MSPeconomist and monitor mentioned that i could organize one in Berlin, Germany, how many would be interested ?

The Atlanta mini-DO was fun, and the diversion of my flight, DL7147 due to severe weather from ATL to TYS (Knoxville TN) was an unexpected flying bonus. I was able to feed a radio report to our Detroit CBS radio affiliate about the flight diversion to TYS while waiting for departure to ATL.

Due to the killer tornado damage in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, I was not able to attend the Sunday brunch but was able to easily change my return segment from my scheduled Delta 8:44 PM departure to the Delta 9:05 AM ATL-FNT flight.

Thanks to zsmith2 for putting this together (was there ever a zsmith1?), to SMI for the guidance on the Delta philosophy and to ifette for assistance on the way cool and awesome Google Voice product. Let's DO it again.

Count me in
 

Hi,

I did not send the personalized it-was-great-meeting-you-note, but please forgive me for my computers (servers) have all... welll... Will do it later today...

Anyway, a Mini-DO in Berlin would be great... do we include op-ups for the same price? :D

DLroads

Slow to post here, but big thanks to zsmith2 for organizing and to SMI for attending. ^

if there are enough attending FTers to overbook DL78 from JFK to TXL the op-up should be included :-)

I do not know what all of the topics were but this was from my vantage point simply a "get to know each other" type of affair where SMI was simply trying to meet us, let us know what his job entailed, and see what sort of characters we were. He assiduously collected our business cards and promised to send one of his over when he got a chance.

This was not a forum for complaints, merely suggestions, and some of us did suggest that Delta look into the possibility of putting in a SkyClub at IAD or possibly prevailing on AF to allow some lounge sharing.

I did (coincidentally :rolleyes:) happen to mention that I had had a four hour delay there earlier that day and there was no place for us to hide. Even my Priority Club card was only good in an RCC out in Terminal D and nobody in his right mind goes to D just for a lounge visit.

If the dates fit my schedule, we would be there. We have been to Berlin a couple of times and found it to be one of the most interesting cities on the planet. This time we would try to fit in a side trip to Hamburg.

I am somewhat interested, as I have never been to Berlin, though I have been to other cities in Germany.

I am curious about a couple of things about this idea:
1) Why Berlin particularly, as opposed to say Frankfurt, or Amsterdam, or Venice, etc?
2) Is there a particular purpose for this proposed Mini-DO, other than socializing and having meals with wonderful fellow FlyerTalkers, and exchanging idea and experiences about DL travel and DL tips, etc?
3) Could we get another DL rep to join us, ALA SkyMilesInsider, and maybe someone to take some notes so we could report on our questions and answers and tips and the like in a FT thread?

Subtle, they are not!


I'm always down for a little weekend in Berlin. DL FTers mixed in with the usual Berlin, um, shenanigans...I can't think of anything better. :D

Sounds like the mini-DO was great. Sorry to have missed it.

Because this guy is from Berlin and it is a fascinating town. It is priceless being able to visit any city accompanied by a local resident who can show you things that interest him that you would never see on your own or on a packaged tour.

Because he lives there.
I would be in if timing worked. Make it in low season or we might have to fly a competitor to get a low award seat. :eek:

It is a shame that I had so little time at the DO, since I really did not get to meet everyone, or to have a good conversation with more than three or four people. So, I did not know there was anyone at the DO who was not an American resident. I really wish that I would have had more time to meet and speak with everyone, but alas, the weather was not being cooperative. As far as attending a DO in Berlin, if I can figure out a way to get there, and if it does not conflict with any business, or anything I have planned now (two business trips in May, and another two in July immediately come to mind), then I would certainly be interested in joining in.

thanks
 

I'd like to belatedly once again thank zsmith2 for taking the initiative and organizing this event (it was nice to meet you) and SMI for participating (it was nice to meet you again). They both gave up precious weekend time for our group. Thanks also are due to monitor, +1, and especially belle3388 for the smaller brunch group on Sunday morning. Finally, thank you to whoever (my outbound seatmate mersk862? Canarsie?) suggested Prime for dinner; I thought it was a great choice for our group.

A few folks have requested than "meeting notes" be posted here. After some consideration, I've decided that I personally don't feel comfortable doing so even though I did spend some time reflecting on our Atlanta discussions during dinner on my flight home and later on the "please summarize for us" issue during some flights last week. Even though it wasn't explicitly stated, I think any discussions we had were more like private and implicitly off the record conversations. Moreover, my recollection is probably biased toward issues close to my own situation and concerns, so that no summary could not properly prioritize the discussions. I certainly didn't take notes and I wouldn't trust my memory to be sufficiently accurate to justify passing on any information or impressions.

’Twas I, and no thanks are necessary, although they are greatly appreciated.

However, the person who introduced me to Prime years ago was belle3388, so she is the person to thank.

In my opinion, Prime serves good food consistently, is not too expensive, can be casual or formal, and is rather convenient with great service. I have eaten there many times and never had a bad meal...

Thank you belle3388 for introducing us FTers to this place. Also, thanks for the ride back to the airport even though we did manage to "squeeze" all of us in the back seat.....literally! :D
It was great meeting you!