Point Me to the Miles

Georgia on My Mind: Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Atlanta, GA (ATL)

Introduction
Pasco, WA (PSC) to Salt Lake City, UT (SLC)
Salt Lake City (SLC) to Los Angeles, CA (LAX)
Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Atlanta, GA (ATL)

As I mentioned, out of my 3 flights, only one had an upgrade that had cleared, so I was watching the upgrade lists for the other two like a hawk.

On transcontinental  flights, upgrades clear at the gate as opposed to the booking window, so about 19 out of 24 First Class Seats showed as available before I checked in 24 hours out.  As my flight loomed nearer, I was around 25th or so on the upgrade list, so decided to try my luck on a later flight.

I went on to Delta.com, and noticed that the next flight out, arriving in Atlanta about an hour later, seemed to have better availability.  So after getting off the plane in Los Angeles, I headed straight for the Delta SkyClub.  I inquired about same day confirming, and was told I would be 15th out of 17 or so, two hours out from departure.

I had not utilized the same day-confirm benefit yet, courtesy of being a Gold Medallion or higher, so I decided to take advantage of it and play upgrade roulette.

In the end, I was about 19th or so on the upgrade list, so I missed not one but TWO.  #FirstWorldProblems.

Delta 1554
Los Angeles (LAX) – Atlanta (ATL)
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Depart: 2:45 PM
Arrive: 10:02 PM
Duration: 4 Hr 17 Min
Aircraft: Boeing 757-200
Seat: 26D (Economy)

Fortunately, after re-booking, an Exit Row seat opened up.

757-200 Seat Map

Matter of fact, I suppose I was lucky, because while the window seat was occupied, the middle seat was not taken so I had some extra room to spread out:

My Seat Arrangement

One nice thing about the Exit Row seats, compared to Economy Comfort seats, is that because of the amount of space in between seats, there is an extra fold-out table in the arm rest, in addition to the one in the back of the seat.  So between those and, and the two shared tables in between my row-mate and I, I had a whole FOUR tables and a seat to spread out my stuff!  Boy, am I really spoiled!! 🙂

When I first started seriously flying, I always liked the longer flights because of all of the entertainment options.  And with personal Audio/Video Displays, I certainly wasn’t disappointed!  It’s always amazed me that an plane can stream live TV while in the air, and I was able to watch the evening news shortly after take off.

I suppose it’s gotten worse since they require payment for some movies and TV channels in the main cabin, but between ESPN, Discovery, and even a New York Giants game, I was pretty content on the entertainment front.

In covering, Delta’s “Have One On Us” policy, I shared how I like to push the envelope maximize my experience by attempting to use it for the purchase of perishable food.  Well, I tried again, asking for an exception and it seems the new line is “The system won’t let us scan it.”  I wasn’t ready for this answer, and suppose next time I will plan asking “Well can you make an exception and forget to ring it up?”

As it was, I ended up using it for a Flight Delights snack box, which isn’t a bad deal, as reviewed in greater depth by Double Wides Fly here.  While maybe not supper-quality, it more than makes up for it in the sheer quantity of food, and it filled up my stomach indeed.

I think one think that sets First Class apart, is the usually attentive service, compared to lousy (and almost non-existent) service coach.  However, on this flight, the flight attendants seemed to be fairly reasonable about refilling drinks and offering snacks throughout the flight.  Unlike some flights–even in First at times, I didn’t find myself hitting the call button when I needed a drink, and was pretty satisfied.

I managed to chug away at some work and a blog post on my laptop during the course of the flight, and we ended up landing in Atlanta right on time.

When we hit the ground, I turned on my phone, and discovered I had a surprise waiting for me in Atlanta…