LIM-ATL in Delta One
Dec 23, 2022, 1:52 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Mid Atlantic
Programs: Delta Plat, one-time United Plat, Amex Plat, Marriott Plat, Hertz Prez Circle, Bus Pass
Posts: 1,237
LIM-ATL in Delta One
LIM-ATL
December 2022
Delta One
After several days in one of South America's more, er, challenging locations -- Bolivia's spectacular Uyuni salt flats and various attendant rugged environs, including the worst "hotel" stay of my life and two segments on Bolivia's state-owned airline (trip report forthcoming)-- I decided to treat myself on my way back to the States.
Delta One it was, then, for the 6 and a half hour flight from Lima to Atlanta, departing at 9 am.
The morning began with an energetic Uber ride from Miraflores at 5:45 am. The driver and I were on the same wave length -- as I got into the car, he was blasting "Young Turks" by Rod Stewart. I encouraged him to turn it up. His self-curated mix was full of more of my faves -- the Stones and more Rod. I took this to be a good omen.
I needed some of those good vibes when I arrived at Lima's airport some 45 minutes later. The terminal was packed!
Deep breath, deep breath...I soon found that one exception to the throngs was the Sky Priority line, where there was only one party ahead of me. (NB: For Delta elites flying Latam, you actually get to use a separate room to check in; when flying Delta metal, you are in the main room with the masses.)
I checked in quickly, and security was a breeze. And just as I thought everything was going my way, I entered the immigration hall and was confronted with this...
So, yeah. That was a solid 45 minutes of my life I won't get back.
Passport stamped (there was some perplexity as to why I had been in Peru for only 24 hours), I had about thirty minutes remaining to visit Delta and Latam's contract lounge. (Anybody else find it odd that Latam doesn't operate its own lounge in one of its main hubs?)
Here, the line was two deep -- but it still took me a good ten minutes to enter as the people in front of me took forrrrreeeeeeever to buy entry. It's always a bad sign when somebody is carrying one of those neck pillows, in my experience.
Once they were dispatched with, I was in the lounge within the approximately 15 seconds it took the attendants to have a look at my boarding pass.
Inside, the spacious lounge was comfortably empty. I sat in an annex room by the (closed) bar, which was blasting 80s music videos. Oh hai, eurythmics!
The food options were ... a little odd.
A cup of coffee later, it was time to board, so I proceeded on down to gate 20.
December 2022
Delta One
After several days in one of South America's more, er, challenging locations -- Bolivia's spectacular Uyuni salt flats and various attendant rugged environs, including the worst "hotel" stay of my life and two segments on Bolivia's state-owned airline (trip report forthcoming)-- I decided to treat myself on my way back to the States.
Delta One it was, then, for the 6 and a half hour flight from Lima to Atlanta, departing at 9 am.
The morning began with an energetic Uber ride from Miraflores at 5:45 am. The driver and I were on the same wave length -- as I got into the car, he was blasting "Young Turks" by Rod Stewart. I encouraged him to turn it up. His self-curated mix was full of more of my faves -- the Stones and more Rod. I took this to be a good omen.
I needed some of those good vibes when I arrived at Lima's airport some 45 minutes later. The terminal was packed!
Deep breath, deep breath...I soon found that one exception to the throngs was the Sky Priority line, where there was only one party ahead of me. (NB: For Delta elites flying Latam, you actually get to use a separate room to check in; when flying Delta metal, you are in the main room with the masses.)
I checked in quickly, and security was a breeze. And just as I thought everything was going my way, I entered the immigration hall and was confronted with this...
So, yeah. That was a solid 45 minutes of my life I won't get back.
Passport stamped (there was some perplexity as to why I had been in Peru for only 24 hours), I had about thirty minutes remaining to visit Delta and Latam's contract lounge. (Anybody else find it odd that Latam doesn't operate its own lounge in one of its main hubs?)
Here, the line was two deep -- but it still took me a good ten minutes to enter as the people in front of me took forrrrreeeeeeever to buy entry. It's always a bad sign when somebody is carrying one of those neck pillows, in my experience.
Once they were dispatched with, I was in the lounge within the approximately 15 seconds it took the attendants to have a look at my boarding pass.
Inside, the spacious lounge was comfortably empty. I sat in an annex room by the (closed) bar, which was blasting 80s music videos. Oh hai, eurythmics!
The food options were ... a little odd.
A cup of coffee later, it was time to board, so I proceeded on down to gate 20.
Dec 23, 2022, 2:16 pm
#2
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Mid Atlantic
Programs: Delta Plat, one-time United Plat, Amex Plat, Marriott Plat, Hertz Prez Circle, Bus Pass
Posts: 1,237
Boarding was fine, though slower than normal as there is a secondary drug screening after your boarding pass is scanned. Once it was confirmed I was carrying no Bolivian marching powder, I made it to the D1 cabin.
It's a tired old 767 on this route, but perfectly adequate for a short-ish daytime flight.
I sat down and was quickly greeted by Steve, our flight's purser. He told me my pre-ordered omelet would be served right after take off and we chatted for a couple of minutes. Steve provided great service throughout the flight.
I also asked him for a paper menu for posterity and he happily obliged. Also at my seat were slippers, noise-canceling headphones, the standard Tumi amenity kit, and bedding.
Steve asked whether I would like a glass of orange juice or sparkling wine and, well, here was my answer:
It some became apparent that the day's load in D1 was going to very light. The small cabin was not even half full -- and it included a couple of non-revs.
We pushed back five minutes early, endured a 30 minute taxi and wait, and then took off and climbed out of grey Lima:
Once we reached cruise, service commenced with a towel service (though they are no longer hot -- they come packaged, awful and cold!), drinks, and breakfast. I opted for a screw driver to drink, and as I indicated, had pre-ordered the omelet.
The omelet and sides were tasty and the portions were massive -- I was unable to finish.
Sufficiently sated, I reclined and enjoyed four or so hours of movie-watching, napping, and dipping into my book. FAs came by frequently to offer snacks and top up drinks.
One curiosity was although the flight was only 6 hours and 40 minutes, there was a crew change mid-flight -- both pilots were replaced by reserves who had been sitting in the back of the D1 cabin.
Anybody know why this might be on such a short segment?
About an hour before landing in Atlanta, we were offered either a salad or a sandwich. I opted for the sandwich, which was hot roast beef and melted cheese. It was just what you want on a flight: fatty, gooey, and salty. I loved it!
The snack dispatched with, we landed into foggy Atlanta on time. All in all, this was a pleasant, relaxing experience after 12 days in South America.
Thanks for reading! I'll be posting a review of flying domestic in Bolivia soon. And by the way, visit Bolivia! Very underrated destination.
It's a tired old 767 on this route, but perfectly adequate for a short-ish daytime flight.
I sat down and was quickly greeted by Steve, our flight's purser. He told me my pre-ordered omelet would be served right after take off and we chatted for a couple of minutes. Steve provided great service throughout the flight.
I also asked him for a paper menu for posterity and he happily obliged. Also at my seat were slippers, noise-canceling headphones, the standard Tumi amenity kit, and bedding.
Steve asked whether I would like a glass of orange juice or sparkling wine and, well, here was my answer:
It some became apparent that the day's load in D1 was going to very light. The small cabin was not even half full -- and it included a couple of non-revs.
We pushed back five minutes early, endured a 30 minute taxi and wait, and then took off and climbed out of grey Lima:
Once we reached cruise, service commenced with a towel service (though they are no longer hot -- they come packaged, awful and cold!), drinks, and breakfast. I opted for a screw driver to drink, and as I indicated, had pre-ordered the omelet.
The omelet and sides were tasty and the portions were massive -- I was unable to finish.
Sufficiently sated, I reclined and enjoyed four or so hours of movie-watching, napping, and dipping into my book. FAs came by frequently to offer snacks and top up drinks.
One curiosity was although the flight was only 6 hours and 40 minutes, there was a crew change mid-flight -- both pilots were replaced by reserves who had been sitting in the back of the D1 cabin.
Anybody know why this might be on such a short segment?
About an hour before landing in Atlanta, we were offered either a salad or a sandwich. I opted for the sandwich, which was hot roast beef and melted cheese. It was just what you want on a flight: fatty, gooey, and salty. I loved it!
The snack dispatched with, we landed into foggy Atlanta on time. All in all, this was a pleasant, relaxing experience after 12 days in South America.
Thanks for reading! I'll be posting a review of flying domestic in Bolivia soon. And by the way, visit Bolivia! Very underrated destination.