Part One--The Eastbound Trip Over the Pond

15 July 2009

DL 6676—Comair CRJ-900 N697CA (scheduled 1450-1613 EDT)

Board 1440

Door Close 1506, 8 in F, including 3 NRSAs; roughly 60 pax in Y

Push Back 1510, Wheels Up 1542, Runway 19—Clear to Partly Cloudy Entire Route

Rosecroft, Annapolis, Dover, Manahawkin, Toms River, Point Lookout LI, followed Wantagh State Parkway until past the LIE, then turn left, then land on RWY 22L

Touchdown 1635

Gate 18 1648

We reached the economy parking lot at DCA south of the terminal complex around 1245. A shuttle bus came along within a couple of minutes, and we got on, but after the bus had made two stops, I realized that I had left my blackberry in the car, and I hopped off the bus. My wife continued on, which turned out to be a good move, as there were fairly long, slow lines at DL check-in, both F/Medallion and Y lines. As there were no buses in the lot when I got back to my car, I decided to walk, and I surprised myself by reaching the bus stop in front of the Northwest concourse (DL and NW are still separated at DCA) in less than 10 minutes, where I caught a bus to go the rest of the way to the “new” North Terminal. As I walked up to the Delta check-in lines my wife was being summoned to the counter. Check-in was efficient and friendly.

Unhappily, I didn’t take all of my electronics out of my backpack, such as my portable hard drive and my keyboard for my Dell mini computer (I found I couldn’t work the keys on the computer very well), and two female TSA employees got into a snit, and insisted in hand searching my carry-on, and then running everything back through the machine. I made the point that the TSA employee ought to be working at the Maryland maximum security state prison in Baltimore, where the incompetent guards are unable to prevent cell phones to be smuggled into the inmates. She took offense at that. Finally, TSA let us go, and we took refuge in the Sky Club accessed by an elevator just past security.

We were subject to air traffic control restrictions on the Washington-New York run, meaning that although we were scheduled to leave at 1455, ATC decided that our departure would be whenever they could fit us in, which turned out to be at 1542. The two female FAs who staffed the flight were professional and nice. Always impressed with the comfortable F seats on the CRJ-900. The weather was clear, and the flight out over Chesapeake and Delaware Bays and up the Jersey Shore was very scenic on this run. We had to circle over Manahawkin and Long Beach Island for a couple of minutes before being allowed to proceed on to JFK. We flew over an obelisk-type monument within a traffic circle upon reaching the south shore of Long Island (would like to know what that is). I consulted my DeLorme Street Atlas computer program and found that we flew along side the Wantagh State Parkway until past the LIE before turning west and finally southwest to land at JFK.

Very nice layover in the former BE lounge near Gate 10; we sat near the window in the room to the right of the concierge desk, and power plugs are located on the underside of the radiator that runs across the window in the room to the right of the concierge desk. T-mobile wireless internet connection worked much better than my AT&T wireless card.

DL 136—Delta Boeing 767-300ER ETOPS, N1605 (scheduled 2045 EDT to 1140 CET)

Weather—clear on both sides of the Atlantic, beautifully sunny and warm in Tuscany

Board 2001, Door Closed 2041, Push Back 2055

Wheels up 2123 on runway 13R. 25 pax in BE, probably 150 in Y.

It was not a long walk from the lounge to Gate 9. We had an odd moment. I stopped to take a picture of the sign behind the podium, reading flight 136 to Pisa, when the GA gave me the iciest of stares and said in an equally icy voice, “No Photographs”. I was unaware that either Delta or any airport authority had a rule against taking photographs, particularly when I was not taking photos of strangers (this is my 28th year of flying the Big D).

After a quick bear to the left, our route took us south of Long Island past Montauk Point, just north of Nantucket (could see its lights out the right side of the plane), then after 60 minutes we reached a point due east of Shelburne, Nova Scotia (533 miles covered); after 127 minutes, due south of St. John’s Newfoundland (1,146 miles covered) and out over the open ocean; got overhead Europe at Brest, France, then south of Nantes and Lyon, just north of Grenoble, crossed into Italy near Oulx (where the alpine events of the 2006 Winter Olympics were contested), got to a point near Turin and turned south, crossing the Italian Riviera west of Genova, then south over the Tyrrhenian Sea to a point where the Island of Elba came into distant view, then turned northeast, overflew Livorno and landed at PSA at 1046 CET on runway 4R, 7 hours 23 minutes total for the approximate 4,162 mile journey. On the ground, a “follow me” escort car met us, and led the plane to the single jetway at the airport. The door opened at 1100, we were among the first to reach immigration where our passports were checked and stamped within 30 seconds, our bags were some of the first off the plane, as priority tagging really worked on this run (no non-priority bags preceded ours onto the belt). Customs agents watched us but made no attempt to stop us. We emerged into the lobby at 1110 CET.

Couple of tips about PSA airport—small (not dissimilar to South Bend, Indiana’s airport in terms of size) but containing quite a few travelers’ services. Cash machine (Bancomat) and tourist information are to the right of the exit from customs. The train platform for central Pisa and Firenze SMN were located at the opposite end of the terminal, just outside the door, not unlike the set up at SBN for the South Shore Railroad. The airport was absolutely packed with vacationers trying to get on four low cost flights, two on Ryanair, one on Easyjet and one on Transavia, which could have a real impact on late arrivals for Delta’s departure at 1325. There were probably 500-600 people in line to pass through a maximum of 5 magnetometer lanes. Also, PSA has a car rental center which is separate from the terminal; there is exactly one shuttle bus, and it comes every 15 minutes. We had to wait 30 minutes in line to get on a bus. As it turned out, the car rental center was walkable from the terminal building (around the corner from a building marked “Aerostazione Merci”, which I think can be translated to “Air Freight”). Hertz #1 Club Gold Service allowed us to avoid a line of at least 15 people being dealt with by three agents.

CONTENTS OF AMENITY KIT:

We received a blue pouch, zippered at the top, with a flap that snapped into place. The pouch contained: (1) eyeshades and socks in a paper band; (2) pack of tissues; (3) two small earplugs; (4) Delta inkpen; and (5) a mesh zippered pouch containing a plastic pack holding tubes of lip balm and moisturizing face cream, a foil pack of “Hint Mint” peppermints, and a toothbrush and tiny tube of toothpaste.

MY SEAT:

Typical business elite seat, 18.5” wide, 60” pitch, 160°, adjustable head rest, all mechanical features seemed to work. The tray table doesn’t have the range of forward and backward movement as on AF, but rather pivots on an arc. The foot support panel that manually folds out from the bottom of the leg rest makes this seat work for sleeping. The seat cushion was acceptably comfortable. I sleep on my side, and when I turned toward the window, I got comfortable. I slept from shortly after passing Newfoundland until we were overhead Grenoble, 4 hours 40 minutes and 2800 miles later. I felt refreshed, probably more so than on other flights I’ve been on in the past.

SERVICE:

Champagne and orange juice were brought around in glassware (not plastic) prior to leaving JFK. AVOD system worked well. On board service commenced 12 minutes after wheels up, with a hot towel service where the towels were correctly prepared, and were hot, damp and refreshing. Mixed nuts were served in a small ceramic dish (on Air France, cashews in a foil pack within a cardboard box were passed out). Drink service was in glassware, with flutes used for champagne. New plates were used for the food service, with the trendy rectangular and square plates used (as opposed to old fashioned round plates). Service was individual in nature (no carts wheeled up and down the aisle). The first course involved two plates and a bowl: hummus with caramelized onions and pine nuts; spinach salad with cipollini onion, goat cheese and cherry tomatoes (with a container of oil and vinegar dressing on the side); and a square bowl of Thai chicken and coconut soup, which was flavored with ginger and was really good.

My wife and I both ordered the Grilled Beef Tenderloin and Shrimp Scampi entrée, which was served with “sugar snap peas” (which were in fact very delicious and the tastiest item on the plate) and lemon risotto (which was OK but was sticky and syrupy, not quite like the lemon risotto I ate in a restaurant in Sorrento a few years ago). The steak was OK, but in a sort of “steak night at South Dining Hall” kind of way recalling my Notre Dame years. The shrimp had a nice flavor, but were dried out.

The other entrée choices on the menu were: (1) the Michelle Bernstein selection of the month, Cheese Ravioli tossed with eggplant and artichoke caponata; (2) crab cakes and lemon aioli, accompanied by baked spaghetti squash and leeks with red pepper; and (3) a cold plate consisting of Roast Beef and Herbed Chicken Breast with a deviled egg, grilled peppers, asparagus and tomato.

The dessert course that was a cheese and fruit plate, or the traditional “all natural vanilla ice cream sundae”, which was enhanced by a raspberry sauce, chocolate fudge and chopped nuts, and garnished with a pirouline cookie. It was delectable, as always.

With respect to the wines and spirits on board, the good news is that Delta had a wide choice, and with four flight attendants constantly in the aisles, they were free flowing. The bad news is that a doctor put me on medication that ruled out alcoholic beverages.

Anyhow, the white wines were the “Pacific Rim Dry Riesling, California, 2007” and the “Bonterra Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino, California, 2008”. The red wines were the “Wakefield Promised Land Shiraz Cabernet, Australia, 2005” and the “Chateau Greysac Medoc Cru Bourgeois, France, 2002”. The champagne was the “Scharffenberger Brut Sparkling Wine, California, NV”. The dessert vinos were the “Plunkett’s Blackwood Ridge Botrytis Semillion, Australia, NV” and the “Ferreira Dona Antonia Reserve Port, Portugal, NV”.

It is always interesting to receive canned beverages on international flights. My can of Coke Zero was produced in Egypt; and my portion of Schweppes Soda Water was canned in the Netherlands.

Breakfast consisted of a fruit plate consisting of citrus and melon. I went with the oats and honey granola cereal which was garnished with two strawberries, and came with skim milk and strawberry yogurt. The cereal was very good. This got me ready to go for a full day of touring. My wife chose the “Breakfast English Muffin” option to go with the fruit plate. She reported that it was inedible (the muffin was topped with scrambled eggs, spinach, cheddar cheese and turkey Canadian bacon).


We came in contact with five of the eight flight attendants on board. While all of them were very professional and did a great job, our favorite was Earl. Beside being a top Delta professional, we was extremely personable, and we liked him very much. Hope to see him soon on a future Delta flight.

VERDICT: What you would expect from Delta on a good weather day. Comfortable lounges with good refreshments, clean aircraft, professional crews, on-time performance, good on board amenities (other than the breakfast English muffin), and we were landside 30 minutes before the scheduled arrival time).