DL (J): BWI-ATL-LIM-ATL-BWI Weekend in Lima
May 13, 2018, 12:26 pm
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DL (J): BWI-ATL-LIM-ATL-BWI Weekend in Lima
Sometimes a trip is so much of a bargain, you just can’t say “no”. This was one of those cases. I saw (on Flyertalk) a fire sale on DL tickets to Lima, Peru. The thought of getting a Delta One, lie-flat seat for $1100 round trip was just too much to pass up. (And I’d be getting MQMs for less than 10¢ each, which is also a pretty good deal.) The other benefit is that both of us could travel to Peru without needing a visa.
One catch to getting the great fare was that we needed to leave from BWI. For us DCA is close and easy to get to. The first leg was a hop to ATL, so it should have been easy to get this trip from DCA too. But, as we see over and over again in Washington, airfares from DCA will command a premium price over BWI. The airlines know that DCA is convenient for a lot of people, and they price their tickets accordingly. So, we needed an extra hour for the trip to the airport, and hopped on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to head out to BWI.
Some benefits of BWI – no lines. Seriously, there were only 2 people ahead of us for TSA Pre-check, and the regular security lines were not much longer. We took a quick walk around the E Terminal (which is under renovation). It’s a sort of sad building that seems to have just one BA flight and one WOW flight a day. BA even has a nice-looking lounge (The Chesapeake Room) but it’s only open from 6-9pm. I do think the (now) combined terminals D and E are an improved configuration from when they were separate. (And you can still see where the old security screening used to be for the separate entrances for D and E.)
Another benefit of BWI – The Club at BWI. It’s on Priority Pass, so easy to get into, and it wasn’t crowded. Typically, I wouldn’t be so excited about this relatively small lounge. But, it’s much more relaxing than the hot mess of DCA’s SkyClub. Between the crazy construction and the big crowds, I really haven’t enjoyed our local SkyClub recently. And they do have generous, complementary drinks. I grabbed a glass of sparkling wine when the clock hit noon!
After having some drinks and snacks, we made our way over to the gate (D24) to get on our MD88 to ATL.
BWI-ATL (F)
DL 1153
MD88 Seats 2C, 2D
1:33 pm – 3:19 pm
May 4, 2018
No pillars here – just the one sign that has general and Sky Priority boarding, so tons of gate lice were already in place when we arrived. I really hope Delta rolls out the pillars more broadly. We had Premium boarding, and I’d really like that to feel “Premium”. I know – first world problems….
For some reason, they hadn’t connected the MD88 to the gate’s AC system. They were trying to keep the aircraft cool with just the APU, and that’s not very effective on the MD88s. So, boarding and sitting at the gate was a sweat-fest. The FA was good with PDBs, and we were not too long before they pushed the aircraft back.
Service was good on this short flight. I was a bit hungry, but had to be satisfied with the snack basket. I passed on the second sparkling wine – I wanted to save some space for the Woodford on the flight to LIM.
Landing was a bit hard and we had a longer-than-usual rollout. We arrived in ATL B, which is looking nicer these days. Made our way to the SkyClub in E which was packed. (Though, I’ll say that it wasn’t a zoo, which is pretty good.) Snacked on some roasted vegetables, bread crisps (which were tasty) and cheese.
ATL-LIM Delta One (J)
DL 151
B767-400 Seats 3A, 4A
5:54 pm – 11:35 pm
May 4, 2018
So the gate lice were starting to form, and our gate (E8) didn’t have the pillars. Lacking pillars, I just took up station at the front of the Sky Priority sign. I figured that I’m Premium, so there’s no one else who should be in front of us. So, after the chain of 7 wheelchairs had cleared, we started on board. This was a normal 767-400 layout. I know that’s widely derided on Flyertalk, but I don’t mind it at all. (It probably helps that I’m only 5’7”, so the shorter “beds” aren’t a problem for me.
Preflight beverages were readily available, menus came out, and we tucked our bedding away for later. Pushback was on time and smooth.
I was going to start with some Woodford– but the FA recommended the Macallen Double Cask 12 Single Malt. So I had that with the (warm) nuts, skipping the “Signature” vodka drink. (I’m not a big vodka fan.)
Starters were good – I’m impressed again with the tomato basil soup. And the crab was tasty even to this non-seafood eater. For my main, I picked the spicy pork. Spicy is rare in airline food, and so is pork. On top of that, the very friendly FA recommended it. I really enjoyed it and it was a nice change of pace for airline food. I’ll also say that we had a really friendly set of flight attendants. It seems like they’ve been working the Lima route for some time and truly enjoy it.
(And, here's the beef....)
There was a pre-arrival snack listed on the menu, but I pulled my usual trick of sleeping until right before our arrival.
Landing in Peru was uneventful. But, I had my regular luck with immigration lines. Even though our plane landed around 11:00 pm, we were not out of immigration until midnight. Not only were the lines long, but there seemed to be an immigration officer shift change at 11:30, which stopped all processing for about 10-15 minutes. Uber from the airport was inexpensive (38 Sols or $12), but we ended up waiting nearly 20 minutes for our Uber driver (actually our 3rd) to make it to the pickup point. It turns out that the airport's incoming traffic is a real mess, so Uber wasn't the best idea. Next time, I think I'll use the green taxi.
Hilton Lima Miraflores
It was after 1:00 am when we arrived at the hotel. It was beautiful and well decorated. Even though I’m only Hilton Gold, I was greeted as if I was a Diamond. The front desk was very friendly and welcoming. I had signed up for a space-available paid upgrade, which came through. So, for $93/night, we were upgraded from a standard room to an Executive-Level King Suite. It was quite large with an office/sitting room, separate bedroom and a foyer between the office, the bedroom and the bathroom.
Lima – Days 1 and 2
There was a heavy fog covering the city as we woke up. Since I’m the early riser, I hit the gym for an hour on the stair stepper. After that it was a full and tasty breakfast in the Executive Lounge – which was very well appointed. We had a nice walk to the cliff-side mall, down to the beach, and along the coast. It was a nice full morning, as the fog gradually lifted from the shore.
We returned to the Executive Lunch for a hearty lunch and then jumped into the roof-top infinity pool. It’s a really photogenic spot! After the sun set, we took another walk down the coast – this time in the opposite direction. We ended the night on the balcony of the Executive Lounge with some (complementary) drinks. A full and enjoyable day!
Day two was filled with similar walks through the neighborhood next door to Miraflores, Barranco. Our walk eventually led us down from the cliffs to the beach, and since our feet were starting to wear out, we took a (very) inexpensive Uber ride back to the hotel.
The hotel was nice enough to give us a late checkout (4:30 pm) and offered to let us use the Executive Lounge until we departed for the airport (9:00 pm). So, we had more swimming and then strolling along the cliffs at the shore. The parasails were in full force. But, unfortunately, the winds died down before I could get a ride on one. So, we had a leisurely dinner in the Executive Lounge, some drinks and then headed off to the airport at 9pm.
We had a (typically) wild ride through the streets of Lima to get to the airport, and arrived about 15 minutes before the check-in opened (10:00 pm). Check in was pretty efficient, and the Sky Priority line was not too long. (I did need to give the evil eye to a non-priority line jumper, and she eventually moved on after much cursing in Spanish.)
What I didn’t expect was how much of a zoo the terminal at LIM would be at this hour of the night. It seems like there’s a number of major international flights that leave late at night (or early in the morning), just like Delta does for its flight to LIM. There were about 100 people in line for the Sumaq VIP lounge. And, I can tell you, if there’s that many people trying to get into the lounge, it’s not a lounge I’d enjoy “lounging” in. I’m hoping the situation will get better at some point. The other lounge in the international section of the terminal (VIP Club Lounge) is under renovation. (And I did check on the domestic lounge, Caral VIP Lounge, as well, but they were not allowing international passengers to enter.)
Instead, I took a walk around the terminal to explore (I am an aviation geek), and finally took advantage of some free drinks at a Priority Pass affiliated bar, Bleriot Bar & Lounge. It turns out that their bar/restaurant program was a good deal here.
LIM-ATL Delta One (J)
DL 150
B767-400 Seats 7A, 8A
1:05 am – 9:00 am
May 7, 2018
Boarding started around midnight with a parade of wheelchairs, then a parade of strollers, and then our active duty military. It felt like most of general boarding was done at this point. Lines were reasonably organized by staff with placards that said “Premium” and “Sky Priority” – they were even checking boarding passes.
Pre-departure beverages were handed out, and the menu showed that Delta listened. Instead of starting service with a full meal (which had been their previous practice), they had a light snack available. But, like almost everyone else, I immediately went to bed. It was 2 am at this point, and I just wanted sleep. I had a good, restful sleep and then the big meal came with breakfast about 2 hours before arrival. It was basic and filling. I had an omelet, which came with a chicken and ham side. There were also fruits, yogurt, and rolls. So, well done, Delta.
Arrival into ATL was the fastest I can recall. Global Entry kiosks had no wait, the immigration check had no line, and the TSA Pre-check to get back airside had no line. No lines anywhere! We were quickly into the Sky Club in Terminal E to clean up and grab a mimosa (or two…)
ATL - BWI (F)
DL 1153
MD88 Seats 2C, 2D
11:05 am – 12:56 pm
May 7, 2018
It’s déjà vu all over again. It’s rare that I get to return on the flight that I used to depart. But, here we are. Our last hop was an easy finish to the trip. On board nice and quick with the Premium group, and an uneventful trip to BWI.
One catch to getting the great fare was that we needed to leave from BWI. For us DCA is close and easy to get to. The first leg was a hop to ATL, so it should have been easy to get this trip from DCA too. But, as we see over and over again in Washington, airfares from DCA will command a premium price over BWI. The airlines know that DCA is convenient for a lot of people, and they price their tickets accordingly. So, we needed an extra hour for the trip to the airport, and hopped on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway to head out to BWI.
Some benefits of BWI – no lines. Seriously, there were only 2 people ahead of us for TSA Pre-check, and the regular security lines were not much longer. We took a quick walk around the E Terminal (which is under renovation). It’s a sort of sad building that seems to have just one BA flight and one WOW flight a day. BA even has a nice-looking lounge (The Chesapeake Room) but it’s only open from 6-9pm. I do think the (now) combined terminals D and E are an improved configuration from when they were separate. (And you can still see where the old security screening used to be for the separate entrances for D and E.)
Another benefit of BWI – The Club at BWI. It’s on Priority Pass, so easy to get into, and it wasn’t crowded. Typically, I wouldn’t be so excited about this relatively small lounge. But, it’s much more relaxing than the hot mess of DCA’s SkyClub. Between the crazy construction and the big crowds, I really haven’t enjoyed our local SkyClub recently. And they do have generous, complementary drinks. I grabbed a glass of sparkling wine when the clock hit noon!
After having some drinks and snacks, we made our way over to the gate (D24) to get on our MD88 to ATL.
BWI-ATL (F)
DL 1153
MD88 Seats 2C, 2D
1:33 pm – 3:19 pm
May 4, 2018
No pillars here – just the one sign that has general and Sky Priority boarding, so tons of gate lice were already in place when we arrived. I really hope Delta rolls out the pillars more broadly. We had Premium boarding, and I’d really like that to feel “Premium”. I know – first world problems….
For some reason, they hadn’t connected the MD88 to the gate’s AC system. They were trying to keep the aircraft cool with just the APU, and that’s not very effective on the MD88s. So, boarding and sitting at the gate was a sweat-fest. The FA was good with PDBs, and we were not too long before they pushed the aircraft back.
Service was good on this short flight. I was a bit hungry, but had to be satisfied with the snack basket. I passed on the second sparkling wine – I wanted to save some space for the Woodford on the flight to LIM.
Landing was a bit hard and we had a longer-than-usual rollout. We arrived in ATL B, which is looking nicer these days. Made our way to the SkyClub in E which was packed. (Though, I’ll say that it wasn’t a zoo, which is pretty good.) Snacked on some roasted vegetables, bread crisps (which were tasty) and cheese.
ATL-LIM Delta One (J)
DL 151
B767-400 Seats 3A, 4A
5:54 pm – 11:35 pm
May 4, 2018
So the gate lice were starting to form, and our gate (E8) didn’t have the pillars. Lacking pillars, I just took up station at the front of the Sky Priority sign. I figured that I’m Premium, so there’s no one else who should be in front of us. So, after the chain of 7 wheelchairs had cleared, we started on board. This was a normal 767-400 layout. I know that’s widely derided on Flyertalk, but I don’t mind it at all. (It probably helps that I’m only 5’7”, so the shorter “beds” aren’t a problem for me.
Preflight beverages were readily available, menus came out, and we tucked our bedding away for later. Pushback was on time and smooth.
I was going to start with some Woodford– but the FA recommended the Macallen Double Cask 12 Single Malt. So I had that with the (warm) nuts, skipping the “Signature” vodka drink. (I’m not a big vodka fan.)
Starters were good – I’m impressed again with the tomato basil soup. And the crab was tasty even to this non-seafood eater. For my main, I picked the spicy pork. Spicy is rare in airline food, and so is pork. On top of that, the very friendly FA recommended it. I really enjoyed it and it was a nice change of pace for airline food. I’ll also say that we had a really friendly set of flight attendants. It seems like they’ve been working the Lima route for some time and truly enjoy it.
(And, here's the beef....)
There was a pre-arrival snack listed on the menu, but I pulled my usual trick of sleeping until right before our arrival.
Landing in Peru was uneventful. But, I had my regular luck with immigration lines. Even though our plane landed around 11:00 pm, we were not out of immigration until midnight. Not only were the lines long, but there seemed to be an immigration officer shift change at 11:30, which stopped all processing for about 10-15 minutes. Uber from the airport was inexpensive (38 Sols or $12), but we ended up waiting nearly 20 minutes for our Uber driver (actually our 3rd) to make it to the pickup point. It turns out that the airport's incoming traffic is a real mess, so Uber wasn't the best idea. Next time, I think I'll use the green taxi.
Hilton Lima Miraflores
It was after 1:00 am when we arrived at the hotel. It was beautiful and well decorated. Even though I’m only Hilton Gold, I was greeted as if I was a Diamond. The front desk was very friendly and welcoming. I had signed up for a space-available paid upgrade, which came through. So, for $93/night, we were upgraded from a standard room to an Executive-Level King Suite. It was quite large with an office/sitting room, separate bedroom and a foyer between the office, the bedroom and the bathroom.
Lima – Days 1 and 2
There was a heavy fog covering the city as we woke up. Since I’m the early riser, I hit the gym for an hour on the stair stepper. After that it was a full and tasty breakfast in the Executive Lounge – which was very well appointed. We had a nice walk to the cliff-side mall, down to the beach, and along the coast. It was a nice full morning, as the fog gradually lifted from the shore.
We returned to the Executive Lunch for a hearty lunch and then jumped into the roof-top infinity pool. It’s a really photogenic spot! After the sun set, we took another walk down the coast – this time in the opposite direction. We ended the night on the balcony of the Executive Lounge with some (complementary) drinks. A full and enjoyable day!
Day two was filled with similar walks through the neighborhood next door to Miraflores, Barranco. Our walk eventually led us down from the cliffs to the beach, and since our feet were starting to wear out, we took a (very) inexpensive Uber ride back to the hotel.
The hotel was nice enough to give us a late checkout (4:30 pm) and offered to let us use the Executive Lounge until we departed for the airport (9:00 pm). So, we had more swimming and then strolling along the cliffs at the shore. The parasails were in full force. But, unfortunately, the winds died down before I could get a ride on one. So, we had a leisurely dinner in the Executive Lounge, some drinks and then headed off to the airport at 9pm.
We had a (typically) wild ride through the streets of Lima to get to the airport, and arrived about 15 minutes before the check-in opened (10:00 pm). Check in was pretty efficient, and the Sky Priority line was not too long. (I did need to give the evil eye to a non-priority line jumper, and she eventually moved on after much cursing in Spanish.)
What I didn’t expect was how much of a zoo the terminal at LIM would be at this hour of the night. It seems like there’s a number of major international flights that leave late at night (or early in the morning), just like Delta does for its flight to LIM. There were about 100 people in line for the Sumaq VIP lounge. And, I can tell you, if there’s that many people trying to get into the lounge, it’s not a lounge I’d enjoy “lounging” in. I’m hoping the situation will get better at some point. The other lounge in the international section of the terminal (VIP Club Lounge) is under renovation. (And I did check on the domestic lounge, Caral VIP Lounge, as well, but they were not allowing international passengers to enter.)
Instead, I took a walk around the terminal to explore (I am an aviation geek), and finally took advantage of some free drinks at a Priority Pass affiliated bar, Bleriot Bar & Lounge. It turns out that their bar/restaurant program was a good deal here.
LIM-ATL Delta One (J)
DL 150
B767-400 Seats 7A, 8A
1:05 am – 9:00 am
May 7, 2018
Boarding started around midnight with a parade of wheelchairs, then a parade of strollers, and then our active duty military. It felt like most of general boarding was done at this point. Lines were reasonably organized by staff with placards that said “Premium” and “Sky Priority” – they were even checking boarding passes.
Pre-departure beverages were handed out, and the menu showed that Delta listened. Instead of starting service with a full meal (which had been their previous practice), they had a light snack available. But, like almost everyone else, I immediately went to bed. It was 2 am at this point, and I just wanted sleep. I had a good, restful sleep and then the big meal came with breakfast about 2 hours before arrival. It was basic and filling. I had an omelet, which came with a chicken and ham side. There were also fruits, yogurt, and rolls. So, well done, Delta.
Arrival into ATL was the fastest I can recall. Global Entry kiosks had no wait, the immigration check had no line, and the TSA Pre-check to get back airside had no line. No lines anywhere! We were quickly into the Sky Club in Terminal E to clean up and grab a mimosa (or two…)
ATL - BWI (F)
DL 1153
MD88 Seats 2C, 2D
11:05 am – 12:56 pm
May 7, 2018
It’s déjà vu all over again. It’s rare that I get to return on the flight that I used to depart. But, here we are. Our last hop was an easy finish to the trip. On board nice and quick with the Premium group, and an uneventful trip to BWI.
