*Flight Information:
Airline and flight number: Delta Air Lines (DL) 2124
Departure Airport: Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), West Palm Beach, FL
Arrival Airport: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Atlanta, GA
Departure Airport Terminal, Gate: Concourse C, Gate C4
Arrival Airport Terminal, Gate: South Terminal, Gate D14
Aircraft type, registration: Airbus A321, N334DN
Class of Service, Seat: Comfort+, 10F
Scheduled Departure Time/Actual Departure Time: 8:00AM/7:58AM
Scheduled Arrival Time/Actual Arrival Time: 9:42AM/9:20AM


*SPECIAL NOTES:
-First time flying to ATL
-Second time in Georgia (The first time I was in Georgia was when I moved to Florida with my Mother at the end of 2016, when we stopped outside of Savannah at a Kroger to use the restroom and get a coffee during our drive from NY to FL.)
-First time in Atlanta
-First time flying to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
-First time on a Delta Airbus A321 (I was on an Airbus A321 one other time in May 2018 from JFK-FLL, but it was on jetBlue)
-Second time on an Airbus A321 overall
-First time flying between PBI and ATL

d) DL2124: PBI-ATL:
Feeling excited to begin my journey to Las Vegas, I made my way down the jetway, entering N334DN, the Airbus A321 operating my flight via Doorway 1L. As I entered the aircraft, I was greeted by the Lead Flight Attendant, who was on the younger side and had a slight Indian accent. She was very warm and very professional and at the same time, Captain Anderson, one of the pilots, also was very kind in welcoming me aboard. As I made my way to Seat 10F in the Comfort+ cabin, my first impressions of this aircraft were that it was spiffy, as it was very clean and very modern looking. It had blue seat coverings for the seats in all classes and on the First Class and Comfort+ seats, pops of red to break up the blue. I settled in Seat 10F, which had more than ample legroom and plenty of width.

Looking from my window, I was able to see the Main Terminal and Parking Garage and skies were mostly clear, with only a few clouds, making for a beautiful day!

Although mask mandates were lifted in April 2022 for modes of public transportation in the United States, including airline travel, I still opted to wear a mask during my flights as while COVID-19 numbers have gone down significantly from the beginning of the pandemic, I still opted to wear a mask as while I am not fearful of COVID-19, I wanted to wait until the numbers are further down and airplanes are tight spaces, so I wanted to be safe rather than sorry, even though I don't really wear my mask elsewhere these days. On this flight as well as the others, very few passengers masked up and spoiler alert except for one Flight Attendant from ATL to LAS and two Flight Attendants from ATL to PBI, none of the Flight Attendants I encountered wore masks. I then pulled up my mask, beginning to relax for the short hop to Atlanta as the Flight Crew continued to load our plane.

As you can see below, there was more than enough legroom I also noticed some minor wear and tear by my seat, like a loose thread from the top of the seatback pocket, but nothing terrible by any means.

I was then all masked up and ready to go!

As the boarding process was coming to an end, I was then joined by my seatmates, including a young man in the middle seat next to me and a middle aged female on the aisle. They were courteous, but we didn't talk much as we all played around with the IFE. By about ten to eight, the Cabin Crew closed the door of the plane since everyone was seated and onboard. At this time, the same middle aged, blonde Flight Attendant I met at security stopped by our seats as she was checking to make sure everyone's seatbelts were on. We recognized each other right away and were delighted to see each other again, even though a short time had passed. The flight attendant introduced herself as Beth and she cheerfully thanked me for flying Delta, then wishing me a good flight! With everyone safely seated, we began our pushback from Gate C4, taxiing for takeoff to ATL. Since the monitors for the first row of C+ on the Delta Airbus A321 are located in the armrest and cannot be taken out until airborne, I directed my attention to the monitor above my seat for the inflight safety video. We then began our taxi, where I could see some general aviation jets in the distance.

After that, I then saw the end of Concourse C, where the jetBlue gates are located.

I then caught a view of the Main Terminal, with Concourse C flanking it on the right side of the photo and Concourse B flanking it on the left side of the photo.

I then caught a glimpse of N958AN, an American Boeing 737-800 at Gate B12, which arrived from Charlotte the previous evening and would be heading back to Charlotte as American 2646 next to N339PL at Gate B10, a fellow American Boeing 737-800 that I spotted while waiting for my flight. It arrived from Charlotte the previous evening as American 1833 and would be heading back to Charlotte as American 1845.

Further down the taxiway, I spotted the general aviation jets I saw a few minutes ago from a closer perspective.

As we passed the Gulfstream hangar, I spotted N888PK, a Piper Malibu Meridian on the left side of the photo with another general aviation aircraft to its right.

At the Jet Aviation hangar, I spotted a very small general aviation aircraft.

With no one in front of us, we were first in line to take off and began our turn onto Runway 10L.


Now lined up for takeoff, I felt the immediate thrust and heard the buzz of the Airbus A321s engines and by 7:58AM, two minutes before our scheduled takeoff time, we were off!

We ascended in an eastbound direction and down below, I saw more hangars for general aviation jets.

And some more general aviation jets below.

As we continued to fly in an eastbound direction, I saw Interstate 95 southbound towards Miami bisecting the photo and looking south, I could see the rest of West Palm Beach, including what my iPhone geotagged as the Poinciana Park neighborhood. Further east and to the left of the photo, I could see the Intracoastal Waterway separating the Palm Beach barrier island from mainland West Palm Beach. On the left side of the foreground, I spotted Exit 68, which is the I-95 interchange for Southern Boulevard (US 98/FL-80), connecting Palm Beach island to the western suburbs of West Palm Beach and beyond that, all the way across the Floridian Peninsula to Fort Myers via FL-80 and via US 98, which leaves FL-80 at Belle Glade near Lake Okeechobee and goes through Central and Northern Florida all the way to the Panhandle and leaving Florida at the western end of the Panhandle for Alabama and Mississippi. Towards the right side of the photo, I was able to recognize the airport Hilton.

I then took a closer shot of the southern interchanges of Exit 68, leading off I-95 to Southern Boulevard.

And then saw the southeast portion of West Palm Beach and the northeast portion of Lake Worth Beach, along with Lake Worth Lagoon, separating the mainland portions of those cities from Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach on the barrier island. In the background of the photo towards the left, I also spotted the bridge carrying FL-802 (Lake Avenue/Lake Worth Road) from Lake Worth Beach and its Downtown all the way west through the western suburbs of Lake Worth Beach and Wellington.

Next, we flew over Lake Worth Lagoon and looking south, I spotted prestigious Palm Beach, dotted with high rises and mansions and all the way to the right of the photo, the Lake Worth Pier.

As we flew east, we then crossed the coastline of Palm Beach and looking south, I could see the remainder of Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach as well as the beautiful blue Atlantic Ocean.

I then felt the plane turn left, meaning we would be heading in a northbound direction and flying parallel to the Floridian coastline, with skies that were mostly clear save for some clouds here and there.


A few minutes later, we were at a higher altitude and cloud cover increased, even though the sun was still bright! At this point in time, I also felt the plane make another left turn, this time flying to the northwest.

I knew this was true as down below, I could see North Palm Beach and Juno Beach looking north, with US 1 curving from the bottom left of the photo more towards the right side of the landscape and then curving back to the left and background of the photo as it travels north towards the rest of Juno Beach and Jupiter.

Magnifying a bit more with my iPhone's camera, I was able to see Juno Beach looking north and in the background,I spotted the Juno Beach Pier, located on beautiful Juno Beach!

I was able to recognize this area as I know it well since I don't work too far from it and lo and behold, we continued to fly northwest over the vibrant yet quaint cities of Palm Beach Gardens and Jupiter. Based on the roads and land layout below, I recognized the interchanges from the Florida's Turnpike (FL-91) and I-95 onto FL-706 (Indiantown Road) in the middle of the landscape and towards the bottom and center of the photo, the residential and commercial district of Abacoa in Jupiter, the Jupiter campus of Florida Atlantic University, and Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, a minor league baseball stadium home to spring training for the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals.

After we broke some cloud cover, I was able to see north into Jupiter, where FL-A1A Alt. towards the right upper side of the photo crosses over the Loxahatchee River to the left of Jupiter Inlet, bordered by US 1 on the right side. Just before FL-A1A Alt. and US 1 cross the Loxahatchee River and Jupiter Inlet, they meet FL-706 (Indiantown Road), connecting the coastal portion of Jupiter to its western suburbs and all the way out to FL-710 (Bee Line Highway).

Flying west over the western portions of Jupiter, I could see the tangle of highways below, which included from left to right and running parallel to each other north of this point: Exit 116 from the Florida's Turnpike and Exit 87A-B from I-95.

We continued to fly northwest and down below, I could still see the western portions of Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens with some residential developments below, but also more farmland.

A minute after I took the photo above, the time was now 8:05AM and we reached 10,000 feet, so we got the all clear to move about the cabin and for those of us seated in the first row of Comfort+, we could take our IFE monitors out of the armrest.

Since it was not going to be a long flight as there was maybe only a little over an hour remaining, I decided to check out the music selection and other features of Delta's IFE system. As usual, I find it to be one of the better systems in the sky thanks to its ease of use and large amount of content, including a plethora of movies, some TV channels, games, and even information on the aircraft. At the same time I was checking out the IFE system, I saw that we had left South Florida and were flying over Indiantown, FL according to my iPhone. We were flying northwest over the Floridian Peninsula and down below, I could see what looked like farmland.

Five minutes after flying over Indiantown, FL at 8:16AM, the flight attendants began beverage service with snacks close behind. While I was waiting, I went to the page with statistics of our plane on the IFE.

Only four minutes later, Beth, the flight attendant I met in the terminal and her fellow flight attendant, Mary Ann, reached our row less than five minutes after starting service. Mary Beth was also very kind and cheerful. She then asked for my choice of beverage, which went a little something like this...
-Mary Beth: Anything to drink? (in a cheerful tone)
-WolfieG: Diet Coke please Ms. Mary Ann
-Mary Beth: You got it sir! Enjoy!
I realized I forgot to ask for the full can of Diet Coke, but that was on me haha! Nevertheless, I noticed that since I last flew Delta in May 2021 from FLL-JFK, they brought back full cans of beverages in keeping with restoring meal services to pre-pandemic levels, whereas during COVID-19, I think they were slim cans. After receiving my Diet Coke, Beth shortly followed with a basket of snacks for Comfort+. In addition to the snacks served in Y, there were a few other choices, including almonds, which I opted for. In addition to being excellent at her duties, Beth was also engaging with us. She reminisced about the days of visiting Palm Beach a lot when she was younger, recalling the good times she had there and wanting to at some point, move to Palm Beach. Beth mentioned that due to working for DL for a long time and being based in Atlanta, she was living in the Atlanta area. Loving Palm Beach, she told us how she wanted to move there. I would say I engaged the most with her of my seatmates and told her how much I loved living in Delray Beach a bit further south and she agreed she also loved Delray, thanks to its vibrant yet laid back character. However, Beth lamented that due to the economy as well as a lot of folks from the Northeast (and even California) moving down to FL due to COVID-19, lower costs compared to the northeast, and a lot of freedoms not enjoyed in some U.S. states, prices had increased, as she recalled looking at a studio apartment in Palm Beach online that cost over $400,000! I told her that unfortunately, real estate prices were very high in Florida but hoped that one day, she would get to move to FL. After our interesting conversation, Beth continued to take care of the rest of the passengers and I got to enjoy my Diet Coke and almonds.

Unlike the last time I flew DL, which had music generally sorted by artist, at this time, Delta had their music selections curated by genre in conjunction with Spotify. Perusing the menu, the Rock This Mixtape called my name as Rock is my favorite genre of music.

Thinking it would be older rock, I found this playlist to be a bit of a misnomer, as it consisted more of newer rock and alternative. Luckily, I found one song to jam out to which was "Let The Bad Times Roll" by The Offspring, released in Spring 2021 which had a sound evocative of older Offspring songs.

Not finding much on that playlist that interested me, I then checked out the This Is The Weeknd Mixtape. I enjoyed listening to 'Blinding Lights," which is a catchy tune and even mentions Las Vegas in the lyrics when he sings "Sin City's cold and empty (oh)." I also liked "Save Your Tears," which had a sound reminiscent of pop songs of the 1980s.

While I was listening to music, our flight made excellent time as after our plane turned northbound over Central Florida and by about 8:35AM, we were flying over Northern Florida not far from the Florida-Georgia state line. After listening to the This Is The Weeknd Mixtape, I then found the "Today's Top Hits Mixtape."

On that playlist, I could not help but listen to "Levitating (feat. DaBaby)" by Dua Lipa, as it has great lyrics and a catchy bass line. Although I am into older music, this song has a bit of a nostalgic sound and I developed a liking to hearing it many times when I used to work at Macy's. Another song I loved on that playlist was "Cold Heart-PNAU Remix" by Elton John and Dua Lipa, a new spin on the Elton songs "Sacrifice" and "Rocket Man."

Our flight continued to make amazing time and by 8:46AM, we were flying over Cairo, GA, in Southwest Georgia over some heavenly cloud cover not far from the Georgia-Alabama state line.

I learned this information thanks to my iPhone, as the map on the IFE was still showing that we were closer to PBI for unknown reasons (although it may have been an issue with the satellite?).

Although we were well away from PBI and Florida, my moving map said we were 0 mi. from PBI, 38 mi. from Fort Lauderdale, and 551 mi. from Atlanta.

We continued to fly northbound over Western Georgia and still intrigued by all the music playlist, I then checked out the Feel Good Summer Mixtape, which had a comprehensive selection of upbeat oldies songs from artists such as The Beach Boys, Otis Redding, The Monkees, and the Jackson 5 to name a few.

As I was enjoying the oldies on the Feel Good Summer Mixtape, I then caught a shot of more heavenly clouds along with what appeared to be lakes in the background as we flew over Fort Mitchell, AL, on the western side of the Georgia-Alabama line.

Five minutes later at 9:05AM, we encountered more cloud cover over West Point Lake, a large lake between Georgia and Alabama north of Columbus, GA and southwest of Atlanta. It was at this time I felt the plane make a slight turn to the northeast, meaning we were getting closer to Atlanta.

My prediction was indeed true because four minutes later at 9:09AM, Captain Anderson came over the PA system to announce our final descent into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. As our altitude got lower less than 10-minutes later and the Fasten Seatbelt sign was activated at 9:17AM, I caught more cloud cover over Union City, GA, a suburb west of Atlanta.

Two minutes later, I saw a tangle of highways not far from the airport. I later learned it was the interchange for Exit 68: I-285/Airport(Atlanta Bypass/GA-407)-Birmingham, Chattanooga, International Terminal, Macon. From my window, I could see Interstate 85 looking southbound towards Western Georgia and Alabama.

We continued to fly east along the brief I-85/I-285 concurrency, which turns slightly eastbound and then north, forming part of the southern perimeter of ATL. Just past the interchange for I-285 northbound and I-85 southbound, I saw what appeared to be a residential development. In contrast to the palms and sunny skies of South Florida, the Atlanta area's topography outside of the city appeared to be very different thanks to a lack of palm trees and what appeared to be a forest, possibly of oak trees?

I then saw what looked like an abandoned business known as National Discount Mall.

Followed by more forest and residential development.


Now right by the airport, I saw the interchange for Exit 70: I-285/Airport(Atlanta Bypass/GA-407)-Macon, Birmingham, Chattanooga with Interstate 85 northbound leaving its concurrency with Interstate 285. In the background, I could even see some hills, which is a contrast from the majority of Florida's topography, which is as flat as a bad cook's soufflé.

By 9:19AM, we were almost on the ground by the eastern perimeter of ATL.

At 9:20AM, we made a smooth landing on Runway 10 at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)!


The flight went even quicker than expected and thanks to landing at 9:20AM, we arrived in Atlanta 22-minutes ahead of our scheduled arrival. This made me even happier, as I would have a little extra time in Atlanta to connect, which would work well for me since this would be my first time at ATL. Once we landed, we then turned off Runway 10 onto a taxiway. It was also at this time that Captain Anderson gave us the all clear to use cellphones.

We then passed some fire engines for the airport as well as an airport shuttle bus.

Upon first seeing Delta action, it was clear that ATL was a busy airport, I saw what appeared to be N971AT, a Delta Boeing 717-200 along with a larger Delta aircraft.

I then spotted N837MH, a Delta Boeing 767-400 that would be heading to London-Heathrow later that day.

Nose shot of N837MH:

Another shot of the DL action:

N837MH again:

As we made another turn to head to our gate, I spotted the Lufthansa Cargo hangar in the distance, breaking up the Delta action.

I then got a closer look at N971AT, a Delta Boeing 717-200 awaiting its gate assignment of Gate C35 for its departure to Chattanooga, TN as Delta 2588.

Followed by N668DN, a Delta Boeing 757-200 awaiting its gate assignment of Gate B25 for its departure to Charleston, SC as Delta 2106.

I then saw N327NB, a Delta Airbus A319.

Next I saw N557NW, another Delta Boeing 757-200 on the tarmac awaiting its gate assignment of Gate T3 for its departure to Boston as Delta 422 later that afternoon.

As we were taxiing, I could see we were getting closer to the terminal, which looked even busier than the tarmac.

And a runway shot as we crossed one of the other runways.

Getting closer to the terminal, I saw a Delta hangar in the distance! Delta is dominant in ATL!

As the terminal grew closer in the distance, I saw Delta's dominance broken up by some Frontier jets and an Alaska Airlines tail. In the sky near the control tower, I saw a Delta jet taking off.

Now close to the terminal, I could see we were taxiing to a gate in the D-gates. As we taxied, I spotted N655NK, a Spirit Airlines Airbus A320 at Gate D4 that arrived from Tampa as Spirit 383 and would be departing for Orlando as Spirit 1209.

As we taxied further along the D-gates pier, I then felt our plane turn into our gate. While this was occurring, I spotted N608AT, a Delta Boeing 717-200 at Gate D16. It had arrived from Montreal-Trudeau as Delta 2851 and would be departing for Lexington, KY as Delta 2785.

As we were directed into Gate D14, I spotted N986AT, a Delta Boeing 717-200 at Gate D8A in the foreground along with N123DW, a Delta Airbus A321 at Gate D6 in the background. N986AT had arrived from Baton Rouge, LA as Delta 1338 and would be departing for Montreal-Trudeau as Delta 2597. N123DW had arrived from Toronto-Pearson as Delta 1212 and would be heading back there as Delta 564.

Six minutes after we had landed, we parked at Gate D14. Out the window, I spotted N717JL, another Delta Boeing 717-200 parked next to us at Gate D12. It had arrived from Fayetteville, AR as Delta 2486 and would be departing for Des Moines, IA as Delta 2956.

At the same time, I checked the FlyDelta app to see where Delta 660, my flight to Vegas would depart from and saw that it would be departing from Gate B3, meaning I would need to use The Plane Train or walkway to get between the D-gates and B-gates. Luckily, thanks to my early arrival, I would have plenty of time to make it! A few minutes later, Captain Anderson turned off the Fasten Seatbelt sign and cleared us to move about the cabin. With my backpack and lunch I brought from home right in front of me, I then grabbed those items and lined up to disembark N334DN. As I disembarked the plane, the Lead Flight Attendant whose name escapes me along with Beth, her fellow Flight Attendant and Captain Anderson were stationed by Doorway 1L. I thanked them for an excellent flight and they thanked me in turn, wishing me a safe journey with Beth wishing me a wonderful time in Vegas! I then exited N334DN via Doorway 1L, glad to have completed the first part of my journey to Vegas!

e) Arrival:
After a smooth and wonderful flight aboard Delta 2124 from West Palm Beach, FL (PBI) to Atlanta (ATL), I disembarked N334DN, the Airbus A321 that operated my flight via Doorway 1L. I crossed the jetway and found myself at Gate D14. After exiting the plane, I learned that N334DN's next flight would be Delta 2387 to San Diego, CA.

Never having been to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) until this trip, it was a new airport for me, so naturally, I was fascinated by being there. From what I could tell, the gate areas were carpeted but the concourse was tiled. For areas where there were no gates, there was no shortage of eateries and shops to pass the time. Being that the D-gates were shaped like a pier, like most of the other gates at ATL, it reminded me of the A and B-gates (where DL operates from) at JFK's Terminal 4. My other first impression of ATL was that even though it was super busy, like say JFK, EWR, MCO, or FLL, the terminal I was in was very clean and well kept! By the time I was off of the plane, it was 9:30AM, leaving me with about an hour until my flight to LAS would board and about an hour and a half until it would depart. Wanting to not waste too much time, my next goal would be to get to the B-gates, to start the second part of my journey. What will happen next? Find out soon

f) DL2124 Impressions/Ratings:
Delta 2124 did not disappoint and reinforced why Delta is one of my preferred American carriers. Mary Ann, Beth, and the Lead Flight Attendant who worked this flight did a marvelous job, as they were warm, professional, and attentive towards the passengers. N334DN, the Airbus A321 that operated this flight, was very clean and in very good, although not perfect condition due to some minor wear and tear. Besides the flight crew, one of the other best parts of the flight was 10F, my seat, which had legroom rivaling First Class thanks to the lack of a bulkhead in front and ample width. The snacks offered, even on this quick flight, were excellent, thanks to a good selection of snacks and as much as you wished to take. Delta's robust and intuitive IFE also made the flight go by quickly. All in all, its aspects such as the ones above make Delta one of my preferred U.S. airlines when available.

Service: 20/20 (Flight attendants were warm, professional, and engaging.)
Plane Cleanliness/Condition: 19/20 (N334DN was very clean and in very good condition, although there was some minor wear and tear like the loose threads on the seatback pocket.)
Snacks: 20/20 (Excellent selection of complimentary snacks and beverages.)
Seat Comfort: 20/20 (More than enough legroom and width!)
IFE: 20/20 (DL has one of the best IFE systems thanks to robust content and an intuitive user interface.)

**Overall Grade: 99/100 (A)