Atlanta, GA July 2008: Arriving at Hartsfield (ATL)

13JUL08 Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Atlanta GA (ATL)

It was about 8:45a when we arrived at the airport. It was not too crowded and we had no issues checking in at the airport kiosk and received our stand by boarding passes. Security was not an issue either and soon we were on the trains to Concourse D.

The trains in this airport are weird as they don’t tell you which airlines serve which terminal neither audibly or visually. I think you have to wait for the doors to open to see which airlines are at which terminal and then the doors are only open for a short time. But I digress.

We arrived at Concourse D in a few minutes and headed up the long escalator to the departure level. I did notice two guys all sweaty and panting on the left escalator. It seems like they ran from the main terminal building. I hope they caught their flight.

We headed for the Presidents Club where we showed our credentials and were granted access. Eventually, we found two comfy seats in the crowded lounge across from a couple. I searched for an electric outlet, but to no avail. It is weird that they actually have workstation at the windows and no electrical outlets. I did see one or two on the floor, but they were really in the walkway, so not really usable.

I eventually had a bagel with 50% fat free cream cheese and some mini muffins, while my travel companion had some juice and coffee. The coffee was not good, so we went to use a Starbucks free coffee coupon at the Starbucks across from Gate 8A, our departure gate. I thought that no outside food was allowed, but the agent advised that drinks were fine.

Once at the Starbucks, I showed her the card and she said they don’t accept it. I inquired why and she said she was joking. She then tried to upsell me to other beverages and eats, which I declined. She then poured me a steaming hot cup of coffee to the brim and directed me to the condiments section.

I returned to the Club and presented the coffee to my traveling companion. I did notice some Delta Connection CRJs (200s and 700s) outside the window with a flurry of activities. There was also a few airTran Boeing 737-700s with winglets as well as some Boeing 717s.

It was soon time to head to the gate. As we departed the Club, I checked pda.continental.com and saw that we were given seats; lucky aisles across.

At the gate, I inquired for our boarding passes and after waiting a bit, received the. Boarding had already commenced, so we just waited for our row to be called and then boarded the Boeing 737-500 with winglets.