Flying long haul on American carrier can conjure up images of outdated service in comparison to VS,BA,EK,SQ and sometimes older crew. But having seen Delta's rapid expansion of international routes in the last year and with UA selling Bemuda 2 LON-JFK rights to the Atlanta based carrier I was particularly keen to give Delta another whirl (the last time being some 12 years ago). [:D]
The outbound flight was fairly uneventful, although it must be noted that the crew and ground staff on the DL11 from LGW were fantastic some of the best I have ever come into contact with- a real pleasure to fly with [8D]. So I will start in Tampa making our way back to blighty. Tampa is one of a number of secret gateways into the Sunshine State, forget Orlando or Miami- for a more relaxed Floridian travel experience the likes of Tampa and Sarasota airports are the way forward. The Dark Side do offer a direct service from LGW into TPA, five times a week but with the lack of mile earning Delta was the only real option.
Arrived at Tampa just before midday, walked straight up to the Delta desks and was checked in within 3minutes of arriving in the terminal building, bags checked through to Chavwick and boarding passes in hand I left the check in area feeling rather smitten as I thought of the dreadful lines at check in for VS at MCO! Tampa is layed out much like Orlando with 4 airside satalites and a monorail system linking them (the more I travel America, the more I believe the US Government got a 'special deal' on airport monorail systems, everywhere seems to have the same system- Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta etc). Security was a breeze and after a quick Starbucks it was time to board.
Boarding Delta style is done in a Low Cost fashion (this flight was operated by Song up until Summer of this year) with zones being called forward. Onboard a 767-400 (specially made by Boeing for Delta and Continental) which was packed to the rafters [:0] for the quick one hour hop up to Georgia. Fairly standard domestic service, a drink and snack. Arrival into Atlanta was quick and arrived on gate some 47minutes after push back from Tampa courtsey of a tailwind. Connection information was proved over the PA system for flights internationaly onto London, Rome, Brussels, Munich, Manchester and some others- very useful given the crowds in the terminal. [y]
Atlanta is an interesting place, it seems to be the crossroads of America and great for people watching. We arrived at Concourse A, which is currently undergoing a revamp (finally [y]) and needed to transfer to the relative tranquility of the International Concourse E. Negotating A's crowds it was back onto the same monorail and a quick whistle stop tour of the other 5 concourses. Concourse E is built for Deltas international hub network and is really good when compared to Gatwick or Heathrow. A large number of shops by American airport standards and about 8 eateries.
Boarding for our final flight was done following the same system as in Tampa, zone one being Business Elite. Onboard Delta really came into its own [:D][:D]. All my worries had vanished. We boarded a 2 year old aircraft which had just been refurbished to house Deltas new International cabin complete with touch screen AVOD system [^]. The AVOD was already working prior to pushback and the crew encouraged passengers to use it prior to take off, not as good as VPort, some 30movies, 15 games and 15 TV Programmes plus CD music. But what is impressive is Deltas willingness to bring the SAME ([oo]!!!) AVOD out across the whole fleet- they will have a common entertainment system across all long haul by year end, ashame VS dont follow this lead. The system was much better than Supernova without any doubt (supernova being what Deltas AVOD directly competes with as Delta only have ex LGW flights).
Full aircraft for the 7hour30 red eye across the pond. The 'Atlanta based crew' were fantastic, typically American, friendly and charming. Manual demo was done and the Captain came on to inform us of our flight path and the usual Federal Law prohbities people to stand in large groups in public areas such as the bathrooms.Push back some 70mins late due to the late arrival of the plane from Rome. 5 minute wait at the end of 27R and up into the Georgia night we went. Due to noise restrictions in Atlanta take offs follow a strange patern- not your normal up and way to 30000feet as in the UK but more done in very noticable stages over about 50minutes took some 15mins to make 10000feet and alot of reving the engines and then very quiet.
And then the fun began- not 5minutes out of Atlanta- the captain was on to inform that we had some rough weather ahead so he would keep the belts on for the next 30mins [:(]. FSM then came on to say 'dont worry about the rough weather, just enjoy Deltas new award winning entertainment system!' The turbulence that was experienced was awful- seatbelts were on for 5hours of the flight and the crew delayed serving the meal until 11.30pm (we took off at 6.30!) due to the weather- crew were seated for about 3hours of the flight- in what they were calling the worst turbulence they had experienced. [:$][xx(] It was just constant violent shakes for 5 hours!
The captain was excellent he kept updating and saying sorry and informing us he was working with ATC at trying different flight levels and routings- but sadly there was nothing he could do, we just had to 'drive on thru it'. As a result the cabin service was a bit out of sink- by the time the dinner service was done the flight only had 2 and half hours to go. When dinner did arrive it was good- normal Y class food but still eatable, though a little on the cold side as we had hit a massive pocket of turbulence and the crew were ordered back into their seats thanks to alot of shouting over the intercom. But The crew were excellent in this respect, they looked after nervous flyers and delayed breakfast until 30mins before landing to give enough sleep to us all. [^] They also dimmed lights prior to dinner being served. Considering the difficult working conditions, after all the crew were seated for hours, they did a fantastic job.
Passengers are an interesting breed though, the crew, trained professionals who at Delta do some 5 transatlantic returns a week [:0], were sat down in their seats due to safety, some idiots think they are more capable and try to go to the bathroom. The crew were constantly making calls along the lines of 'The seatbelts are still fastened- all crew are in their seats at this time- this is serious turbulence DO NOT GET OUT OF YOUR SEAT.' and still people did, not only risking themselves but those around them. Very selfish and dangerous attitude to take. Rant over!
The AVOD was fantastic with an excellent selection of movies, I managed to cram in 3 whilst trying not to think about needing the loo [:I]. Breakfast was served some 30mins out, as we headed in over the West Country. Again it was good- a warm crossant with banana, cereal bar, orange juice and fruit- it made the muffin and melon offered by VS look pathetic.
Sunrise over Southampton and into London at 7.20 local- some 30mins behind time. The captain and FSM both on the PA to thank us for chosing Delta and the Captain appologised for the rough ride, again highlighting that it was the worst he had experienced flying the Atlantic for 20years.
All in all, Delta over 4 flights offered an excellent service. Delta are often cheaper than VS direct to the Sunshine State, sure you have to spend two hours in Atlanta but the inflight service offered by Delta coupled with new and clean aircraft and the mile earning capability make Delta a really good option. Having flown into Orlando for years and years and having to put up with rocket high prices in the school holidays- I think for my travel at peak times it will be Delta from now on- excellent friendly service, great AVOD and flights into a beautiful chav free airport- what more could you want. Congratulations Delta [oo][^][:D][^]...now lets all pray you dont get taken over by US Airways [?].
