chataqua Airlines' Embraer 145 regional jet. This is a 52-seat plane that has three seats per row. when you enter, seat A is on the right, with C and D on the left. I was in seat 3A, not bloody bad for walking up at 5:15am for a 6:40am departure. Seats on a regional jet tend to be even more cramped than their larger cousins, so it was nice that the agent at MSY took pity on my fat butt and put me on the side where the window seat is also the aisle seat. The flight was just fine, in spite of the circuitous route, since we had a pilot with a sense of humor ("Welcome from the front office. I'd like to introduce your flight attendant, Carol, who is a goddess in blue polyester.") Carol was also old enough to be his mother, not an uncommon situation with these very-young (and very low-paid) pilots on the regional carriers. She didn't even have to ask if I needed more Cran-Apple juice, as I nodded off after reading up on three chapters of the computer class I'm teaching tomorrow.
I woke up just as we were on final approach to CVG. De-planing is just as easy on the 145 as boarding. What was weird today was a regional jet parking at the airport's A concourse, but I'll save that for political commentary. Within half an hour, the gate agent at A25 was boarding the connecting flight a Bombardier CRJ-900. This jet has the same seat layout as the Embraer, but with the addition of three rows of First Class seats. Hat tip to the lady who re-booked me (gotta get her name next time, she's helped me numerous times and deserves an e-mail to Delta), for putting me in 1A, right up front. We were slow pushing back from the gate--the pilot said the ground crew was short-staffed--so departure was 20 minutes late. That didn't quite bother me for two reasons: First, getting into LGA is a matter of getting into the air. Barring weather issues, the FAA lets you land once you take off. Their strategy is to keep you on the ground until they can fit you into the metro NYC patterns. Since we weren't on a "ground hold," life was good. Life was better for the second reason, a flight attendant willing to freshen up my pre-takeoff glass of wine.
I would have had one of those lovely Delta "snacks" had I kept to the original itinerary on the MD88. The regional carriers just do the basket of junk food, so my chardonnay was accompanied by a pack of peanut butter crackers. Still, the wine is cold, and I'm taking a taxi to my hotel, which is a block from Times Square.
The Road Warrior has a tough call to make every Sunday. Do you sacrifice your day, taking the early flights out, or do you spend the day at home, heading to the airport at 4pm-5pm, hoping that the travel world hasn't gone to hell in a handbasket while you barbecued for family? Since Delta resumed nonstop service to LGA, I'm usually OK with the latter, even if it means not getting to Midtown Manhattan until 1am. Weather is the kicker, though, and the widespread remnants of a tropical system is about as bad as it can get. Best to take the long way to LGA.
