Hello again everybody,
After the enjoyment of writing my first trip report on Flyertalk covering my trip to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, I decided to do another trip report covering my recent travels to South Florida, in particular, Deerfield Beach, Florida, which is located in Northeast Broward County north of Fort Lauderdale and Miami. I decided to travel here as I have visited the South Florida area many times when my maternal grandparents used to live in Highland Beach; a small town nestled between Boca Raton and Delray Beach in Palm Beach County and my paternal grandparents lived in Davie, west of Fort Lauderdale. In addition, I needed a little rest and relaxation and I also had a small business purpose for the trip, as my mother is thinking about moving to Southeast Florida as she likes the area and Long Island, NY is getting very expensive as a place to live!
Before I took this trip, I did not plan on going anywhere, as I wanted to focus on my future and have fun later. Unfortunately, my maternal grandfather, who I loved very much, passed away at age 97 just about two weeks shy of his 98th birthday. On the positive side, I finished my final semester of my undergraduate studies at LIU-Post as a Sociology Major and Political Science Minor and did very well! Since my mother was also upset about my grandpa’s passing and wanted to celebrate my completion of college, she wanted me to take a vacation to relax and de-stress from what had just happened. With that in mind, I decided to go to Southeast Florida, as I enjoy the beautiful beaches, the warm weather, and the many things to do! While I could have gone to Walt Disney World again and I absolutely love it, I want to wait until I have more money again and until much of the construction work is done. Also, I went solo once again as my mother needed to stay home and watch our two Affenpinschers (they are terrier-like dogs with a monkey-like face) and my dad had to work. With all of these factors in place, I decided to book my trip.

New York John F. Kennedy International-West Palm Beach (1/12/2015):

a) Before Airport:
I booked my trip by doing the air and hotel separately this time around, as I had planned to stay at a less expensive small yet nice hotel that was built in the 1950s before the Southeast Florida coastline was built up with high rises. Since I was not renting a car as my mom did not want the liability of a rental car even though I am an excellent driver, with no violations and accidents thank god and I did not want to get slammed with underage driver fees, I decided to look in areas of Southeast Florida that were near the beach as well as dining and shopping. Since I wanted to be in the Boca/Delray area as I love that area and was planning on house hunting in that area, I decided to look in Delray Beach and Deerfield Beach, as those areas have many things to do within walking distance and are close to the beach. Since The Carriage House in Deerfield Beach with its decent rooms and very cheap rates was sold out, mom told me to use what I saved by not renting a car and stay at The Embassy Suites in Deerfield Beach, as she thought it was a nice hotel and my Uncle loved it when he stayed there. What’s more? The rates were not as high as I thought for what I was getting, those things being a very nice room, complimentary breakfast, and a free happy hour. With my mind made up, I opted to book a One Bedroom Twin-Bed Suite from Monday, January 12th, 2015-Saturday, January 17th, 2015 as those dates had the best rates. Next, I checked flights between JFK/LGA-PBI/FLL on American, Delta, jetBlue, and Virgin America and opted for a round trip flight on Delta from JFK-PBI, which Delta restarted in December after about seven years, when they discontinued this route. I booked both of these components on Friday, December 26th, 2014.
This was the perfect booking, as I find JFK to be more convenient and efficient to use than LGA when given the choice, as I live about 30 minutes away from both airports. Also, I prefer PBI to FLL when given the choice, as PBI is easy to get in and out of, as it is smaller and easier to use than FLL or MIA. Usually, I use FLL as it tends to be cheaper, but this time was an exception as PBI was $30 cheaper round trip. In addition, since I have a Delta Skymiles Gold Card, it worked out well as there is nothing wrong with earning more Skymiles and I find Delta to be a very good carrier on the whole from flying them many times! The route was operated by MD-88s both ways, which I don’t mind as the side of the aircraft with two seats provides a little extra legroom and privacy. While my mom had originally planned to drive me to and from JFK, I decided to give her a break, as I had a LivingSocial deal for S&G Limousine for $35 that provided me with $70 worth of service, so I booked a ride from my home to JFK at 5:15AM and mom was more than happy to pick me up at JFK when I came back, as my flight would arrive mid-day and there would be little traffic. In addition, I booked ground transportation to/from PBI from my hotel through Diamond Coach, as they had a reasonable rate of $54 each way plus a 20% gratuity and my grandparents had a very good experience using them. This report will have many pictures, so please forgive me if they take a while to load. Thank you and enjoy!

**Flight Information**:
Origin Airport: New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York, NY
Destination Airport: Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), West Palm Beach, FL
Airline and Flight Number: Delta Air Lines 2462
Aircraft: Boeing/McDonnell Douglas MD-88
Registration: N945DL
Cabin, Seat: Economy, 18E
Scheduled Departure/Actual Departure: 8:00AM/8:46AM
Scheduled Arrival/Actual Arrival: 11:10AM/11:20AM
Departure Airport Terminal, Gate: Terminal 2, Gate C63
Arrival Airport Terminal, Gate: Concourse C, Gate C3


a) Before Airport/Getting to Airport:
When I woke up Sunday morning, the day before I would travel, I printed my boarding passes on the Delta website, which was super easy but I was slightly disappointed, as my flight was departing from Terminal 2, which I found to not be that great based on my last arrival from MCO back in January 2014. Also, I was a bit surprised to see that the plane was only about half full, as I thought that this route would receive more traffic, so I was interested to see how this flight would pan out.
-Seatmap of DL2462:

However, this would not get in the way of my excitement of going to South Florida again for the first time in 2.5 years and I was looking forward at seeing if Terminal 2’s improvements made it better for departures. In addition, since I have the Hilton application on my iPhone 6 and iPad 2 and I am a HiltonHonors member, I decided to check-in for my stay on my on my iPad and chose to stay in Room 722 on the seventh floor and it was quick and easy!
-Checking-in on the Hilton Application:





After completing some last minute packing and after watching some TV, I went to bed at 10:00PM with the alarm on my home phone waking me at 3:00AM. I got ready and ate my breakfast of Pastrami Lox and Low Fat Scallion Cream Cheese that I got from Fairway Market the night before with Gluten-Free bread. I then spent time with my mother, two Affenpinschers Gwendolyn and Arabella, and my guinea pigs before my car arrived from S&G Limousine at 5:09AM, six minutes before my scheduled pick up. After me and my mother gave each other huge hugs, Richard, my polite and friendly driver, held the rear door of his Chrysler 300, which was impeccably clean and in good shape, open for me to enter the roomy rear seat and loaded my suitcase. We hit the road at 5:15AM and we were on our way to JFK. Despite the fact that he took a slightly different route to get to the Meadowbrook Parkway southbound which I found a bit longer, but the ride went quickly as we took the Meadowbrook Parkway southbound to the Southern State and Belt Parkways westbound. The ride was enjoyable as Richard was an excellent driver and we had an interesting conversation concerning places we had been to, my studies as a Sociology major, and operations at JFK, such as how Delta’s two-terminal operation is working out, which he found to be confusing, but OK. Before we knew it, we were arriving at JFK and at 5:44AM, we pulled up to Terminal 2, which was not crowded at all. After Richard unloaded my suitcase, I thanked him for a wonderful ride and went inside the terminal, since curbside check-in is not available.
-On my way:




-Getting onto the JFK Expressway:


-Terminal 1 sign:


-Approaching Terminal 2:

b) At Airport:
I got in-line at the check-in counter, where I lined up behind one other party and waited less than five minutes, where Simone Diamond, a young female, checked me in. She could sense I was eager to travel and she was very friendly and enthusiastic while she checked me in. We talked about our travels and she was happy that I was going to South Florida. I asked her if she was traveling anywhere and mentioned that she was going to Los Angeles, where I have never been and I was very excited for her. Once I was checked in, she wished me an excellent trip and I made my way to security, where my good luck continued.
At security, I waited less than five minutes and I was very happy, as I was expecting a lengthier wait. However, in a way, I was kind of not surprised as Delta has more of their flights operating out of Terminal 4, which I know from my travels as well as from Richard, who drove me to the airport. The TSA agents were friendly and thorough and after being screened, I was finally ready to enter the airside portion of the terminal, where I gathered my belongings and put my sneakers back on my feet. Since it was about five to six and my flight would not be boarding until 7:20AM, I decided to relax by exploring the terminal and by plane spotting. I then called my mom to let her know I got through security and that in about an hour and a half, I would be boarding. She wished me a great flight and a wonderful trip. Overall, I thought that the terminal area seemed cleaner than when I was last in it and I enjoyed checking out the interesting shops and restaurants, like Shisho, Taste NY, Tagliare, Brklyn Beer Garden, and Croque Madame, which helped give the terminal a more local feeling the way Terminals C and D at LaGuardia have it. Another interesting thing was that the regional jet gates were no longer in use, as they were empty and the departure board listed that all of the Delta Connection flights were departing from their new gates at Terminal 4. While I found that Terminal 2 was not as nice as Terminals 4 or 5, I found it better than it used to be and it is no longer a terrible terminal to depart from.
*Here are some pictures of Terminal 2 and my time plane spotting:
-Departure Board:

-Gate C63:

-Croque Madame:

-Taste NY:

-Tagliare:

-Brklyn Beer Garden:

-Delta Boeing 737-800 operating as DL2614 to AUS at Gate C68:

-Delta Boeing 757-200 Skyteam livery operating as DL2109 to SLC at Gate C69:

Since my boarding time was nearing, I decided to settle by one of the neat iPad seats at Gate C63, which had some other passengers waiting but not as many as at adjacent Gates C62 and C61, with passengers heading to Miami and Orlando respectively. I texted my dad and a couple of friends, who were happy that I was heading to West Palm Beach and they wished me a great trip!
-At Gate:

-iPad at Gate:

-N945DL, a Delta MD-88 operating as DL2642 to take me to PBI:

Finally, boarding commenced at 7:20AM and as always, I found the zone boarding to be quick and organized. Thanks to my Delta Skymiles Gold card, in addition to my free checked bag, I was able to board with Zone 1. The gate agent wished me a good flight and I proceeded through the jet way, excited to head to Florida for fun in the sun!

c) Delta Flight 2462:
After I proceeded through the jet way, I finally got onboard the MD-88 through doorway 1L. A young, female flight attendant named Katherine greeted me as I boarded and I found her to be enthusiastic and friendly. The young male flight attendant whose name I did not get working alongside her in First Class was also very warm. I proceeded to 18E as many people began to board. My first impressions of the aircraft were that it was very clean and well maintained. I could not help but notice that the MD-88 had the new Delta First Class seat covers, with the diamond pattern and the Delta triangle on the top, which made for a cool and somewhat retro look. As the seat map and amount of people confirmed, this plane was only half-full, making for an expedient boarding process. Once in my seat, I found it to be pretty good, as I had good legroom and decent width. While it was not as roomy as jetBlue’s seat or Economy Comfort, it was still a comfortable seat and the lack of a middle seat added a little extra room and privacy. In addition, I also lucked out, as I did not have a seatmate.
-Legroom Shot:

-Empty seat :

-Not many people onboard:


-N931DL, a Delta MD-88 operating as DL2190 to MIA from Gate C62 and N390DA, a Delta Boeing 737-800 operating as DL2619 to MCO from Gate C61:

-N390DA pulling back:

Unfortunately, our departure was delayed, as the first two tugs, which would tow the plane from the gate, were broken. In addition, there were slight ground delays due to the threat of bad weather in the form of freezing rain and some snow. While I was slightly frustrated along with some of the other passengers, as we would be delayed, I was still relieved somewhat as at least we would be able to leave New York since we left the gate once we got a working tug. Once we taxied, I spotted a lot of Delta action near Terminal 4, a jetBlue Airbus A320, a Delta Canadair CRJ (not sure of model), and a British Airways Boeing 747-400 taking off for London. We lined up behind an American Airlines Boeing 737-800 in the old colors second in line for departure.
-Delta CRJ:

-Delta CRJ with a British Airways Boeing 747-400 taking off for LHR:

-AA Boeing 737-800 old colors in front of us:

-From Flightaware: N529JB, a jetBlue Airbus A320 operating as B6795 to AUS with Delta action in the background:

We took off from Runway 31L and according to FlightAware as I was not able to see due to the cloudy conditions, we flew over Southwestern Queens (Howard Beach) and Southeastern Brooklyn (Canarsie, Gerittsen Beach, Mill Basin, and Marine Park) before flying over Central New Jersey before hitting 10,000 feet. I plugged my Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones into my iPhone 6 and listened to The Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Clash, Elton John, Twisted Sister, Led Zeppelin, Tony Bennett, AC-DC, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, The Allman Brothers, Queen, Billy Joel, The Offspring, and Primus for most of the flight.

About twenty minutes after take off, Carlos, another young male flight attendant who was very friendly, took the beverage orders using a pad and paper, instead of using the cart due to light passenger loads. Since I want the JFK-PBI route to last this time, I asked him if the flight is usually this light and he said that it is usually crowded. In a way, I was relieved, as I prefer using JFK over LGA, which was the only way to get to PBI from NYC from 2007-2014. With that being said, I ordered a full can of Orange Juice with no ice. A few minutes later, Carlos delivered my beverage and had every passenger take the whole can, which differs from the usual default of not getting the whole can unless you ask. Katherine followed with a bin of snacks and I selected peanuts.

Around the time I was eating, the captain made an announcement that we were 36,000 feet over Virginia Beach, VA and was very apologetic for our delay and adding that we lucked out, as we avoided bad weather in the New York area as we left early and hoped at max to only have us in West Palm Beach, FL thirty minutes behind schedule. I was not worried, as I would still have plenty of time to enjoy the day and was just happy to be on my way. I continued to listen to music until 10:30AM, when I put away my headphones to prepare for landing. I then used the First Class lavatory when the turbulence died down, which was permitted as others used it without the FAs batting an eye and I found it to be clean and well stocked. We followed the Atlantic coastline after Eastern North Carolina and entered Florida near the Jupiter area in Northeast Palm Beach County. We turned in Central Western Palm Beach County and landed at Palm Beach International Airport at 11:20AM, only ten minutes behind schedule! The landing was a bit rough, but I called my mom to let her know I arrived and she was very happy! While we taxied, I spotted Gulfstream aircraft by the Gulfstream hangar, a jetBlue Embraer E-190, a Spirit Airbus A319, and a Delta MD-88. We then parked at Gate C3 and the First Class flight attendant thanked me for flying Delta and wished me a good trip! Overall, it was a great flight and I was happy to finally be in South Florida!
-Landing over the West Palm Beach area:

-Gulfstreams:

-jetBlue Embraer E-190 at Gate C10, Spirit Airbus A319 at Gate C8, and a Delta MD-88 at Gate C2:


d) Arrival:
I made my way into the terminal via doorway 1L and the jet way and I was instantly impressed, as I found the terminal of Palm Beach International Airport to be immaculately clean, aesthetically pleasing, and bright.



While I was making my way to the baggage claim, Steve, my driver from Diamond Coach, called me to let me know he was at the airport and he asked me if I had to claim any bags. I told him I had to pick up a bag and told me not to worry and to call him again when I got the bag. While I was doing this, I called my family-friend Bruce, a longtime friend of my mom to let him know that I arrived and he was very happy and mentioned he could not wait to meet me at 5:30PM The Whale’s Rib, a longtime Deerfield Beach seafood restaurant that was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.



At Baggage Claim 1, I did not have to wait long as my bag came off less than five minutes later. I called Steve back and he was pleasantly surprised, as it took me very little time to get out of the terminal. He told me to meet him outside the exit closest to Baggage Claim 1. I was not surprised though as I find Palm Beach to be a very efficient and easy-to-use airport, which makes it feel like a smaller airport even though it is a medium-sized airport, which has a Customs & Immigrations facility that could process international flights. Steve pulled up in his Ford Crown Victoria a minute later as he opened the rear door for me and loaded my suitcase into the trunk. I found him to be very friendly and polite. We were on our way and while I was in the car, my dad texted me. He could not believe how quickly I had arrived. We exited the airport onto I-95 south towards Miami and the ride went quickly as we talked about different facets of living in Florida and our lives. We left I-95 at Hillsboro Blvd (FL-810) eastbound for FL-A1A southbound and thirty-five minutes later, we were in front of The Embassy Suites in Deerfield Beach, FL and it was clear that I finally arrived in paradise! After paying $65 for my ride with 20% gratuity, I thanked Steven for an excellent ride and entered the lobby of the hotel, where I would be checking in.
-Leaving PBI for I-95 south towards Miami:

-I-95 through West Palm Beach, FL:

-Approaching Deerfield Beach, FL via Hillsboro Blvd (FL-810):


e)DL2462 Impressions/Ratings:
Once again, Delta did very well on this flight! Flight attendants Katherine, Carlos, and the First Class flight attendant whose name I did not get made all of the passengers feel welcome as they were friendly, polite, and attentive. The plane was clean and in excellent shape and the seats, while not class leading like jetBlue, were definitely fine. What’s more? The free snacks in addition to the beverages are an excellent touch as always and we arrived early. All in all, I feel Delta is definitely doing an excellent job surpassing the other U.S. legacy carriers as well as competing with low-cost carriers like jetBlue and Southwest.
**Please note, due to the fact that in-seat IFE was not available on this flight, I have adjusted the other four scoring factors to be out of 25 so that they would add up to 100. Here they are:
Plane Condition/Cleanliness: 25/25 (The plane was clean and in near perfect shape.)
Seat Comfort: 21/25 (The side of the MD-88 with two seats adds comfort and privacy to the standard Y seat.)
Service: 25/25 (Flight attendants were friendly and attentive.)
Snacks/Beverages: 25/25 (Flight attendants were generous with the free snacks and beverages.)
Overall Grade: 96 (A)

***I will be continuing this report in this thread soon and I cannot wait to share even more with the FT community.