KSRQ (Sarasota - Bradenton International Airport) ✈ KATL (Atlanta - Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport / The William B Hartsfield / Municipal / Candler Field)

• Airline: Delta Air Lines
• Airline IATA Code: IATA Code # DL
• Airline IACO Code: IACO Code # DAL
• Airline Callsign: Radio Callsign DELTA
• Airline Flight Number: # DAL 1725
• Aircraft / Equipment Used for Flight : McDonell Douglas MD-90-30
• Aircraft / Equipment Registration: Registration # N904DA
• Airline Aircraft / Equipment Fleet Number: # 9204
• Aircraft / Equipment Nationality: United States of America - FAA - Registered A/C / Equipment
• Aircraft Manufacturer: McDonell Douglas
• Aircraft's First Flight: March 20th, 1995
• Aircraft's Age as of Date of Flight: 19.7 Years old as of October 12th, 2014
• Aircraft Test Registration: Test Registration N904DA
• Aircraft Config: F16W15Y129, formerly F12Y138 pre-2011
• Total Number of Passenger Seats: 160 Seats
• Aircraft Construction Number (MSN) : # 53384
• Aircraft Line Number: # 2096
• Aircraft Delivery Date: March 24th, 1995
• Aircraft Powerplant (s) : 2x IAE V2525-D5 High Bypass, Rear-mounted Turbofan Engines
• Aircraft Owned by / Leased from: OWNED BY Delta Air Lines
• Meal: Refreshments / Beverage Service
• Seat Assignment: Seat # 4A, First Class
• A/C Equipped with IFE: No
• A/C Equipped with Wi-Fi Wireless Internet Access: Yes, GoGo Inflight Wi-Fi Available for purchase
• Airline Flight Date: October 12th, 2014
• Boarding Call Time: 12:47 PM EST, October 12th, 2014
• Boarding Zone: Boarding Zone # 1, Sky Priority
• Departure Time: 1:22 PM EST, October 12th, 2014
• Departure Gate / Jetway: Gate / Jetway B6, Concourse B, SRQ
• Arrival Time: 2:31 PM EST, October 10th, 2014
• Arrival Gate / Jetway: Gate / Jetway T5, Concourse T, ATL
• Time Aloft: 1 hour 9 minutes (69 Minutes)
• Filed Speed: 462 KIAS
• Filed Cruising Altitude: 30,000 feet
• Flight Distance: Direct: 446 SM | Planned: 497 SM | Flown: 665 SM
• Routing Waypoint (s) : SRQ SRKUS2 CTY WARRR1 ATL

FLIGHT DATA SOURCE (S) :

1. Planespotter.Net Airline Data

2. Planespotter.Net Airframe Data

3. FlightAware Live Flight Tracking Data

4. Airline Fleet Data

5. Airline General Class of Service Info

6. Airline Seat Map Data

7. SeatGuru Seat Map Data

FlightAware for this flight. Copyright FlightAware © 2014

Since I have been holding off on providing a nice, long, detailed summation of SRQ's history, I shall divulge into the history of the airport.

SRQ started itself off as a municipal airfield constructed by the authorities of Sarasota and Manatee County to fill the much-needed void of suitable landing locations in the area. Like all Florida airstrips, SRQ was reclaimed by the US Government when WWII struck to be used as a training site for dogfighting pilots. Post war, in 1947, control of the airport was handed back to the municipalities of Sarasota and Manatee counties. The first airline to begin scheduled service was National Airlines, and throughout the 20th century, the airport always had a decent amount of destinations served from the airfield from a number of air carriers.

Sarasota - Bradenton International Airport shares a large piece of the airline industry pie because on the terrible date of 09/11/2001, Air Force One was parked on the ramp as the honorable President George Bush was in town as part of a program to encourage reading skills nationwide. President Bush entered the second-grade classroom of teacher Sandra Kay Daniels, sat down with the students, and read the story The Pet Goat with them.


Here 28000/29000 (?) is on the ramp at SRQ on September 11th, 2001, resting in the humid Floridian air. In a nutshell, there are two highly modified Boeing 747-200B aircraft redisgnated into the military moniker of VC-25, which are referred to colloquially as "Air Force One". Their regs are 28000 and 29000.



Thirteen years, five mergers (HP/US, DL/NW, UA/CO, FL/WN, and most recently, AA/US), dozens of airline bankruptcies, wildly changing oil prices, and three Presidential terms later, SRQ is in a bit of a pickle. Most service has been cut at SRQ in favor of TPA, PIE, RSW, PGD, and APF ops, leaving mostly seasonal service. Nearly all regularly scheduled service is either to high-yielding routes or fortress hub, and Sarasota county has been desperately vying to get more nonstop service to the airstrip. To this end, they have renovated the entire airport, added a huge new atrium and shopping plaza pre-security, and a host of other "Improvements". Whether these improvements lend themselves well to the overall experience of this airfield has yet to be seen...


So far, so good! Looks very nice and clean inside SRQ's ground-level ticketing hall.


The very small Delta check-in area at SRQ.

While I check my baggage, I strike up a friendly conversation with the very senior DL employees. They seem dissapointed at the lack of service at the airport, but mentioned a new Delta Connection Service to NYC (forgot which airport in particular) starting in the winter. Since I really don't know what is past TSA and I want to spend some time outside on the spotting hill, I simply watch as the CSA's slap a "SKY PRIORITY" tag on my luggage and stroll out the sliding doors into the fresh Florida air.


I have to say, this arrangement of flowering native Floridian plants around the green SRQ logo looks pretty beautiful...


SRQ's spotting area is located on top of a big grassy hill near the end of the terminal, with a paved walkway and covered seating for easy access and comfort. Due to the size of the hill, it isn't necessary to use a ladder or poke your lens through a random chain link fence hole to get a good shot, now if only FLL and the likes could install a similar hill...

Even though the terminal was completely quelled of planes, I expected just a sprinkle of aircraft to show up and dock anyway. Nope, nothing happened, and the silent factor ringed throughout the deserted field. Only a few Cessna 172/182s were out and about, flying patterns over and over again, so I just went back into the airport and cleared security.


"ContiUnited." Reminds me of UA's "new" livery, half UA and half CO!


Two defunct airlines, ASA / Comair (Regionals), but Air France and SwissAir? I can't seem to find any information on AF and LX serving SRQ? Does anyone know what routes they served? CDG-SRQ-CDG? ZRH-SRQ-ZRH?


An overview of the ticketing hall, still with a very warm and welcoming vibe.



A surprisingly gargantuanly-large atrium with a peaceful waterfall and fountain surrounding it. I am liking SRQ more and more now....(Second photo taken on the way in)

When I walked into the pre-security shopping mall I noticed a little display with SRQ-branded bag tags lying about. I didn't want to take any, so I took a stroll over to the airport information desk, where an elderly woman was handing out information pamphlets. I politely requested to buy some tags, but to my great shock she handed me two for free! Not only that, but she also said, "Those look like some nice cameras you have there, young man! We have an observation deck on the third floor if you want to take a look!" Yes, of course I do!


The sort-of hidden door up to the spotting deck.


A very clean area, even with shades if you don't want to revel in the Florida sun.


Very first airline arrival of the day, JetBlue (B6)'s "I ❤ New York" / "I Jet ❥ Blue" / "Spirit of Blue York" Airbus A320 N586JB arriving from JFK.



Second arrival of the day, Delta MD-90-30 N942DN.

I moronically believed that N942DN was my MD for today and went down to clear security. Like the ticketing agents and airport workers, the TSA agents here are of a high degree of seniority but very friendly--actually, if I had to say, the friendliest I've seen in awhile (unlike the awful ones at CLE). I even tried to board the first flight out to Atlanta not knowing that I would be taking the next flight out instead. The DL agent discretely corrected me and told me not to worry about it, happens all the time around this neck of the woods apparently. With about an hour to go, I headed into the Gulf Breeze Bar and Grill, which had one of the best views of one of the runways. I didn't want to fulfill any "Teenage Freeloader" stereotypes, so I bought a few cokes and an order of fries then tipped the waitress well before leaving to board my MD-90 up to Atlanta.


The slogan of Sarasota - Bradenton International Airport is Do you SRQ? As a matter of fact, I do.


Looks like Delta had almost an all-McDonell Douglas operation here post-merger. Did NW serve here pre-2007? I don't remember Delta operating -40s, only -50s?


Tracking my inbound flight on FlightRadar24. Looks like the airspace by here is a stuffy mess! :-D


Watch out SRQ Ground control, there might be too many aircraft on the airline ramp...United Airlines legacy A319 (well why would I call it legacy if CO had no Airbii) N846UA arriving from ORD. It's a bit relieving to know they're not sending an ERJ-145 down here.


Atta girl! There's my ride up to ATL, Delta Air Lines MD-90-30 N904DA arrives right on time for a quick turnaround back to Georgia. She's almost two decades old by this point.


Taking on some extra fuel and taking out the baggage from the last flight.


100% on time effiency for this flight? SRQ Delta ground staff, you should feel proud of yourselves.



Boarding my shuttle to Atlanta. Surprisingly, this flight boarded rather quickly despite no less than 15 wheelchair passengers (!!!) on the manifest. You can clearly see how talented the ground handlers are here...


A rather beat up first class cabin, installed in 2011 according to PlaneSpotters.Net.


Luckily for me, the last remaining premium seat on this flight just so happened to be 4F. More info about this below.

According to a video review from Jake Redman from ModHop, the DAL MD-90s USED to have fold down monitors throughout the cabin as well as a completely different hard product, that apparentelly looked sor of like the old cabin on the PMNW DC9 fleet, but with armrest audio controls. I don't think any MD-90s have this old cabin anymore, which is a shame.

On an Airliners.net TechOps thread, somebody asked if it would be possible to rework the cabin on the MD fleet to add the PTVs seen on the 738/752 (this was way before the 739 and 753-era large-screen monitors). The basic answer was, yes, it is possible, but they basically would have to rewire the entire electrical system and add a much larger fuse box to accomodate the wattage used by the apparatus, which DL did not want to do. Considering that Delta just announced it had placed its very last order for Super 80 parts, it's very unlikely that we'll see anything more than GoGo and audio entertainment on these airplanes.

Back to 2014, the new seats on the MD-88/MD-90 fleet are/were the first "slimline first class seats"--I had never heard of such a thing but apparently the trend of shaving seat thickness has reached far beyond coach class. To be completely honest, these seats didn't feel much different from other domestic first class chairs I've experienced on other airlines. Actually, the first leg of my very first trip report ( http://www.airliners.net/aviation-fo...ad.main/217437 ) was on them, and they seemed comfortable as ever two years later. The F/A team in the front consists of a male and female who both seem extremely entuisiatic about the fact that they're working southwest Floridian flights. And of course the SRQ ground staff don't want to ruin their 100% on time record, so in a jiffy we are taxiing out of the stand and out onto the bay-facing runway.
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VIDEO - Delta Air Lines MD-90 *TAKEOFF* from Sarasota - Bradenton International Aiport - VIDEO
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If you are having trouble watching this video due to slow loading times on Flickr, Click here / on this sentence to download it.
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VIDEO - Delta Air Lines MD-90 *CLIMBOUT* from Sarasota - Bradenton International Airport - VIDEO
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If you are having trouble watching this video due to slow loading times on Flickr, Click here / on this sentence to download it.
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All Delta safety cards are color coded, the MD-90 pamphlet is mustard and royal blue.


Pushback and waiting for ground clearance to start our engines. I must say, even when the blades did start spinning, I could barely hear a peep out of the nacelles on the back of our airplane.


Riding in one of these puppies is definitely a unique experience, I almost could imagine we were a Blanik glider being towed out by a Maule Super Rocket for a fun-filled day of soaring.


Now when you're taking off, you always want to check the sock and make sure the front of your aircraft is aligned with incoming wind, always want to take off into the wind, son.....



And takeoff into the wind I shall..you're welcome, SRQ.


Liftoff.


Later, Sarasota. Looks like a USX or DLC regional jet has just arrived, can't tell which...


Rocking past downtown Sarasota and Bradenton bay.


Halfway through the U-turn to head up north, we entered a tiny weather system that really packed a turbulent punch--frightening many of the elderly passengers onboard.


One last overview of SRQ.


The beauty of Bradenton bay. The large spots are not muck, but cloud shadows, and notice the large amounts of boaters enjoying the Sunday afternoon sun.


This is real, real, real, real love


At cruise altitude after climbing through the seaboard of southwestern Florida.

Though I have described the non-meal-qualifying flight service in first class on Delta way too many times, here I go again. :P Once we reach cruise the F/A announces the usual "you can use your gizmos, but keep your seatbelt on" spiel before taking our drink orders and passing the snack basket around a few times. Just as on ATL-SRQ, SRQ-ATL is probably one of the shortest Floridian-bound hops from ATL, in the style of MLB, VPS, GNV, TLH, PNS, PGD, EYW, ECP, DAB, JAX, and EYW.


Albert Whitted Airport (IATA: SPG, ICAO: KSPG) in Saint Petersburg, Florida. The square-looking building jutting out into the bay is the St. Petersburg Pier, better view here. The Pier itself is a fun place and has a few intresting shops, but the best part about my most recent visit in Tampa was seeing the spot where the first airline flight in the world occurred.


St. Petersburg / Clearwater International Airport (IATA: PIE, ICAO: KPIE) also in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Despite being only a mere ten miles from TPA, Ultra-Low-Cost-Carrier Allegiant (G4) has 35 destinations served (33 regular, 2 seasonal) from here, so I guess you could call it a small hub.


A nice glass of Coca-Cola Classic really hits the spot at this point.


Mark, the crew chief, passes the junk food around.


I'm not feeling the hunger vibe, so I take only a couple of mini-pretzel bags.


Very quiet up here during cruise, I must say.

[img]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3929/15333093750_23bc11719d_c.jpg[/img
This PSU is in surprisingly oustanding condition factoring in the age of the refitted bird.

The rest of the flight really didn't have any notable events to speak of, and before I knew it the flight crew were on the horn telling us that we had just begun our descent into Georgia. However, the chief purser, upon reaching long final, launched into a long winded speech about Delta's October Breast Cancer Awareness support, and ended the announcement that he himself was fighting breast cancer (isn't breast cancer more prevalent in females than males?) and was seeking out cash donations to complete his last round of chemo. Having had my own grandfather almost die due to melanoma (the doctors caught the infected cells before it got out of hand), I open up my wallet and take out a bill to throw into his bag--but he passes right by me after my seatmate throws a few coins in. I tried to find him after we deplaned but I just couldn't. Wherever you are, Mark, I truly hope you win the tough battle against the tumultous disease, and enjoy many years working at Delta.

As we taxied into the T Concourse I noticed the new Spirit "Bare Fare" yellow livery as well as the Delta Susan J. Komen / Evelyn H. Lauder "Pink Plane", so I was looking forward to a fun afternoon of spotting before I boarded my late-evening flight back to Fort Lauderdale.
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VIDEO - Delta Air Lines MD-90 *APPROACH* into Atlanta International Airport - VIDEO
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If you are having trouble watching this video due to slow loading times on Flickr, Click here / on this sentence to download it.
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VIDEO - Delta Air Lines MD-90 *LANDING, TOUCHDOWN, AND ROLLOUT* into Atlanta International Airport - VIDEO
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If you are having trouble watching this video due to slow loading times on Flickr, Click here / on this sentence to download it.
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Beginning our descent into ATL with a mid-level cloud layer below.


What airport is this? Looks like a purely GA strip.


Long final.


I didn't know Firestone Tires had their MFD facility in Atlanta!


Race to the bottom....


Touchdown, spoilers deployed, and the first time in a blue moon that I'm not able to see the thrust reversers work their stopping-power magic!


Bazooka-zooka bubblegum in the distance.


I cant decided whether I like the tiny "AA" letters on the tail or a ruby widget?


Parked, and Delta clearly wants to make it known that ATL is their turf and all other airlines need to get off their lawn.


Walking up front to secure a cockpit visit, and ultimately search in vain for a disappeared Mark.








Delta Air Line's MD-90 N904DA's Cockpit in detail. This bird has clearly been with the airline through all of its motions.


I remember someone asking awhile ago why you can't board an aircraft from the right side. Yeah....