Friday, July 11, 2008

Atlanta, GA July 2008: Arriving at Hartsfield (ATL) from Houston, TX (IAH)

11JUL08 Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Atlanta GA (ATL)

We touched down smoothly and taxied into the gate arriving ontime at 10:04p. after what seemed like forever, I made it out of the place and re-joined my traveling companion who had scored the last minute upgrade.

We walked to the middle of Concourse D, then down the escalators and got a train that was just about to leave, five stops later, we arrived at Baggage Claim and took another escalator upstairs to the street level.

We found some kiosks for the MARTA system and realized that there was an additional $0.50 fee plus the $1.75 cost for the one way ride. We went to the desk to find out if we could avoid the fee, but there is no way to do this. It was odd as it was 10:30p and the lights went out at her booth. She then told us that we could no longer use a credit card as they were turned off automatically at 10:30p. We could get tickets, but had to use cash, so we went to the kiosks.

There we paid the $2.25 to get our cards, swiped them and entered the turnstile. Upstairs there was a waiting train to take us to our destination in about an hour.

Atlanta, GA July 2008: Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH) to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Atlanta GA (ATL)

CO1720 11JUL08 Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH) to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Atlanta GA (ATL) to 7:00p 10:08p 735 N??620

Flight Time: 1:39
Seat Map

I said hello to the two flight attendants in the galley and made my way through the 8-seat First Class cabin. It is configured in a 2-2 configuration with leather seats. Economy class is in a 2-2 configuration.

I found my way to my aisle seat and settled in after saying hello to the two ladies who were obviously traveling together.

At 6:59p, the doors closed and then the manual safety demo started. Pushback commenced soon after. This aircraft has no entertainment system, but not to worry, I had the Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal from the Presidents Club, plus a book, "The Writer's Guide to Queries, Pitches & Proposals" so I had plenty of things to keep me occupied. Not to mention my computer.

It was a short taxi out and we were airborne in no time.

A beverage service started shortly after take off which included a packet of peanuts. The crackers from the Presidents Club sure came in handy.

I pretty much fell asleep after the meal and awoke when we were landing; so much for all that reading material. Being at an aisle seat, i could not tell what was going on outside, so it was just as well I slept. i had gone to bed really late the night before, so I really needed that nap.

Atlanta, GA July 2008: Departing Houston, TX (IAH)

11JUL08 Houston Intercontinental., Houston TX (IAH)

We arrived at Terminal E at about 5:45p. We cleared security without issues and made our way to the Presidents Club. I showed my credentials and received admittance along with my guest.


Once in the Club, we relaxed for a bit, checked e-mail, had some beverages as well as read the newspapers, except they were out of USA Today :(. We also had some snacks of bread sticks, crackers and cheese.

It was soon time to get to the gate so we did.

Once there, we were given boarding passes; one window and an aisle. My companion went to the ATM and when he got back, he scored the last seat in First Class, lucky. We then boarded.

Atlanta, GA July 2008: Leaving downtown Houston, TX

A friend of mine was having a house warming party and it was necessary that I attend. I have a cold and is feeling really crappy, but I pressed on.

It was about 5:00p, when my traveling companion picked me up from in front of our building downtown. The traffic was light on the way to the airport, so we got there in no time and without any delays.

We parked and took the shuttle bus to Terminal E, our departure terminal.