Lee: Port of Spain May 2008 - Atlanta, GA (ATL) to Port of Spain, Piarco Trinidad (POS)

DL387 30May08 Atlanta Hartsfield International, Atlanta, GA (ATL) to Piarco International, Piarco Trinidad (POS) 2:55p 7:43p 738

Seat 2D, Business Class

Flight Time:
Seat Map

I have finally arrived back into Atlanta after a crazy routing. Since I am a revenue passenger, I have to look at ticket costs very close before deciding on a crazy trip. This trip ended up being

1. Newark, NJ (EWR) to Atlanta, GA (ATL)
2. Atlanta, GA (ATL) to Port of Spain, Trinidad (POS)
3. Port of Spain, Trinidad (POS) to Atlanta, GA (ATL)
4. Atlanta, GA (ATL) to Newark, NJ (EWR)

as this was a very cheap flight – 1/3 the price of a normal ticket actually. I then bought a one way ATL-EWR ticket to reposition for the flight so this morning I got up at 5:30am to see EWR for 40 minutes on the ATL-EWR-ATL turn.

When I landed in Atlanta I got word from Kerwin that he ended up getting on the non-stop Houston, TX (IAH) to POS flight and will actually be in about 30 minutes before me. I am glad that after what seemed like months of trying to pin him down to definite plans to meet me on another international journey that he decided to do it.

As a revenue passenger, I do not get nearly as many opportunities to fly internationally for a weekend and when I do, it is great to have a friend that can meet me in exotic destinations.

I get to the gate of the POS flight and check in with the agent to find out if they have cleared standby upgrades. I am immediately presented with a boarding pass for 3D in the business cabin. Delta does an upgraded business service to non Business Elite destinations that includes a multi course meal, printed menu and upgraded wines.

I board the flight at 30 minutes before departure. About half way through boarding my seatmate arrives in 3C. Through small talk I find out she lives in the same town as me and is actually less than 5 minutes from my house.

We are late pushing back from the gate due to a large number of mis-connects. Two bags have to be removed from the flight as the people did not make the plane. Also, the duty free delivery did not show up by the time they closed the door for the first time. They had to reopen the door and we had four more people board during this second wind.

One of the two flight attendants comes around with champagne and mimosas for pre-departure drinks. After pushback, the same flight attendant comes around to get meal orders. The flight attendant stops by my seat first and after addressing me by name, I order the fillet.

We take off on runway 9L and have an extremely long takeoff roll. 2,200 miles in a fully loaded Boeing 737-800 takes quite a bit of gas. After our slow climb to cruising altitude, the movie and dinner service starts. I was a little shocked to see our meal delivered in one course as typically with business destinations there is a 2 course presentation: 1st course is the salad and the 2nd course is the main meal. I had a white Sauvignon Blanc wine to start, and then a French Bordeaux and a domestic Shiraz red wine with the main meal.

After the meal and movie was over, I decided to go talk to the New York JFK-based flight crew working in business class. I found out they will not be our return crew as the plane leaves with them on Saturday morning to JFK.

The crew only has a 10 hour layover instead of the extra day I thought they had as I did not realize that Delta had started JFK to POS already. We trade travel stories for a little while and one of the flight attendant decides to give me a bottle of the French Bordeaux that I loved so much as a “thank you” present for flying with Delta so much. I oversee the flight manifest for the business cabin and see that I am only 1 of 2 revenue passengers up front and the only medallion.