While in LA for work recently, I caught a glimpse of a KLM Queen flying overhead as I returned my rental car. It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen one of those!
Long Live the Queen!
I was pleasantly surprised with an upgrade on the way back to Raleigh. Initially rather worried with the weather hitting the South-East, I was notified of a potential delay and a quick call confirmed that a late flight in the morning had cascaded throughout the day. Thankfully, a very helpful representative got me rebooked on a flight routing through MSP (instead of ATL).
While waiting for boarding, I noticed that not only did I get my preference for a window-seat, I got upgraded! Score! Though not a particularly long flight, the crew was stellar (as always — you spoil me, Delta!). When it came to meal choices, I opted for the antipasto salad as I wasn’t too hungry. Not only was the salad excellent (with lightly oiled crostini), it came with tiramisu!
Delta has really been stepping up their catering game of late, and my recent flight from San Diego to Detroit is proof that they are taking it seriously. Since I was on an odd numbered flight (DL 833), meal orders were taken from the back to the front, so I didn’t have a choice in options. While I was a little worried when I heard what was available, I was completely (and very pleasantly) surprised!
The lunch entree on the flight that day was described as “tandoori chicken with quinoa salad”, so I didn’t quite know what to expect. Tandoori chicken is dry by definition, and meats on flights tend to be drier still given the combination of cooking method, pressurization, and air. I was pretty worried… and not just because I was getting Indian food on an American airline! 😉
Surprise Number One
Once the meal was served, I was impressed by how Delta opted for a chilled presentation of tandoori chicken. This allowed the chicken to remain more moist than it would have been after re-heating in a convection oven. The addition of almond slices was a nice touch, and between the almonds and the quinoa there was a nice balance of texture.
Tandoori chicken with quinoa
Surprise Number Two
Raita.
Raita!
It’s hard to explain how important raita is to Indian cuisine… much like Greek cuisine’s relationship with tzatziki. It is found with most preparations of dry meats (or particularly spicy food) to reintroduce some moisture and also tame spicier foods. The texture of the thin cuts of cucumber also helps with the dining experience. Delta did their homework on how to properly serve Indian food!
Surprise Number Three
Accompanying the chicken and quinoa was a chilled salad composed of orange, onion, and feta cheese. The acidity was just what the meal needed.
Cubed orange salad with onions and feta
Finally, dessert. A nice selection of fruit accompanied by a mini apple pie!
Mini apple pie and fruit
Closing Thoughts
I can’t say enough positive things about how far Delta has come with their domestic First Class meal offerings. They are putting a great deal of thought into meal composition and my stomach definitely appreciates it! Kudos, Delta!
Before we knew it, it was time for us to return home – vacations are never long enough! We had arranged for round-trip shuttle service between the airport and our hotel, so we were promptly picked up and deposited at the airport. Though our driver insisted that we needed to leave the hotel by 4:30 AM, we found that the airport counters and security are not open until 5:00 AM. Adding to the fun: most stores and restaurants are closed until 6 or later, depending on the store.
Our initial flight from SJD to MEX was fairly uneventful. We were once again on a regional jet operated by Aeromexico Connect, and we were asked to not use headphones until we reached 10,000 feet. Another interesting quirk: Aeromexico doesn’t serve alcohol before 11:00 AM local time, but all alcohol is complimentary after 11:00 AM.
While taxiing, my girlfriend was able to snap a few gorgeous shots of planes, including a Boeing 727 used by the PolÃcia Federal! We quite a few Dreamliners, as well as a plane with livery I couldn’t recognize in the least… it almost looks like a funky Alitalia color scheme. If you can figure out who’s flying this plane, let me know!
Boeing 727
Dreamliners!
Mystery plane!
Military craft
Aeromexico Salon Premier
Instead of the Heineken sponsored lounge that we visited during our first time through MEX, we opted to grab some caffeine and libations at one of the larger Salon Premier lounges.
This lounge is one of three that are located in the mezzanine – to reach it you have to either take the elevator or climb the stairs near security. The lounge itself was quite spacious with two circular bars that served alcohol as well as coffee and tea. There was plenty of seating available with easy access to power outlets. Tucked away in the furthest corner were coolers for self-serve beer, water, and juice as well as a few snacks.
Lounge entry
Bars – one of two
Self-serve juice and beer
Light snacks and ice
MEX-ATL
Probably the most frustrating part of the return was the experience while waiting to board the flight from Mexico City to Atlanta. A Delta representative let us know that we would need to get freshly printed boarding passes from Delta (our Aeromexico boarding passes would not allow us to board). Getting new boarding passes took nearly 15 minutes even though there was nobody in line before me, simply because the gate agents were talking to each other instead of paying attention to passengers – thoroughly disappointing.
Once we had received our new boarding passes, we got to experience the new TSA security measures for US-bound flights. While I understand the premise of asking the same question multiple times to ensure that you get the same answer, I tend to find this works best when the question isn’t immediately repeated. For example, I was asked how long I had stayed in Mexico three times… one right after another.
The remaining of the boarding process was fairly uneventful, but shortly after approaching the runway, we were turning back to the gate. There it was: the dreaded maintenance delay. Thankfully, we had planned for a 3 hour layover in Atlanta, so we made it to our connection with 10 minutes to spare (sans dinner).
Finally on our way, we were given physical menus to select our lunches from. I opted for the arroz con pollo while my girlfriend opted for the pasta. The chicken was slightly drier than the flight to Mexico, but the rice (really a pearl couscous) was quite good. The charcuterie plate was probably my favorite part of the meal, though.
A few months ago, I received an invitation to visit Westin’s newly renovated resort property in Los Cabos. Given the price of the stay, I had a hard time saying no! I knew that this was going to be a timeshare pitch, given my experience at the Westin Lagunamar, so I had mentally prepared myself for the whole spiel prior to arrival.
The routing was a little wonky since the direct flight from Atlanta was not available on the days I was considering, so we had a second layover in Mexico City. Though I wasn’t able to fly on a Dreamliner as I had hoped, I was still able to give Aeromexico a shot.
The Club at ATL
Entrance to The Club
Cookies and fruit
Fruit infused water and chips
Popcorn and pretzels
Pasta and Pita
Salad Bar
With some time to kill upon arrival at Atlanta, we headed to Concourse F for our flight to Mexico City. Though there is a SkyClub, I opted instead to visit The Club (a member of PriorityPass). Unfortunately, since we were flying on a Sunday and it was before 12:30 PM we were not served any alcohol due to Georgia state law.
There were various cookies, chips, and breakfast items when I initially arrived, but they were in the process of setting out the lunch items.
ATL-MEX
Since the flight from Atlanta to Mexico City is a short three and a half hours, Delta opted for a 737. Unfortunately since it was using ground-based WiFi, it was only available while we were flying over the US.
Our Ride – B737
Upon boarding, we were offered orange juice, champagne, or mimosas as our pre-departure beverages. Since we were heading out on vacation, our choice was clear. 😉
Champagne!
Shortly after reaching cruising altitude, we were given our option for meals – chicken or vegetable lasagna. I wasn’t really feeling pasta, so I opted for the chicken. Expecting a single tray of food, I was quite surprised when we were given a multi-course meal instead!
Our lunch started with olive-oil crostini with what I think was cheese and candied sweet potato. Also present was a Caesar salad and Tiramisu.
Crostini with cheese and sweet potato
Caesar Salad
Grilled chicken entree
Tiramisu
Once our appetizers were done, the small plates were cleared and replaced with our entree. The sweet potatoes with our entree weren’t nearly as sweet as those with our appetizer (thankfully!), and the chicken wasn’t as dry as most airline meals.
Mexico City
Since this was my first time visiting the Mexico City airport I planned for a longer layover than normal – just over five hours. While it might have been a little unnecessary, I prefer to err on the side of caution for international connections when Customs are involved. Thankfully, it went fairly smoothly and we had some time to explore.
MEX-SJD
Our last flight of the day was on an Embraer ERJ-190 operated by Aeromexico Connect. Though the first row had substantial legroom, which we were quite grateful for, the presence of oxygen tanks in the overhead bins meant that we had to stow our bags a few rows back. Something to keep in mind!
Excellent legroom… terrible storageSecond Row for Comparison
The only snack available for this short flight was a nut medley (cashews, peanuts, sunflower seeds and so on).
Mixed Nuts
Overall, the flight was a smooth one. I was very surprised that we were asked to not have headphones on or use electronic equipment below 10,000 feet. I’m not sure if that is something that is unique to Aeromexico or Aeromexico Connect, but I can’t remember the last time I was asked to remove my headphones on a plane.
With some luck, I managed to come across some affordable flights from New York (Kennedy) to Charles de Gaulle (CDG) for next year . Flights from Raleigh to JFK were almost as expensive as those from JFK to CDG, so I opted to use miles for that set of flights. With some nesting, the total price came in under $940. Not bad for two tickets, eh?
The tricky part with nested flights is that any checked bags will have to be collected and re-checked. I tried to give us 5 hours on either side of the international leg to account for this, but with JFK (or any New York airport, for that matter…) anything is possible.
Nested Flights
With some stays last year in San Diego, I was able to rack up enough Hyatt points for a week at Hôtel du Louvre! Located directly across from the Louvre museum and the Tuileries gardens (where the Arc de Triomphe is), it is also a short walk from Notre-Dame de Paris. Hard to beat that location!
Thanks to my status, I was able to select Comfort+ seats at booking even though it was an international flight. My Global Upgrade Certificates are expiring soon, so I won’t be able to use them, yet, but my new ones should be available in February. The Delta One cabin on the A330 is arranged in a reverse-herringbone configuration with the Comfort+ seats behind the middle galley. There seems to be quite a few Delta One seats open, so I’m cautiously optimistic!
Flight changes are not uncommon when booking months in advance, so I was not surprised when my return flight was now affected. Instead of flying directly to Atlanta, I now have to route through Mexico City.
Old route in red, new route in blue
With the change, and the new perks available (and two regional upgrade certificates coming up on expiration), I figured I would give Delta a call to see if I could apply them to the return. After a few minutes with the representative working on it, they confirmed that upgrade space was available if they changed my first leg (SJD-MEX) from a Delta ticketed flight to an Aeromexico ticketed flight. A few more minutes on hold and I had received my Aeromexico PNR and had selected seats on all the returns.
While there are still a few kinks to work out, the overall integration was very smooth!
Have any of you received complimentary upgrades on Delta partners or applied upgrade certificates on partners? Let me know!
Since my last post on Norwegian airlines, I’ve received two more emails with some really tempting deals. The first email was for expanded fights to Europe (from larger airports, this time around), while the second was from the East Coast to the French Caribbean.
Now with larger airports!Why be frozen when you can be warm?
Are any of you going to take advantage of these sales? I am sorely tempted!
