I received an email late last night regarding another sale that Delta is offering for flights within the Continental US. So long as you book economy tickets on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday, you can get up to 30% off certain flights. The sale is limited to flights between September 28th and February 15th, and you have to book all flights by September 28th. Check the offer page for all the details!
While I was on the Delta deals website, I came across another deal – this between Anchorage or Fairbanks from many West Coast departure cities. This deal applies to both paid fares as well as award tickets.
Delta is currently running a promotion where you can save anywhere from 10,000 to 25,000 miles per award ticket to Hawaii. Note that there is a separate booking option for Delta One than First Class, since it is possible to get lie-flat seats on certain routes! Also keep in mind that while you can receive complimentary Medallion upgrades from Economy to Comfort+ or First Class, you can’t to Delta One.
If you have any travel planned within the travel period, give it a gander! You can see the full details on the promotion website.
Though once codeshare partners, Delta and Alaska have been getting progressively aggressive in their battle for territory. Seattle is one of Alaska Air’s biggest cities, and and serves as a great routing city for Delta to cities in Asia. Since 2014, however, there has been a widening rift between the two.
There are currently two promotions available to flyers in Seattle, though one is available only to those not currently belonging to the SkyMiles program. You need to be living in Washington state to take advantage of these, though.
The first offers a starting 5,000 miles just for joining, and then doubles your earnings for the duration of the program (November 30th). If you complete two round-trip flights in that time, you get Gold Medallion Status through January 2017.
Hello, new members!
Meanwhile, 12status is a program that rewards fans of the Seattle Seahawks that are also SkyMiles members. You can see all that this entails at their website, but suffice it to say, it is quite compelling! Just be sure to do the first promotion first, as it offers quite a nice starting bonus (and double miles through the end of November).
Earning ratesPerks!One last perk…
Meanwhile, Alaska responded with a fantasy football driven miles program. Each passing yard added to Russel Wilson’s stats for the season equates to 100 miles to “the pot”. At the end of the season, three individuals will be selected at random to split it. The nice thing here is that you don’t have to be a resident of Washington state to participate!
While it’s unlikely that Alaska will be kicked out of their home airport (especially now that they are acquiring Virgin America to solidify their West-coast presence), competition is always good from a consumer’s standpoint! Who are you rooting for?
This weekend, I had the opportunity to fly on Delta’s new A321 from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale, and being the AvGeek that I am, I took advantage of it! (My first A321 experience, no less; doubly exciting!)
I was already flying to Boston with my girlfriend, so for my return, I routed through Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale before returning to Raleigh (yay segments!). The full route can be seen below. Thanks to my status with Delta, I was confirmed for First Class for all five flights. 😀
Conveniently labeled!Longest member of the narrow-body A3xx familyOne of the CFM56-5B powering the A321
Airbus does have plans for both “neo” (New Engine Operation) and “LR” (Long Range) variants. The A321neo had its first flight in February of this year, but the long range variant will not be delivered until 2019. This variant will allow ranges of up to 4,000 nautical miles, however.
Interior
Delta was focused on customer comfort with the A321 interior, and it shows. More images are available from Delta’s website with information on the new storage option from Airbus. My favorite feature? Working air vents. It is a pet-peeve of mine from Delta’s 737-900ER (and some of their refit 757s), so I was excited to have actual airflow! It’s particularly important in the South, where it gets well above 90°F in the Summer.
Roomy!None of that low-flow nonsense!110V Plugs and 5V USB
With 5 rows of First Class and another 5 rows of Comfort+ seating, there is a fair amount of space available. First Class seats are 21 inches wide while others are 18 inches. There is a 3 inch difference between each of the three classes: 30-31 for Economy, 34 for Comfort+, and 37 for First.
The in-flight-entertainment console was surprisingly intelligent, which was a pleasant surprise. I was able to skip through a movie by dragging my finger across (instead of fighting with fast-forward and rewind), and was able to pinch-to-zoom on the map!
IFE Greeting
Auto-rotate optionPinch to zoom!
Overall, this plane excels in all the areas a flyer would look for, offering a quiet and quick ride to your destination. I look forward to the A321 being introduced to other routes!
Fort Lauderdale
When I stopped by the SkyClub at Fort Lauderdale, I knew my flight to Detroit was delayed — Delta both emailed and texted me with this. However, the agent checking me in noted this and rebooked me on an earlier option so that I would be sure to make my connecting flight from Detroit to Raleigh. Additionally, she asked for descriptions of my checked luggage and made sure all three pieces would be transferred to my new flight. She really went above and beyond, there — though I’ve been rebooked like this before, I’ve never had an agent make sure my luggage was moved over. This degree of customer care is why I stay loyal to Delta.
AirCanada Rouge A321
Though this post is about Delta, as I got situated on my flight from Fort Lauderdale to Detroit, I noticed we were docked next to another A321! This one operated by AirCanada’s Rouge service.
AirCanada Rouge A321!Sans glare.Close-up of the Rouge A321
A few days ago, I posted about my upcoming vacation plan to San Diego. Since then, I went ahead and booked the flights and hotel.
The Flight
I followed through my plan to maximize my segments by flying through Dallas-Fort Worth, allowing me to snag 8 segments on a single trip. Though it requires some early morning flights, it does allow for visiting the Centurion Lounge at the airport, which will make the whole process a more pleasant experience.
Because of the hotel’s location, it seemed an excellent choice for a base of operations to explore what San Diego had to offer – SeaWorld, the San Diego Zoo, downtown, and more.
I just read about Christine Krzyszton‘s experience with Delta’s Comfort+ upgrade. Delta’s IT has a history of providing an interesting user-experience (both on the ground and while flying), and it isn’t completely clear if what Christine experienced is in that vein or a covert effort to sell more seats.
The way it is currently working, once you receive your Comfort+ upgrade (as the result of a mid-travel flight change), you will be removed from the First Class upgrade list. The good news is, you can call Delta and be re-added. How many individuals would know that they weren’t on the upgrade list for this reason, or know to call Delta to get re-added?
Keep an eye on your flights! Has this happened to any of you?
There are quite a few flight deals available right now – both for domestic and international travel. I’ve listed some of the big ones out below – keep in mind that some of these sales expire quickly!
Delta, American Airlines, and United Airlines all have excellent deals from various US airports to Europe. If you have any flights coming up on one of these airlines, it would definitely be a good idea to check out if you can get a lower price.
Virgin Atlantic is offering a 30% discount for Economy and Premium Economy tickets! This makes for affordable flights, though be warned that these award tickets do come with some hefty fuel surcharges (in the £200 range for Economy, and £400 for Premium Economy).
Finally, American Express has released some new offers, one of which is a $200 discount on Delta purchases of $1000 or more! Remember that you can open a new tab for each AmEx card you have, allowing you to get the same offer multiple times – one of my favorite tricks.
