Trip Reports - CMH-ARN and vv on Delta (Ridiculously Long)

Warm greetings from the Crown Room Club in Cincinnati. I’ve just completed the first leg of my annual pilgrimage to Stockholm. Although I am no longer a Medallion member, I still had two unexpired system-wides. Though still pricey, the ticket was roughly half the cost of a BizElite ticket from Columbus, Ohio to Stockholm.
(Incidentally, I used to be "LittleMatt" but I lost my password AGAIN.)


First up: 1 September DL1019 CMH-CVG, Seat 3A, 757-200
Check-in and Boarding
Since I only moved to Columbus five days ago, it took me a little longer to get to the airport. Mapsonus.com gave good instructions, but road construction got in the way. I was pleased with my foresight to print out a discount coupon from the CMH website for parking. No dice. The lot was full (I then remembered that it’s a holiday weekend.)

After finding a slightly more costly parking space, I waited about 10 minutes for the shuttle bus. Time was getting short, (T=30 minutes), but I made it okay. I panicked when I saw a large queue at the skycap check-in. After venturing through a wall of cigarette smoke, I found a deserted ticket counter indoors.

The agent didn’t say anything other than “Hi,” but completed check-in within about 15 seconds. She gave me a BizElite ticket jacket and attached an ugly but bright “SkyTeam Priority” tag to my bag.

At security, I artfully selected the line that did not have someone obviously selecting bags to be “swabbed” for the TNA machine. (It’s a favorite time-saving trick of mine.) One of the guards greeted a woman in a wheelchair by saying “There’s my little friend.” I jokingly asked the guard if I could be her “little friend” too. The guard warmly stretched her arms out and gave me a hug. What a sweet way to start my trip!

As usual, boarding at C3 was chaotic. An agent was trying to figure out if row 32 was higher or lower than row 30. Subtraction can be tricky sometimes. Economy was obviously packed, but there were a few empty seats upfront. At least half the pax in first were non-revs.

Inflight
I received a pre-departure bottle of water and that was the extent of inflight service for the 26 minute flight.

I flipped through Sky, which impressed me. One of the articles was about flu vaccines. Having just earned my MPH, I was pleased to see my profession in the spotlight. Moreover, the article was well-written and sent an important message (Get the vaccine… it’s often free, it doesn’t hurt, and immunization is good for everybody.)

Upon arrival at CVG, I asked a redcoat where I might find a Business Elite lounge. He said, “There are a variety of snack bars and restaurants here.” I tried to explain a bit better. He asked if I was a Crown Room Club member and I said “no.” He said, “I’m sorry, there is no such facility.”

I found his response a bit odd, considering that Delta and Air France have a significant amount of Transatlantic business class passengers from Cincinnati. I asked again at a Customer Service counter and was directed to the Crown Room Club. The attendant asked if I was traveling in international Business Class. I said “yes,” and was ushered in without hesitation.

Yet again, airline staff seem to have no idea who is and is not welcome in the lounges. Perhaps they’re too busy figuring out the whole “greater than/less than” mystery. (I know, that was probably unduly critical. They should at least be up to long division by now.)

The Crown Room is nicely decorated, reasonably quiet, and spacious. In fact, it’s substantially nicer than the BizElite lounges at JFK. I had some bitter coffee and checked my email on one of the painfully slow computers.

Coming up… DL318 to JFK. (Interestingly enough, I’ve flown on all of the flights in today’s itinerary at least twice before! I guess I’m a creature of habit.)


[This message has been edited by Mats (edited 09-09-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Mats (edited 09-09-2001).]

Hello once again. I’m a couple hundred miles from Reykjavik, cruising in a quiet 767. I think I’m the only person awake in business class. The F/A’s are hidden away in the galleys, but I don’t blame them. Everyone is asleep.

1 September DL318 CVG-JFK, Seat 26D, 757-200
First was sold-out for this flight and the upgrade waitlist was a mile long. The agent politely told me, “you’re not going to make it.” It’s hard to complain… I had the best coach seat and the flight is only 1:20. I stopped at Lefty’s to wolf down a sandwich since I wouldn’t be having the domestic first chicken salad. (Lefty’s always makes me think of Ned Flanders’ store, the Leftorium, which only sells products for left-handed people.)

Flight 318 departed on time and landed almost 20 minutes early. This wasn’t soon enough for me. The couple sitting next to me was discussing how Nazi generals were “only following orders.” I was not happy sitting next to them in Koach Klass.

I engrossed myself in Laurie Garret’s new book, Betrayal of Trust about global public health. The chapter about emerging infections in Russia was terrifying but fascinating. I got a bit mad because she kept mentioning the rival institution to my alma mater. I consider the “H word” to be foul language. (Woof woof.)

Anyway… not much in the way of service on this very full flight. The crew showed an episode of Frasier and diluted CNN. The flight attendant served beverages from the first row of economy to well past my row ALONE. She was working hard, admitted that she wasn’t ordinarily supposed to the job alone, but remained pleasant the whole time. I was impressed by her “roll with the punches” attitude.

JFK was as crowded as ever, but I hustled over to the small BizElite lounge by gate 14. The agent at the counter was cheerful and seemed genuinely happy to have me in her lounge. There used to be a snooty guy at the door but he wasn’t there today. I used one of the slow computer terminals and chilled out for a while. I wasn’t hungry, but there was a wide range of hors d’oeuvres.

I guess Delta doesn’t make a fuss about the dress code. Shorts and baseball caps were commonplace in both the CVG and JFK lounges. Not that I mind, I wasn’t exactly dressed to the nines myself.

1 September DL46 JFK-ARN, Seat 11B, 767-300ER
Boarding was slightly chaotic, but relatively quick. I settled into 11B, which is in the little BizElite cabin just in front of the 2nd door. It’s a quiet, private little cabin with just two rows. A L’Occitane amenity kit, entertainment guide, blanket, and water bottle were waiting for me. Cabin crew materialized immediately with champagne and orange juice.

Pushback, taxi, and takeoff were ridiculously slow, but that’s nothing new for JFK. The entire process took just under an hour. It probably aggravates some people, but I guess I’ve grown used to it.
During taxi, the crew presented the safety video and English and Swedish. Good job, Delta, it’s about time they made things multilingual. The captain informed us of our route and quick flight time of just under seven hours to Arlanda.

The purser was a bit gruff, but not mean…. just a bit too efficient. The other crew, however, were some of the best Delta has to offer; warm, friendly, caring, and organized. Unlike my past few Transatlantic trips on DL, the ambience was relaxed and the crew all seemed to have their act together. The principle F/A in my zone said, “Come get me if you need ANYTHING at all.” What a pleasant thing to say! Another F/A (from Y) was so warm and pleasant—she treated me like family.

After takeoff, I had a Campari and soda and some cold nuts (uh-oh.) The nuts, however, were not a harbinger of subsequent service.
The menu (including Delta’s unusual grammar and punctuation)

Appetizer
Goat Cheese Crostini with Fig Chutney, accompanied by Citrus Shrimp Bundles and Mango-Lime Salsa

Salad
Red Leaf Lettuce and Escarole with Feta Cheese, Kalamata Olives and Tomatoes, offered with your choice of Tomato Basil Vinaigrette or Parmesan Peppercorn Ranch Dressing

Entrees
Beef Tenderloin
Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Madeira Shiitake Mushroom Sauce, accompanied by Celery Root and Herb Mashed Potatoes, Sugar Snap Peas and julienned Roma Tomato

Regional Cuisine
This month we are pleased to feature a culinary selection from the Pacific Rim
Marinated, grilled Mahi Mahi complemented by Ginger Soy Sauce, served with a medley of Jasmine Rice, Asparagus and Squash

Robust Vegetarian
Farfalle Pasta enhanced by roasted Red Pepper Cream, tossed with Green Beans, Corn and Leeks. Smoked Turkey Pesto Sausage may be added to the Entrée

Simply Satisfying Soup
Hearty Southwestern Chicken Soup garnished with Green Pepper Salsa

Fruit and Cheese

Dessert
Breyer’s All Natural Vanilla Ice Cream Sundae with your choice of Chocolate, Caramel and Blackberry Sauces, Whipped Cream and chopped Nuts garnished with a Pirouline Cookie

Orange Segments and Mango Slices with Pineapple Relish

Neuhaus fine Belgian Chocolates


Breakfast
Fresh Fruit

Kellogg’s Cereal served with Milk

Scrambled Egg Crepe with Asparagus and Red Bell Pepper, offered with Chicken Apple Sausage and roasted Potatoes


Wine List
Chateau Lafon-Rochet, 4eme Cru, St. Estephe (Bordeaux) 1997
Truter’s Reserve Pinotage (Stellenbosch, SA) 2000
Pinot Gris (Klipfel)
Danie de Wet Limestone Hill Chardonnay (Robertson, SA) 2000 – Yum!!!

(Carfield: say the word and I’ll drop these in the mail for you.)

The appetizers appeared on the tray set-up. I was unimpressed by the goat cheese crostini, but the shrimp were excellent. The bread was a major disappointment… borderline stale and lukewarm. Also, no cheese or pretzel bread. Maybe they’ll get it right for breakfast. No cart service for appetizers or salad. I don’t know if this was a policy change or an individual choice by the crew. It doesn’t look as nice, but maybe it results in more timely or consistent service.

But…
The entrée was FANTASTIC. One of the best airplane meals I’ve ever had. (And I’ve had a hell of a lot of airplane food in my life.) Mmmmm! My complements to the chef. The Danie de Wet Chardonnay was similarly tasty. The entrée and wine were probably better than any meal I’ve had on the GROUND during the past month or two.

After dinner, I inhaled ice cream that was the perfect temperature and texture, not the usual rock-solid mass. Delta switched to porcelain ice cream dishes (they used to be glass), so maybe that helps. The crew tried desperately to feed me more booze, dessert, chocolates, etc., but I was feeling “horizontally empowered,” so to speak.

I wasn’t too gung-ho about the entertainment selections. I tried to watch Sexy Beast, but I couldn’t get into it. Fortunately, I brought along my laptop and EmPower cord, so it was DVD time. I had received the 20th Anniversary edition of Midnight Express,” which I decided to watch. It was just as chilling as it was 20 years ago. Many Turkish people have told me that the movie was entirely fictitious, but I don’t know who to believe. Exaggerated or not, the movie raised public consciousness about human rights and resulted in prisoner exchange programs with Turkey.

My seatmate and I later watched Delta’s movie selection, Along Came a Spider, which was unfathomably stupid.

Breakfast came soon. The croissant and fruit were great, but I don’t have much nice to say about the eggs. I’m not sure why I ordered them. Also, the coffee at breakfast was uncharacteristically weak; Delta usually has passable coffee. Oh well.


[This message has been edited by Mats (edited 09-09-2001).]

Arrival
To my dismay, we ended up in some sort of new section of Terminal 5. It was a long walk to immigration, which was hell on earth. Sweden has been under the gun for lax immigration, so they hired a posse of untrained immigration staff to make life miserable. The line took about 15 minutes (there were only 5 people in front of me.) The immigration officer looked about 15 years old and kept asking me the same moronic questions (“Where do you live in the USA?” “How long will you be here?” “Where do you live in the USA?” “How long will you be here?”) As if he’d catch me in a lie. I wanted to say that the purpose of my visit was, “to trick the immigration officers.” He kept punching things into the computer (Email? Porn? FlyerTalk?)

When I finally got through, I wanted to turn around and say “SUCKER! You let me through even though I have a secret plan to enter to Sweden FOREVER and SUCK AWAY at the last remaining resources of the social welfare programs. You’re about to witness the rape of Sweden. So naaaahhh.”

I asked the BusinessElite concierge if Delta has an arrivals facility for BizElite passengers. I swear they used to have a lounge or an agreement with a hotel. She said no, but I didn’t push the issue. I was too busy trying to figure out how to maximize my potential as an illegal immigrant.

Fortunately I walked right through the green lane and hopped on the Arlanda Express train. Although I was home within an hour and 15 minutes of landing, the immigration nonsense made it seem like an eternity.

8 September DL47 ARN-JFK, Seat 11F, B767-300ER
Check-in and Boarding
My ticket included a dilemma that I knew about when I purchased it. Delta does not fly JFK-CMH nonstop, so there are two choices: connect in Cincinnati or go to LaGuardia and hop on a nonstop from there. I chose to go to LaGuardia because I’d be home sooner and I’d have a chance to try out the new FairchildDornier 328Jet. Then I started having second thoughts… if I went via CVG, I could check my bag all the way through, save $20 (from the taxi to LGA), and so forth. Also, I was tempted by the fact that JFK-CVG would be in first.

Upon arrival at Arlanda, I went to the Delta ticketing desk to see about changing my ticket. Air France handles Delta ticketing in Stockholm. As you might have guessed, Air France was no help at all. The agent said, “No such flight exists.” I even showed him in the timetable and he made a valiant (but failed) effort to prove that I was mistaken. Ahhh yes, we all love Air France. (The once denied me boarding due to a reservations technicality and I was flying to America because my mother had passed away. Needless to say, I don’t think too highly of the AF ground crew.)

At any rate, there was no line for BusinessElite check-in. As with all European departures on US carriers, there was a document check and security interrogation. The woman who handled this recognized her own initials on an old security sticker so she was friendly and knew that I “knew the drill.” No stupid questions this time around, and she smiled… a stark contrast from most occasions.

The Servisair agent who handled my check-in gladly switched my flight to a JFK connection via Cincinnati. I noticed, however, that I was seated in economy. Rather than take up any more time at the check-in queue, I decided to call Delta reservations, who informed me that First was sold-out and the waitlist was closed. So… I haven’t made up my mind. I’ll how I feel when I get to JFK.

Then I was off to security. This took forever but was not due to any increased scrutiny. I was stuck behind a large number of passengers traveling on Iran Air who hadn’t checked in, hadn’t checked their bags, and similar snafus. An agent met me on the other side of security and showed me the way to the Servisair lounge.

The lounge is not worth the trip. They have coffee from a vending machine, tired fruit, and not much else. The lounge is quite small and not overwhelmingly comfortable. I knew that boarding would begin on the early side, so I just headed off to the gate.

Friends in Sweden informed me that all of the new immigration hoo-hah was a result of other Schengen countries complaining that Sweden was too lax about passports and so on. They really went “all out” to compensate… it is now necessary to go through immigration when LEAVING Sweden. I was certainly surprised by this new innovation. As I expected, this took a long time: about 25-30 minutes. No questions, just a lot of waiting. They desperately need something along the lines of Fast Track. It’s really out-of-control. I hope that as the immigration officers become more seasoned that they’ll be able to work through the queue more rapidly.

Through immigration, I passed up a spiral staircase to the new gate area. Once again, I ran into my old chum, the security lady. She smiled, asked a couple of questions, and wished me a pleasant trip. I hope she’s there next time I travel. Then it’s back DOWN an escalator to the Jetway. It’s all a bit too complicated for my taste.

Inflight
On board, I was greeted by the purser, Tina, and settled into 11F. Business Elite was completely full on this flight, so I was happy to be in the little second cabin once again. We departed without delay (a surprise, given the new immigration hassle.)

Warm nuts and cocktails arrived about 30 minutes after departure, followed by a drawn-out meal service. I had the tuna, which was good for airline food. A bit salty, but I can’t complain. The salad and appetizers were much better on this trip and they had my favorite; the “pretzel rolls.” (They were cold by the time I got one, but that’s a forgivable offense for the back cabin.) Also, the ice cream was rock solid, but that’s certainly not unique to Delta. And I guess that’s better than having melted ice cream.

I forgot the menu, but there were no surprises. Some sort of steak, tuna, Mulligatawny soup, or pasta with chicken.

The second meal was quite good: a choice between a "turkey pastrami" sandwich or an Asian chicken salad. I chose the later and was very pleased; spicy peanut sauce, a warm focaccia role, crisp cabbage. As usual, the crew served cookies before anyone had made a dent in their lunch. I suppose they’re always in a rush to prepare the cabin for landing. The cookies, however, were especially good.

The woman sitting diagonally in front of me managed to talk for the entire flight. No exaggeration; she really didn’t stop. The poor guy sitting next to her tried to drink himself into a coma. My neighbor donned noise-cancelling headphones strictly because of her. The cabin crew were both entertained and frustrated. At one point, the purser gave Chatty Cathy FOUR bottles of liquor in hopes that she would pass out. No dice. She was still at it until landing.

I joked with some of the crew that I thought, “It was so thoughtful of you guys to take invite her on a tour of the Statue of Liberty.” We discussed how we might put this passenger in a “cabin all her own” (i.e. the lavatory.) I lamented that the 767 lacks a below-decks galley. Another F/A thanked me for personally escorting the chatter through customs and on to her connecting flight.

In exchange for my sense of humor about the situation, the purser sent me off with two bottles of leftover wine. I talked with her for a while; she’s ex-Pan Am and exclusively flies on Delta 46 and 47 to and from Stockholm. We discussed the pro’s and con’s of flying a single route.

Prior to arrival, the crew showed the new arrival video for JFK, which is in English with Swedish subtitles (again, I’m impressed.) The video kept emphasizing that bathrooms were located throughout JFK. I tried to think if I had ever been to an airport without bathrooms. Following the arrival video, the screen showed connecting flight information a la Swissair/Sabena. An excellent service in my opinion.

We landed at JFK on the early side and waited <5 minutes for a gate.
Immigration was fast but crowded—as one might expect at that time of day. I detest those catacombs in Terminal 3, but Delta plans to replace the whole thing.
Bags were fast by Terminal 3 standards: about 15 minutes. There is a special BusinessElite mat and sign, but it doesn’t seem to serve any purpose anymore.

I later found a trio of
BusinessElite “concierges” and asked one of them, Edward, to help me switch my connection to the original LaGuardia flight. We walked over to a disgusting old baggage area, where he quickly switched everything. Edward was particularly kind and wished me a good weekend.

The Airport Transfer Scam
Given the three hours at my disposal, I decided to take the bus to LaGuardia. As usual, the New York Airport Service bus personnel were busy yelling at each other and unavailable to answer questions, sell tickets, etc. I asked a bus driver for help and he started to give me an unintelligible statement about “the right bus.” A passenger poked her head out the window and said, “This is the Delta bus to LaGuardia for people who had their flight cancelled.” Sensing a golden opportunity, I hopped aboard.
Sure enough, I had a free trip to LaGuardia because my “flight was cancelled.” Yeah.

Luck Runs Out
Aware that bags in Columbus can be slow, I decided not to re-check my duffle bag (I was a living example of people who disregard carry-on restrictions.) I hid in the Crown Room Club and surfed the Internet for a while. Over time, the flight to Columbus got delayed, and delayed, and delayed. Then the dreaded announcement, “See agent.”
There were more delays and cancellations than usual at LGA due to runway maintenance. Arrrrrgggghhh.

Turns out that the incoming aircraft never left Columbia, South Carolina. The agent offered me a flight by way of Atlanta or the opportunity to sit in LaGuardia forever. I asked if I would be in economy and she said “Oh yes, this isn’t first class.” I decided not to push the issue—I wanted to go home. I don’t know if she knew I had a first class ticket or not; she wanted me out of there; the flight was boarding.

8 September, Delta flight Something-or-Another, LGA-ATL, 767-300 (not ER), Seat 20-something
I inhaled a SkyDeli turkey sandwich (accompanied by potato chips, an apple, and Milano cookies) and fell asleep. When I woke up, I chatted with the Swedish woman sitting next to me. She had been sent over to Delta from Northwest, so commiserated about our long day of flying.

I was rather shocked by the passengers’ disinterest in safety regulations. More than one passenger was walking around the cabin during taxi, bins were open, seats were reclined, seatbelts were unfastened, and carry-on bags were obviously obstructing passengers’ means of egress. The crew needs to be a bit more diligent, in part because the FAA will fine them a great deal if they get caught. Perhaps the safety videos need to be clearer about the importance of remaining seated during taxi. It always seems like common sense to me, but a lot of passengers don’t seem to catch on, and a lot of cabin crew are too complacent to do anything about it.

8 September, Delta flight Something-or-Another, ATL-CMH, 757-200, Seat 4C
I had a very brief connection in Atlanta, so I hustled on to train to the T concourse. I stopped at the counter and immediately switched my boarding pass for first class. This was quick and painless. I have no idea if there was an empty seat up front for the LGA-ATL flight, but at least I got one for the last flight.

There were only five pax in first class, so this was a quiet trip. To my surprise, the flight was only 64 minutes. I always imagine that Atlanta is much further away.
This was an older 757. The seats were the old, box-like first class seats, and the bulkheads had the old “wavy” color scheme, not the pinstripes. I declined the opportunity to watch “Delta Horizons” for the sixth time and fell in and out of sleep.

The flight attendant in F was kind and funny. The guy in front of me asked for a magazine and she teased him about the possibilities (Glamour en Espanol was a favorite.)

The flight was mercifully brief, and I got into Columbus a little before 11:00 pm. The Atlanta odyssey turned out to be pretty painless. I guess I’ll try out the 328Jet another time.

The Bottom Line

Delta BusinessElite
It’s tough to beat 60 inches of legroom and 160 degrees of recline. Those seats are just beautiful. I like the electronic controls too.

The entertainment is already out-of-date in comparison with some carriers, but it’s hard to complain. SAS, the only competition on the route, offers DVD players but their 767’s aren’t as comfortable up front. I wish that Delta’s food and service were a bit more casual, but my taste isn’t necessarily the same as other travelers. It’s hard to please everyone.

When BusinessElite was first introduced, all of the courses came from the cart; this looked nice, but I suppose it was too much work for the crew.

I wish the rolls were warmer, the appetizers less weird, and better ice cream, but these complaints are easily expanded to include service on other airlines.

The lounge in Stockholm was no great shakes, but I do like the BizElite lounge at JFK. It’s not “The Wing” or a Virgin Clubhouse, but I like it there.
Above all, the Transatlantic flights were quick, safe, and comfortable

Stockholm Arlanda Airport
Good grief! The immigration nonsense is a mess! Let’s just hope that this is a fad. I always thought that the joy of Arlanda is that it’s quicker and easier than many European airports. It was really a shame to see such long lines.

A Word About the Document Check
I’m still baffled. It seems so bizarre that security scrutiny is so much tighter in one direction. It seems to defy common sense; do terrorists and their unwitting accomplices only operate from Europe and not from the USA? I think not. It also seems like a costly and time-consuming exercise given the relative rarity of air piracy and terrorism. Fortunately, the woman at the Document Check was fairly friendly and nowhere near as intimidating as some of the previous interrogators.


[This message has been edited by Mats (edited 09-09-2001).]

Very nice report, and welcome to FlyerTalk!

Welcome to Flyertalk. Very detailed and informative evaluation.

About entering Sweden at ARN.

You have just experienced entrance to the Schengen group of countries. Please do not blame Sweden too much for this. They must conform to Schengen formalities.

These are much stricker than before when it was just Sweden you were entering. By the sound of it, you still had a much better experience than most of my visits to the USA, where it can take a full hour to get though migration.

I've had to go through the Schengen control a few times now at ARN, because even passengers from/to the UK are entering/leaving Schengen at ARN and mostly it's been pretty smooth.

For arrivals at least it's been much, much better than most of my USA or even UK experiences (I'm not a US or EU citizen). Departures have been no problem, so far at ARN.

Also, I don't think SAS offer DVD players - at least not yet. Video walkmans, yes.


[This message has been edited by Austman (edited 09-10-2001).]

Great report, has the Vinum program returned?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Mats:
The lounge in Stockholm was no great shakes</font>

You can also use the "Arlanda Brewery" just inside the security check to your left. If youlike beer, that's a much better place than the lounge, especially now since the standard in the lounge has gone down (IMO).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
Stockholm Arlanda Airport
Good grief! The immigration nonsense is a mess! Let’s just hope that this is a fad. I always thought that the joy of Arlanda is that it’s quicker and easier than many European airports. It was really a shame to see such long lines.</font>

And I thought this was Sweden's revenge on the non-US immigration lines at JFK. I agree, it's bad, really bad. Last time, the door at the top of the escalator didn't open for a couple of minutes. Not much harm, because the escalator didn't work either. The BE Consierge {sp?} blamed it all on the new Schengen rules. Hopefully it will be better soon (yeah, right!). But with a Swedish passport, the line isn't that bad, and with my INSPass in New york, there are no lines at all. The best of two worlds!

/Pete