*Flight Information:
Airline and Flight Number: Delta Air Lines (DL) 1564
Departure Airport: Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), Salt Lake City, UT
Arrival Airport: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Fort Lauderdale, FL
Departure Airport Terminal, Gate: Concourse A, Gate A31
Arrival Airport Terminal, Gate: Terminal 2, Gate D7
Aircraft Type, Registration: Airbus A321, N376DN
Class of Service, Seat: Comfort+, 13C
Scheduled Departure Time/Actual Departure Time: 11:04PM MT/11:26PM MT
Scheduled Arrival Time/Actual Arrival Time: 5:50AM EST (+1)/5:38AM EST (+1)

*SPECIAL NOTES:
-Second time in SLC's new terminal.
-Sixth time connecting overall (Counting when the first two times I connected on the same airline plus when I connected at JFK in July 2017 from LY to DL.)
-Third time in Utah
-Second time flying between SLC and FLL

a) At Airport:
After arriving at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) via Delta 2925 from LAS at 10:14PM MT, five minutes behind our scheduled arrival time of 10:09PM MT, the time was about 10:20PM by the time we disembarked the Airbus A321 that operated the first leg of our journey. By the time we disembarked the aircraft, boarding had commenced for Delta 1564 to Fort Lauderdale, since it was 40-minutes before that flight's 10:59PM scheduled departure time. Since we did not want to miss the flight, we decided not to make any stops on the way to Gate A31, where DL1564 was departing from. We took advantage of the moving walkways connecting SLC's Concourse A, passing through the modern and immaculate terminal. Additionally, thanks to the fact that SLC has less distance between gates as well as what seem to be more moving walkways compared to Atlanta (ATL) or New York-JFK, we were easily able to reach Gate A31, which was on the opposite side of the terminal. We arrived at Gate A31 five minutes after leaving Gate A9. If this were ATL or JFK, it would have taken a lot longer and longer for sure at the first listed airport. Of ATL, JFK, and SLC, the three Delta hubs I have used recently, SLC has to be my favorite thanks to its modern and immaculate facilities, ample and actually reasonably priced concessions by airport standards, and the fact that thanks to less distance between gates, logical signage, and more moving walkways, it is easier from a connecting standpoint. JFK is my second favorite DL hub, as I find the facilities to be clean and relatively modern (will tap into this more in my upcoming NYC TR that took place in October 2024), there are a good number of moving walkways and courtesy shuttles to help with the distances between gates in spots, and it is also relatively efficient considering its massive size. ATL is my least favorite DL hub, but that does not mean I hate it! In fact, I think ATL's facilities are quite nice as the terminals are very clean, relatively modern, and have plenty of shops, restaurants, and even art and historical exhibits to pass the time. However, ATL is very chaotic even by mega airport standards and if you have a tight connection, fuggedaboutit! Going home from Vegas in 2022, the fact that my flight to ATL from LAS was delayed caused me to miss my second flight to PBI, which even though it was at the opposite end of Concourse B, where I arrived and with the fact that the plane had been held for 40-minutes, I still missed my flight and the plane was just pulling away from the gate. Thankfully, DL put me up at a nearby hotel for the night at their expense and on the first available flight to PBI the next morning. Again, maybe it was just bad luck that placed ATL among my least favorite DL hubs, but I don't hate it and if I had to connect there again, I definitely would! Anyway, I digress. By the time we arrived at Gate A31, boarding had already started for Delta 1564 to FLL and they had reached boarding for Comfort+. In contrast to the other Gate Agents we dealt with in FLL, two others in SLC, and one in LAS, this Gate Agent was not as friendly and a bit brusque, as she thought I was violating the carry on bag rule, since I was carrying my Mother's bag. Thankfully, upon quick explanation by myself and my Mother, the Gate Agent understood and had us on our way after scanning our boarding passes. We then walked down the jetway from Gate A31 to board N376DN, the Airbus A321 operating the second leg of our journey home.

b) DL1564:
After a very tight but surprisingly doable connection at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), we walked down the jetway to board N376DN, the Airbus A321 operating DL1564 to FLL. We entered the aircraft via Doorway 1L and she was just beginning her announcements, Nikita, the Lead Flight Attendant, flashed a smile at us as we were boarding. My Mother settled in her First Class seat and next to her was an older lady, who appeared to be in good spirits. I then found my seat, 13C in Comfort+. It was located on the wing and appeared to be very roomy! Once I was seated, I then met my seatmate for this flight, who was a middle-aged lady. She was polite and we ended up conversing for a bit. As I sat down, I could see that like the other aircraft that operated the first three of the four flights, N376DN was very clean and in excellent condition! Additionally, the blue seat coverings for all of the classes with pops of red to break up the blue made for a simple, albeit stylish cabin.

Additionally, I found the seat to be extremely comfortable, with plenty of width and legroom on par with a First Class seat!

I was relieved to be heading home!

A few minutes later, Tzivania, the Flight Attendant who mainly worked in Main Cabin, made our way over to myself and my seatmate. She greeted us warmly, inquired about our well being, and thanked us for flying Delta. I told Tzivania that my Mother was flying First Class and that because of our last minute rebooking, we were in separate classes of service. Tzivania was aware and said that when it was not busy, I could visit my Mother in First Class once we were safely airborne to check up on her. Thankful for Tzivania's offer, I then chatted with my seatmate a bit. She asked a bit about me and I told her that I had lived in Delray Beach for the past 6.5-years at the time of this trip and additionally, that I worked in front-facing customer service for a major hotel chain. My seatmate's interest piqued and she told me that she lived in Manalapan, a beautiful small town, home to the Eau Palm Beach Resort, nestled between Palm Beach and Boynton Beach along FL-A1A. Additionally, she also lived in Germany. She mentioned that she worked for the U.S. Government and of course, I was impressed! By this time and with the time being about 11:00PM, most, if not all of the passengers were on board. However, there was some confusion regarding a passenger's pet and whether it could be onboard? As this was happening, Tzivania hustled, doing safety checks of Main Cabin to try to speed things up a bit, as we were now running behind schedule. Tzivania asked us if we would be able to handle being seated in Exit Row should an emergency occur G-d forbid! We answered in the affirmative and all was well! Although I did not get the gist of everything that was occuring, the situation was sorted out, as the Flight Crew closed the doors and turned on the "Fasten Seatbelt Sign." As the Captain made announcements and the inflight safety video rolled, he reassured that despite our slightly delayed departure, we would still arrive in Fort Lauderdale on time. With no wait to take off, we took to the skies at 11:26PM MT, 22-minutes behind schedule. Additionally, at this time, the cabin lights were dimmed. We were airborne pretty quickly and about ten minutes after departure, I was able to take out my IFE screen, since it was mounted in the armrest.

About thirty minutes into the flight, Tzivania and another flight attendant, whose name I did not get, did snack and beverage service. I opted for a couple of bags of Miss Vickie's potato chips and a can of Diet Coke. By the time I finished my snack, we were already about an hour into the flight, with 1,552 miles until we would arrive in Fort Lauderdale. From what I was able to see of our flight path so far, we flew southeast across Utah, southwestern Colorado, and northern New Mexico. From what I could see, the remainder of our flight path would take us on a southeast path over northern Texas, Louisiana, the southern tip of Mississippi, and over the Gulf of Mexico until we would reenter Floridian airspace somewhere south of Tampa, but north of Fort Myers. Once in Floridian airspace, we would fly across the Floridian peninsula until we would arrive in Fort Lauderdale.

I then had the pleasure of seeing more statistics of our flight. I learned that so far, we had traveled 597.25 miles since we left Salt Lake City and with the current time being 2:36AM EST in Fort Lauderdale, we had three hours and eight minutes of flight time remaining. This meant that we would arrive in FLL at approximately 5:44AM EST, six minutes ahead of schedule. What's more? Thanks to this screen, I also learned that we were aboard N376DN, which was the registration of the Airbus A321 operating this flight, as I was not able to spot it due to a tight connection.

Around this time, I ended up falling asleep for the remainder of the flight. I did not awaken again until we were about thirty minutes away from FLL, as I felt a jolt of turbulence! This jolt of turbulence awakened me, so I ended up staying awake since we were so close to FLL. I looked at the inflight map and I could see that we pretty much followed the route I saw earlier in the flight, as we flew southeast over Utah after departing SLC. Then, we flew southeast over Southwestern Colorado, Northern New Mexico, Northern Texas, and Louisiana. After flying southeast over Louisiana, we flew southeast across the Gulf of Mexico and reentered Floridian airspace a bit north of Fort Myers. We would then turn slightly southeast and fly eastbound, parallel to the "Alligator Alley" segment of Interstate 75, which goes across the Floridian Peninsula from Naples at its westernmost point to suburban Fort Lauderdale at the east, meeting the Sawgrass Expressway (FL-869) northbound towards the northern Fort Lauderdale suburbs, like Coral Springs and Parkland and I-595 eastbound towards Downtown Fort Lauderdale, FLL, and Port Everglades, before this segment of I-75 continues southbound to Miami. About ten minutes after waking up, the Captain got on the intercom and informed us that due to beginning our descent into the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, he would be turning on the "Fasten Seatbelt Sign" for the remainder of the flight. I put my seat back in the full upright position and about fifteen minutes after we began our descent into FLL, I was able to see that we were flying parallel to I-595, an east-west highway connecting I-75 and the Sawgrass Expressway (FL-869) at its western terminus in Sunrise, a western suburb of Fort Lauderdale to US 1 at eastern terminus, providing access to FLL and Port Everglades. Additionally, I could see residential communities and shopping centers below, with many lights illuminating the still dark sky. Five minutes later, we landed smoothly at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. As we taxied to Terminal 2, the Captain gave us all the all clear to use cellphones and other electronic devices, so I set my phone out of Airplane Mode and texted our driver, letting him know we landed. The time was 5:38AM, so we arrived 12-minutes ahead of schedule. Being that it was so early, it took us no time to taxi to our gate and just a few minutes after landing, we arrived at Gate D7. A few minutes later, the Captain turned off "The Fasten Seatbelt Sign" and we were cleared to disembark our flight. Once I reached the front of the plane, I met my Mother and as we disembarked, Tzivania and Nakita, who were stationed at Doorway 1L wished us a good day! We then disembarked N376NB, exhausted, but happy to be back in Florida.

c) Arrival:
After a more restful than expected flight from Salt Lake City to Fort Lauderdale, me and my Mother disembarked N376DN, the Airbus A321 that operated Delta 1564 via Doorway 1L. We entered Terminal 2 at Gate D7 and being that we were one of the first arrivals for the day, at least for Terminal 2, it was not that crowded. Additionally, I found out that N376DN would be departing for New York-LaGuardia as Delta 1474 a little later that morning. While me and my Mother were heading to the Baggage Claim, our driver called to let us know he was on the grounds of the airport, but waiting in the Cell Phone Lot. We were very happy he was there, as we just wanted to get home. He told us to call him as soon as we had our luggage, as he would meet us at the exit closest to the Baggage Claim. We then ended the call and on the way downstairs, my Mother stopped at one of the restrooms in the D-Gates, which she reported was far cleaner than the ones we used at LAS. After that, we then proceeded over to the escalator leading to the Arrivals Level. As we were heading downstairs, my Mother said that the service provided by the Lead Flight Attendant, Nikita, was OK, but paled in comparison to the First Class Flight Attendants we met on our Delta flights from FLL-SLC, SLC-LAS, and LAS-SLC. According to my Mother, she even paled compared to Main Cabin Flight Attendants on many other Delta flights we took over the years. She said Tzivania, the Flight Attendant mostly working in the Main Cabin, did a better job. Her seatmate even felt the same way about the Flight Attendants. Although there was to be less service given that this was an overnight flight, which my Mother took into account, it still could have been far better! She even compared this to when she flew on an overnight Delta flight she took back in 2022 from LAX to FLL, stating the First Class Flight Attendant then was much more attentive. However, like me, she slept after Snack Service. Once on the Arrivals Level, we went to Baggage Claim 2, where bags were already coming from and by 6:02AM, we had our suitcases! This was very quick, as from disembarking the plane to getting our luggage, it had only been 15-minutes or so, which is very quick for arriving in FLL!

I called our driver, who agreed to meet us at the exit closest to Baggage Claim 2 and true to his word, he pulled up right in front of the exit in a black 2021-Present Cadillac Escalade. He was very pleased to see me, since I had met him many times before when he came by my hotel many times, although he had not met my Mother. However, upon meeting each other, my Mother was very impressed, as she found my friend to be warm and very gracious. Right away, he opened the rear left passenger door of his Escalade and I got in first, sitting in the captain's chair on the driver's side of the cabin as my Mom wanted to get in after me, taking the captain's chair on the passenger side of the cabin. He then loaded our luggage into the trunk. As he was doing this, the Escalade's interior impressed, as it had firm, yet supple black leather seats and the dashboard was lined with plenty of wood, chrome, and a large infotainment screen, adding to the luxury. Additionally, my friend had two bottles of water waiting for us in the cupholders facing our seats, just like his friend Juan Carlo had when taking us to FLL in his also very nice Chevrolet Suburban. My friend's car service, which has a fleet of about 20 vehicles or so, mainly uses General Motors based Large SUVs, as he likes them best for his intents and purposes thanks to their comfort and good quality. In addition to the GM Large SUVs, he also has a few Chrysler 300s and Genesis G90s if I am not mistaken. For privacy reasons due to it being a special arrangement, I cannot mention my friend's service directly in this TR, but I would be happy to privately message it to anyone who is interested. He has even driven celebrities in Palm Beach County, like Sylvester Stallone! Anyway, by the time we left the airport, it was 6:15AM. We exited FLL onto I-595 westbound towards Interstate 95 and the Florida's Turnpike. About five minutes after we left FLL, we were 0.7-mi away from I-95 northbound towards West Palm Beach. The time was 6:21AM and according to my friend's GPS, we were 31-miles away from our home, with a remaining driving time of 0:33 that would have us at our home by 6:54AM.

At my Mother's request, my friend did not turn on the radio, but they chatted quite a bit nevertheless.

We were soon on Interstate 95 northbound and traffic was light heading that way, but in the opposite direction, traffic was picking up, with commuters heading to work in areas such as Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Both myself and my Mother admired the smooth ride of my friend's Escalade, as well as the quiet cabin. Although his friend Juan Carlo's Suburban was also excellent, the Escalade was expectedly a hair better as far as ride comfort and interior fit and finish. My friend thanked us for our kind words and we asked him how he liked the Escalade? He said he loved it, as in addition to his passengers unanimously loving his Escalade's smooth ride and supple seats, he said that he found its powertrain to be excellent, as he feels the 6.2-liter V8 powering it delivers more than enough power and for what it is, OK fuel economy of 16-mpg. As we were chatting, we were breezing down I-95 and ten minutes later, we were approaching Exit 33A-B: Cypress Creek Road in Oakland Park. From this point, we were about 3 miles from Exit 36: FL-814 (Atlantic Boulevard) in Pompano Beach, 4 miles from Exit 38: Copans Road, and 5.25 miles from Exit 39: FL-834 (Sample Road) on the Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach line.

At 6:30AM, we were approaching Exit 36: FL-814 (Atlantic Boulevard) in Pompano Beach. To the right of the Interstate, I recognized a few towers of John Knox Village, a senior living community.

We continued to converse with our friend and asked him how his vacation was? He said it was excellent, as he had a fabulous time seeing his family from overseas. For their time together, they spent time at our friend/driver's home in West Palm Beach and they went up to Orlando for a few days, enjoying the Disney and Universal theme parks! He then asked us how our time in Vegas was and we said it was amazing! Our friend wanted to know what we did and we told him we visited the various resorts on The Strip, partied on Fremont Street, saw some cool exhibits like the classic and custom cars at Kount's Customs, and ate delicious meals! Our friend was very happy for us and thanks to our conversation, time was flying, as we had already passed Exit 42: FL-810 (Hillsboro Boulevard) in Deerfield Beach and we were just about to cross the Broward County-Palm Beach County line. We were 1.5 miles from Exit 44: Palmetto Park Road, 3 miles from Exit 45: FL-808 (Glades Road), and 4.5 miles from Exit 48A: Spanish River Boulevard, all in Boca Raton as the sun was beginning to rise at 6:36AM according to my iPhone's timestamp.

A minute later, we had passed Exit 44: Palmetto Park Road and since we used the Express Lanes along I-95, which were still being completed in Southern Palm Beach County, we were one mile away from the exit for local lanes leading to Exits 45 and 48, which included Glades Road, Spanish River Boulevard, and Yamato Road.

Six minutes later at 6:43AM, we had passed through Boca Raton along I-95 and were now in Delray Beach, having passed Exit 51: Linton Boulevard and now approaching our exit, Exit 52: FL-806 (Atlantic Avenue).

Once we left the Interstate, we turned left onto Atlantic Avenue (FL-806) to head westbound towards the western suburbs of Delray Beach. We drove about three miles west down Atlantic Avenue, passing various residential developments and shopping centers that lined the street until we reached El Clair Ranch Road. At El Clair, we turned right to head slightly north and from there, we then turned into our neighborhood, arriving in front of our home at 6:50AM, about 40-minutes after we left Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Once we pulled into the driveway, my friend helped us unload our suitcases and my backpack as we opened our garage. We then parted ways with our friend/driver, who gave us a sublime ride from FLL-Delray Beach, just like his friend/employee Juan Carlos gave us from Delray Beach-FLL. I helped my Mother bring all of our stuff in from the garage to our home and unsurprisingly, our Affenpinschers greeted us excitedly, barking up a storm, wagging their tails, and of course, licking us lovingly! We were also pleased to see that in addition to the fact that our dogs were well taken care of, the pet sitters went above and beyond a bit to keep things pretty tidy and organized, even better than our former pet sitter we used when we had to spend a couple of nights in Sarasota back in 2020. Once we settled in, we then both went to bed, as we were very jetlagged! We did not awaken again until the early afternoon. All in all, we were grateful to have such a wonderful time in Las Vegas together and we could not wait to return again! Again, thank you to everyone who joined me for the trip report and Viva Las Vegas!


d) DL1564 Impressions and Ratings:
Delta 1564 was a very good, albeit not perfect flight, unlike both of our flights to Las Vegas as well as Delta 2925 from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City. Where DL1564 fell down was in the quality of the service from the Flight Attendants, which while not bad, was definitely not as high quality as we have encountered on other Delta flights in assorted classes of service. Nakita, the Lead and First Class Attendant, although polite enough, was inattentive and according to my Mother, beyond performing her basic duties, did not really go out of her way to engage with the passengers. As I had mentioned, we both knew there would be a bit less service as this was an overnight flight, but my Mother mentioned she has had much better service in First Class on other DL overnight flights, like one she took from LAX-FLL in June 2022. Tzivania, the Flight Attendant who primarily worked the Main Cabin, did a good job though as she was professional and engaging when she was needed. Despite this, the legroom of my C+ seat, 13C, was impressive, rivaling DL F seats, thanks to immense legroom and excellent width. Also, the selection and amount of free snacks were ample and the full featured and intuitive IFE system made the flight go by quickly. Lastly, N376DN, the Airbus A321 operating this flight was in excellent condition and it was very clean! Despite the inflight service from the Flight Attendants not quite being up to par on this flight, I enjoyed flying with Delta once again and they remain one of my airlines of choice when available.

Service: 14/20 (Not as good as many other DL flights as I have been on, as Nikita, the Lead FA was inattentive and didn't make an attempt to go above and beyond, disappointing for F. Tzivania was a good FA though, saving the score for Service on this flight.)
Plane Cleanliness/Condition: 20/20 (No complaints!)
Snacks: 20/20 (Excellent selection of complimentary snacks and beverages.)
Seat Comfort: 20/20 (Seat 13C in C+ on the DL A321 rivaled F seats!)
IFE: 20/20 (DL has one of the best IFE systems, thanks to robust content and an intuitive user interface.)

**Overall Grade: 94/100 (A)