Attention Frequent Air Travelers

[DevilAlumna]

I have to fly tomorrow, commercial air. I'm totally dreading it; haven't had to in a year & change, and it's been nice, honestly.

I'm transferring in Atlanta tomorrow, with a layover between 3-4PM (i'll wave to you ATL DBR'ers while there.) What are my real-life actual chances of:

a) arriving on time from Seattle
b) departing on time to DC given Atlanta's predilection for afternoon thunderstorms;
d) actually landing in DC on time, given DC's fondest for afternoon summer storms as well; and then
d) my luggage (have to check) actually arriving with me, given a, b & c?

Oh, and how many touristy folk will I have to plow through to get from one gate/terminal to the other?

[hc5duke]

I'm assuming you're flying Delta, which isn't good news (http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2007/01/delays.html). I've been through Atlanta a couple times (Delta) and it didn't seem too bad in terms of distance I had to travel from gate-to-gate and people-per-sq.ft., though it seems to be an older airport. If you know the gate numbers, you can probably check here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartsfield-Jackson_Atlanta_International_Airport)

I only fly Continental now (and make sure it's not a "partner flight"), and I've never had any problems with it. Not that this information helps you in any way :)

[DevilAlumna]

Oh, I wish I were lucky enough to fly Delta; but alas, I'm taking my chances with AirTran.

I'm crossing my fingers that by now, they learned their lesson not to fly with oxygen canisters in the cargo hold....

[Lavabe]

I'm assuming you're flying Delta, which isn't good news (http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2007/01/delays.html). I've been through Atlanta a couple times (Delta) and it didn't seem too bad in terms of distance I had to travel from gate-to-gate and people-per-sq.ft., though it seems to be an older airport. If you know the gate numbers, you can probably check here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartsfield-Jackson_Atlanta_International_Airport)

I only fly Continental now (and make sure it's not a "partner flight"), and I've never had any problems with it. Not that this information helps you in any way :)

Sorry for the downer, but we flew Continental ATL-SEA this summer, before the main rush of tourists, and had dreadful luck with our baggage. The ATL-SEA flight started with ATL-Bush Airport (Houston). Let's just say that Bush was so stacked that we had to divert to Baton Rouge for more FUEL! For a 737?!?!? By the time we got to Bush (2 hours late), we made a mad scramble to our flight, and barely made it. Unfortunately, our bags arrived in Seattle a day after we got there. On the return trip, our bags arrived safely, but we departed Bush 90 minutes late.

FWIW, the first time we flew into SEA, it was American, and it took 3 days more for the bags. My Delta flight to SEA last year went smoothly going, but it took two days more for our bags to arrive on the way back.

I am DOOMED! Then again, I guess it's the price you pay to get that incredible view as you fly by Rainier!

DA, if I were betting this one, I wouldn't count on getting everything there on time. On the other hand, if you have to stay longer than an hour in ATL, perhaps the Atlanta-DBR User's Group should get together and celebrate! EarlJam? Shammrog? Wilson?

Cheers,
Lavabe

[hc5duke]

Oh, I wish I were lucky enough to fly Delta; but alas, I'm taking my chances with AirTran.

I'm crossing my fingers that by now, they learned their lesson not to fly with oxygen canisters in the cargo hold....

Ha! Freshman year at Duke, I flew AirTran to fly home a lot, because $120 roundtrip RDU-IAH was pretty much the best I could get at the time (probably still true). One time I was in one of their older planes, and it seems a sticker came off the cabin wall, and you could clearly see "VALUEJET" written on there. Funny enough, it was the worst flight of my life, shaking and loud - last time I flew AirTran.

Oh, but good luck with your flight ;)

[Jim3k]

As a regular on Southwest, I've learned to love -- no,...like it alot. I even have them bookmarked. Depending on planning and flexibility, I see you could have taken one of two flights from SEA and gotten to IAD by changing in MDW. Lowest ow fare is $94 but $109 is more likely. Or two flights to DCA by connecting in MDW with ATA. Finally, you could have gone into BWI on four flights, two of which are one-stop direct. Same price range.

Personally, I'd have stayed in Seattle.

If you have to fly to the East Coast, there are two rules. 1. Never change in Atlanta. 2. Never change in Atlanta. There is also a third rule. 3. Never change in Atlanta.

Fortunately, Southwest doesn't fly to Atlanta! But it does fly into RDU. Also flies near other majors like Boston (PVD or MHT); New York (LGA or for LI, ISP) or Miami (FLL)

Isn't the alphabet fun?

[DevilAlumna]

As a regular on Southwest, I've learned to love -- no,...like it alot. I even have them bookmarked. Depending on planning and flexibility, I see you could have taken one of two flights from SEA and gotten to IAD by changing in MDW. Lowest ow fare is $94 but $109 is more likely.

Personally, I'd have stayed in Seattle.


I too, am (was?) a big Southwest fan. For two years, I flew them every other month between Nashville and BWI. (Loved that you earned a free flight for every 4, too!) I was a student at the time, so could afford to get to the airport early enough to be the first or second on board each time.

They must be having a killer fare sale going on right now, b/c when I was looking to by my tickets home, it was gonna cost me over $400, r/t. I also really don't like their flight schedules to get from here to the East Coast. So, I'm primarily a NorthWest gal these days.

Staying in Seattle wasn't an option. I proudly must make an appearance at a wonderful dual celebration event -- my dad's retirement after 28 years in the Army, and my parent's 40th wedding anniversary. Both are remarkable achievements, IMHO. :)

[Jarhead]

Just got off the phone with my wife. She flew out of RDU today non-stop to MCI to visit family for a few days in Gladstone, MO. The airline for her trip -- Express Jet. It left on time, arrived 20 minutes early, and her luggage beat her to the baggage carousel. They served her a meatball sandwich (her choice) with vegetable snacks (as opposed to salad) potato chips, and a can of diet coke with ice. After awhile they offered seconds. The ride was very comfortable, but the seats were a bit narrow. It was one of those Brazilian planes.

[Jim3k]

I proudly must make an appearance at a wonderful dual celebration event -- my dad's retirement after 28 years in the Army, and my parent's 40th wedding anniversary. Both are remarkable achievements, IMHO. :)

You bet. Have a wonderful time and the folks here are wishing you, and them, well. Thanks to your dad, too, for standing up for all of us.

[DevilAlumna]

ATL, WE ARE NOT OFF TO A GOOD START.

Frikkin AirTran has cancelled my morning flight.

I can't figure out what's going on (been on hold, listening to porn-movie-music, for 30 min. now) but it appears that there's some airtran-specific delay of planes getting out of Hartsfield this evening, which probably means that the flight that's supposed to get into here tonight is unable to make it, and get the required rest on the turnaround, and still leave tomorrow at 7AM.

Sucky.

Anyone here a private pilot???

[hc5duke]

ATL, WE ARE NOT OFF TO A GOOD START.

Frikkin AirTran has cancelled my morning flight.

I can't figure out what's going on (been on hold, listening to porn-movie-music, for 30 min. now) but it appears that there's some airtran-specific delay of planes getting out of Hartsfield this evening, which probably means that the flight that's supposed to get into here tonight is unable to make it, and get the required rest on the turnaround, and still leave tomorrow at 7AM.

Sucky.

Anyone here a private pilot???

Maybe some sort of a strike? Though this article (http://www.reuters.com/article/tnBasicIndustries-SP/idUSWNAS277320070823)says they reached some deal.

[Lavabe]

ATL, WE ARE NOT OFF TO A GOOD START.

Frikkin AirTran has cancelled my morning flight.

I can't figure out what's going on (been on hold, listening to porn-movie-music, for 30 min. now) but it appears that there's some airtran-specific delay of planes getting out of Hartsfield this evening, which probably means that the flight that's supposed to get into here tonight is unable to make it, and get the required rest on the turnaround, and still leave tomorrow at 7AM.

Sucky.

Anyone here a private pilot???

Sorry to see your news, DA. Porn-movie music while on hold? I am neither a pilot nor have I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. FWIW, I'll keep your horror story in my file of reasons NOT to fly AirTran.

My day is rather sucky as well. It's Day 795 of this heat wave, and our home AC stopped working yesterday morning. Things are so backed up with AC repair folks that the soonest we could get one over here is bloody Monday afternoon. One of the places we called lost two of their repairmen due to heat exhaustion. Hopefully your flight won't feel as warm as it is in here right now. Hmm... perhaps I SHOULD have stayed in a Holiday Inn Express.

Would you mind bringing us some traditional Seattle weather? Pretty please???

Sweltering cheers,
Lavabe

[Indoor66]

Sorry to see your news, DA. Porn-movie music while on hold? I am neither a pilot nor have I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. FWIW, I'll keep your horror story in my file of reasons NOT to fly AirTran.

My day is rather sucky as well. It's Day 795 of this heat wave, and our home AC stopped working yesterday morning. Things are so backed up with AC repair folks that the soonest we could get one over here is bloody Monday afternoon. One of the places we called lost two of their repairmen due to heat exhaustion. Hopefully your flight won't feel as warm as it is in here right now. Hmm... perhaps I SHOULD have stayed in a Holiday Inn Express.

Would you mind bringing us some traditional Seattle weather? Pretty please???

Sweltering cheers,
Lavabe

Now that is an example of living real "green", or is it real red?

[TillyGalore]

DA,
Congrats to your dad for his years in the Army and thank you to him for protecting our freedoms. Congratulations to your parents on the 40th wedding anniversary. Both are wonderful and remarkable achievements.

I'm sorry your flight was canceled. As it's been a few hours since you posted I hope you were able to find catch another flight out. Best of luck.

TG

[Peterson]

Sorry to hear about your flight cancellation as well--although its probably too late for this, Alaska Airlines flies direct to Seattle from both Dulles and Reagan and is my airline of choice when I fly pretty much anywhere (although living in Seattle makes that an easy choice...not an option for you East Coasters).

Good luck the rest of the day...hope you make your way here eventually! Fortunately the weather looks ok this weekend, which is normal for most Augusts (this one has been a little wet so far...strange).

[AtlBluRew]

No doubt she's having a rough time getting to Atlanta. There was a lot of lightning in the area for hours Thursday evening, and the airport was closed as a result of it. I heard that planes circled so long that they had to go to Huntsville to refuel and fly back to Atlanta, in some cases to wait on the tarmac as long as 4 hours before a gate was opened.

All that caused a backup that will be felt today in the world's busiest airport.

[DevilAlumna]

Well, after a total flail last night on the phone, and again this morning at the airport (waited 2 hours), then end result is, I'm on the same damned flight schedule, but leaving tomorrow instead. :mad:

Thanks for the well-wishes, folks, I apreciate the moral support. AtlBlu, I was figuring it was storms in Altanta, but didn't know it was that bad. Glad I wasn't one of the ones circling.

Fortunately, the big shindig isn't until Sunday, so I should still make it, though my hubby will miss his chance at getting a personal tour of the Pentagon. (He's bummin.) Still, we're better off than the family of 8 ahead of me this morning, who will miss their grandson/nephew/cousin's wedding prior to his departure for Iraq.

Screw work today, though. I already have the day off, and it shall remain so. :cool:

[mapei]

And, of course, welcome to DC. :)

Incidentally, I flew here from Charlotte yesterday (no problems) and saw Billy Packer having extended, animated conversation with someone behind the USAirways counter in CLT.

[AtlBluRew]

And, of course, welcome to DC. :)

Incidentally, I flew here from Charlotte yesterday (no problems) and saw Billy Packer having extended, animated conversation with someone behind the USAirways counter in CLT.


That man will gripe about Duke University to anyone who can't get away from him. ;)

[dukehoopsgirl]

That man will gripe about Duke University to anyone who can't get away from him. ;)

I agree completely - one of the reasons I always dread watching the Duke games on CBS!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Miami (FLL)

Isn't the alphabet fun?

Miami International is MIA. Ft. Lauderdale International is FLL. They are about 30 miles apart.

[mapei]

I was really returning to DCA from AVL, not CLT. But, because of my aversion to changing planes, my habit is to drive from AVL to CLT, and then fly from CLT to DCA. I used to like flying into IAD or occasionally even BWI, but Eero Saarinen's magnificent architecture has been trashed beyond recognition at IAD, which has also become a weird and crowded combination of international and low-budget flights, not to mention long lines; BWI has chaotic parking and no good transit alternatives; and Cesar Pelli's also magnificent but more functional architecture rocks at DCA. DCA is the way to go.

CLT is a hellish combination of long corridors and endlessly beeping carts trying their best to run down hoards of pedestrians in the concourses.

[DevilAlumna]

And, of course, welcome to DC. :)

Incidentally, I flew here from Charlotte yesterday (no problems) and saw Billy Packer having extended, animated conversation with someone behind the USAirways counter in CLT.

Soon, soon, but thanks, Mapei.

You reminded me that I too, saw a semi-famous person at the airport this morning -- she looked quite calm and unruffled (and I'm sure she was, if she wasn't flying Airtran.) http://www.barefootcontessa.com/about.html

Oh, and you're right, the remodeled National Airport (I will *never* call it anything but its real name) is a lovely bit of open, airy architecture. I remember how it used to be, from a family trip in the mid 80's, and it was a dump then; kind of like how IAD seems these days (or at least, the last time I flew through there.)

[Jim3k]

Miami International is MIA. Ft. Lauderdale International is FLL. They are about 30 miles apart.

Oh, Oz... Southwest does not fly into MIA. What I was saying is that Southwest flies near large eastern cities. I was pointing out that if one wants to go to Miami on Southwest one can fly to FLL to get there. I listed satellite airports at the other cities as well. FLL was used as one of those examples. :)

[DevilAlumna]

My flight was cancelled, a second day in a row.

What the ... !!?!?!?:mad:

[Lavabe]

My flight was cancelled, a second day in a row.

What the ... !!?!?!?:mad:

It's the revenge of the DBR anti-Microsoft gods!;)

Seriously, I hope today will work smoothly for you.

Cheers,
Lavabe

[throatybeard]

For starters, never fly AirTran.

Delta, for all its problems, is completely necessary because in a lot of cases its the only option in most of the rural South, usually with ASA. Delta has screwed me 16 different ways from Sunday, but I will say this: Delta has never, ever lost or delayed my luggage. American mislaid it 3 times in a month back in 2000.

ATL is a very good airport, laid out super-intelligently, with lots of places to eat and drink. The only problem is volume.

My miles are with Delta so I'm beholden to them still, and my folks live near GSO and you can't fly there direct from anywhere except for a few hubs. But I do try to go the CVG when possible instead of ATL.

[merry]

throaty, this was not exactly the Delta post I expected to read from you today when I saw your name on the thread.

DA, mapei and other fans of DCA...I've always been a huge fan of DCA, even when it was a dump. I used to enjoy the roller coaster landings that freaked out the non-regular passengers (seems like they don't use that approach from the north as much as they used to) and the daredevil short runways. Seriously, you can't beat the proximity to DC and having Metro access.

[Raleighfan]

For starters, never fly AirTran.

Delta, for all its problems, is completely necessary because in a lot of cases its the only option in most of the rural South, usually with ASA. Delta has screwed me 16 different ways from Sunday, but I will say this: Delta has never, ever lost or delayed my luggage. American mislaid it 3 times in a month back in 2000.

A.

Lucky you with the luggage. I've got to chime in here to say that a friend of mine & her hub just returned last week to Raleigh from Italy on Delta....minus their luggage. They finally got it about 4 days later, after it had been to Romania/other eastern European locations.

[billybreen]

Coincidentally, I just flew back from my parents' 40th anniversary in the southeast as well. My airline is American, who despite Throaty's experience has never lost or delayed my luggage. I have happy elite status from my work travels, so it pains me to fly anything else, but the southeast and American are not great friends (short of MIA).

I was able to fly American to Memphis for the business leg of the trip (BOS-ORD upgraded to first, ORD-MEM on a regional jet in a cushy exit row). The rest of the trip was USAir with the cheaptickets crapshoot on seats. On my flights back today I sat in the very last row (no recline, across from the lav, behind a crying baby, in hell) from CHS-PHL and bulkhead middle from PHL-BOS. Both flights were delayed a couple of hours, but at least I didn't miss any connections.

Late next week I have about 8k miles of fun (BOS-SFO, SFO-DFW-LAS, LAS-DFW-BOS) in a 5 day span, but that will be back on heavenly American. I can't wait.

[throatybeard]

Yeah, I'll be the first to admit Delta has done me all sorts of wrong. I've spent four nights in Atlanta in the last three years. They almost didn't get me to my job interview at UMSL because we took off without de-icing, and then they didn't get me home on my way back from it until the next day. They're also pretty damn expensive.

But they do certain things well, like I said, domestic luggage. The planes are nice and clean, usually Canadair regionals and MD-88s, instead of that Fokker crap that I thought was going to fall apart the last time I was on USAir. The website is easy to use, and with the Skymiles Amex card I've gotten 4 free domestic trips in the last 2 years, and I still have about enough to get to Europe and back once. My mother is handicapped, and Delta has always provided for moving her around sufficiently. USAir treated her awfully.

But the thing is, in a lot of markets, you just don't have choice. In Starkville, we had three Delta (ASA) flights a day. Two Deltas and three Northwests in Tupelo an hour and 15 minutes away. A mild amount of choice in BHM and JAN, both over two hours away, but neither is a hub for anything. Much of the South is covered only by regional puddlejumps on Delta and NW, and non-stops are unheard of unless you're terminating at a hub. I'm glad the option at least exists.

I'll give American a try, Breen. American seems like they can't quite decide whether Lambert is a hub or a focus city, but there are a bunch of flights. I got the credit card them gets you miles with them. I haven't been on an American flight since 2000, but that's mostly a regional deal. I think my folks are going to come to STL nonstop from RDU on American when they visit us. You can't go anywhere non-stop from GSO. That airport has really gone in the pooper.

[billybreen]

But the thing is, in a lot of markets, you just don't have choice.
...
I'll give American a try, Breen. American seems like they can't quite decide whether Lambert is a hub or a focus city, but there are a bunch of flights.

Word, it does really depend on where you are and where you need to go. Living in Boston, AA is a great choice for me to the northwest, southwest, midwest, and major citiies in Europe or China, often non-stop. The only place where it sucks is the southeast, where my folks live.

Like your Delta miles situation, my loyalty to AA is mostly to do with free flights, upgrades, and the other little niceties that elite status affords. After flying non-stop upgraded to Europe a few times, whisking through the special security check at Heathrow, for example, you'll do damn near anything to keep that status.

I don't have any basis for comparison against elite status on the other majors, but my boss was for many years top level elite on AA, Delta, and United (he's crazy). He swears by American, particularly if you are Executive Platinum, but I'm not sure I want to live a life that involves 100k miles of air travel per year. I'm struggling to re-up Platinum (50k).

[hurleyfor3]

I dated a girl once who was Exec Plat on AA, 1K on UA and whatever the lowest level on Delta is. All at the same time. I think she had Silver or whatever on US, too.

I'm "only" a United 1K. Have been for five years now. Should make it again this year, but it'll be close.

"Middle-tier" elite status (Premier Exec on UA) is actually pretty easy to do entirely on leisure travel if you fly internationally once or twice a year. One trip to SE Asia plus one to Europe gets you more than halfway there, then just fly a domestic every month or so. 1K is TOUGH, though.

[throatybeard]

Dating a girl for her miles. Sounds like a Seinfeld plot...

[hurleyfor3]

Dating a girl for her miles. Sounds like a Seinfeld plot...

I didn't date her FOR her miles. However, we certainly had a mutual interest in traveling. If anything, a conflict arose -- she preferred AA and I'm a United guy.

I have way more frequent flier miles than I need, thanks.