Review of Delta Air Lines flight Atlanta → Washington in Economy

pre-flight/at the airport

After trying out the Amtrak Crescent sleeper train between Washington, DC and Atlanta (pics of that to come at the end!), it was time to get back to the sky for my trip home. I would have booked Amtrak round-trip, but the northbound Crescent makes its stop in Atlanta at 11:30 PM, and the Crescent is very frequently delayed due to freight train traffic on the New Orleans-DC sector, so flying made a lot more sense. On my most recent trip to Atlanta in 2019, I chose to fly WN, but I found a better deal for DL that let me fly into DCA (closest airport to home), was on an Airbus, and gave me a last morning in the city. 

My aunt and I got one last lunch together at the Krog Street Market food court in the Old Fourth Ward before heading down to ATL around 2:00. I was traveling on the day of the total solar eclipse, so she parked in the short-term garage to go watch from the top floor of the parking deck after dropping me off. As for me, though, I had checked in online the day before and I just had a carry-on bag, so I headed straight to security. Just off the atrium in Terminal South, they now have an exhibit about the life of the late U.S. Representative and civil rights activist John Lewis, so I checked that out. The line at security wasn't too bad, although this was my first time using the new facial recognition technology at the ID checkpoint before going through the body scanner. I took the Plane Train two stops over to Concourse B, where my flight would be departing from gate B18, right next to the escalators for the train. The previous flight from the gate was departing and the next one was set to be mine, so I grabbed a donut from Dunkin and took a seat at the gate to wait for my flight.

While waiting for my flight, the solar eclipse was happening, and while not every passenger had glasses with them, those who did shared them with folks who wanted to go over to the window and see. The ground staff out on the ramp and in the terminal also were taking turns looking, and while it wasn't very significant for me personally to see, it's a fun memory to now have. Interestingly enough, the inbound plane for my flight was coming from Albany, NY, which was much closer to the path of totality, and it arrived early despite the people back at ALB probably taking an interest to the eclipse as well. About half an hour before boarding began, the gate agent came on and offered to gate check carry-on bags in exchange for early boarding for passengers in the later boarding groups, which I was more than willing to take advantage of, and soon it was time for boarding!

Exhibit about the life of John Lewis near the atrium of Terminal South

The Plane Train running smoothly as ever–they now have the dynamic signage on the train in languages of pretty much every country one can fly to from ATL, which is a very nice touch.

Only photo I got of the eclipse–a few people in the terminal who had the glasses were sharing them with those who didn't.

the flight

After a brief #BoardingNotBoarding moment, I was soon aboard N321US, delivered 31 years ago, and made it to seat 27A. I'm very used to Amtrak's comfortable coach seats on the NE Regional, so this was a rude awakening for me–I'm 6'3" and my knees were touching the seat in front of me! I was very glad I gate-checked my carry-on bag, however, because the bins back near my seat were already filling up. The IFE was already up and ready to use, so I began to peruse the movie selection and settled on Bend It Like Beckham, a familiar movie for me that would make the time fly by. Before I knew it, boarding was complete and we pushed back, albeit a little bit late. 

N958DZ was preparing to push back for TYS after arriving from PNS 

I liked the new overhead air vent/light portals above each group of 3 seats.

N503DZ, this beautiful A321Neo, was pushing back for SEA

This VS A330 had just arrived from across the pond.

Takeoff from ATL–I was on the perfect side of the plane to see the skyline one last time.

Usual Biscoff and cranberry juice–I can buy those cookies at the supermarkets near me but there's something about eating them at 30,000 feet that can't be replicated.

The real highlight of this flight though was the approach and landing into DCA. It seemed like we were going to land from the south, but around Alexandria we made a turn over the western suburbs and made the Potomac River Visual Approach. And since I was sitting on the left side of the plane, I was going to have the best views of northwest DC and the monuments. This was actually my first time flying into DCA since late 2018, and I got the true avgeek experience with the approach into DCA.  

The Dulles Toll Road with IAD off in the distance

Potomac River–the buildings below are the campus of the Madeira School in Great Falls

The River Road exit off of the Beltway is front and center

Bethesda–the school whose football field you see in the foreground is Walt Whitman HS, if I'm not mistaken, and the NIH/Walter Reed campus is on the left (north of downtown Bethesda)

The Friendship Heights neighborhood of DC/MD

The Mount Vernon satellite campus of George Washington University, my alma mater (I lived in a dorm on that 

Foxhall Village/Cathedral Heights

Georgetown University and the Burleith-Hillandale neighborhood

Georgetown waterfront/Watergate/West End

Kennedy Center and the main GWU Foggy Bottom campus

Lincoln Memorial

Was able to just barely get the Washington Monument, Capitol building and Jefferson Memorial in the same shot

Jefferson Memorial and the Wharf of southwest DC

The bridge off in the distance is the Frederick Douglass Bridge, and in front of that is Audi Field, home of the NWSL's Washington Spirit and MLS' DC United

post-flight

We touched down a good 17 minutes ahead of schedule, but us folks at the back of the plane stayed in our seats for several minutes while those ahead of us de-boarded. As mentioned earlier, this was my first time at DCA since 2018, and a lot has changed at the airport during the COVID slowdown in travel. All of the main departures hall is now airside, and gone are the security checkpoints at the entrances to each pier. Also, before entering the baggage claim area, there are now automatic doors to exit the sterile area. Since I gate-checked my bag back at ATL, I had to pick it up, and despite the monitors showing one carousel for our flight, they actually came out at the next one over (and I found out about that from a fellow passenger before the DL ground handling agent). Luckily though, mine was one of the first ones out and I was soon on the Metro back home.

This UA 737-MAX8 was SFO-bound

This AS 737-800 was pushing back for SEA

The AS flight a couple gates down was PDX-bound

Post-flight cabin shot

The pier formerly known as the B-pier

There used to be a security checkpoint here but they're turning it into an arts space

All of this is now post-security–this will facilitate easier connections for AA passengers especially since DCA has become kind of a hub for them.

Bonus : Click here display hide

Amtrak from WAS-ATL

As promised, I said I would do a review of my trip to Atlanta on Amtrak's Crescent service from Washington Union Station to Atlanta's Peachtree Station. The route goes back to 1941 on the old Southern Railway, but Amtrak acquired it in the early 1970s, and nowadays it runs daily between New York and New Orleans, leaving NYP shortly after 2:00 PM and arriving in the Big Easy at around 7:30 the following day. However, on this day, my train was delayed for an hour due to mechanical problems north of Wilmington, Delaware, but since I was in a sleeping car, I had access to Amtrak's Metropolitan Lounge at Washington's Union Station. This isn't as fancy as airline lounges, but it was nice to be able to get outside the main departure hall (although it did get quite busy before Acela departures). Soft drinks, water, coffee and snacks were available for free and I enjoyed a ginger ale and read for a bit while waiting for my train.

The Metropolitan Lounge at Union Station

My pre-train reading

Right before 7:00 (half an hour after we should have left DC), boarding was called and we were led down to the platform directly from the lounge by an Amtrak agent, where we saw our train arrive from New York. The agent had me assist a deaf passenger in getting to her coach car, and then I made my way to the back of the train where the three sleeper cars were situated. I was greeted at the door by my attendant (each sleeper car has a dedicated attendant) who asked for my name and ticket, and once I got settled in she came by to take my dinner order.

However, it would be a while before we moved because the engines had to be swapped–north of DC, the trains are electrified, but south of DC they run on diesel. Usually this process only takes about 20 minutes, but I sat in my room for about an hour and a half while this switch happened (maybe related to the earlier mechanical issues on the trip? We never were given an explanation as to why it took that long). And since the power was disconnected during the switch, they couldn't heat up the meals in the dining car, so dinner kept getting pushed back. Eventually, the power came back on at around 8:45, and we pulled out of the station shortly after.

The hallway on board the newer Amtrak sleeper cars–there are two toilets at the end of the corridor.

My sleeper accommodation: I was in a "roomette" which is the most basic sleeper accommodation on Amtrak.

Right after coming out of the tunnel under the U.S. Capitol, I made my way to the dining car/café car for dinner. I had made an 8:00 PM reservation, but that kept getting pushed back because of the delay. Amtrak does not offer the traditional dining on most of their routes east of the Mississippi (except for their Silver Meteor service from NYC to Miami)–instead they offer "flexible dining," which are essentially TV dinners. The traditional dining can still be found on Amtrak's western routes, however. I opted for the chicken enchiladas, which came with a little salad, a bread roll, a brownie and I had another ginger ale for my drink (although the first alcoholic beverage is free with dinner). There is also a café on board that sells snacks, sandwiches, drinks and some hot options, just as you'd find on the Northeast Regional routes.

After dinner, it was getting late so I called my cabin attendant to come and make my bed. The two seats in the roomette cabin fold down into a bed, and there's a bunk suspended from the ceiling for your traveling companion, if you're traveling with someone else. Basic bedding is also provided. I changed into my pyjamas, put on a podcast and began to slowly doze off as we approached Culpeper, VA. The conductor made an announcement saying that there would be no announcements until after 7:00 AM, which is good as a courtesy to those sleeping through the night, but I could also see how announcements could be helpful to those making the stops in the Carolinas throughout the night.

The chicken enchiladas–the other options were kufta kabobs made from Impossible meat, chicken parmesan or an Asian salmon dish.

My bed after being made up

View of my bed–right next to where my water bottle is there's a fold-out sink, and little cups for water are also provided. The bed is narrow with the armrest, but I fit into it well at 6'3".

When I woke up, we were just pulling out of Greenville, South Carolina. After falling asleep, we had made stops at Culpeper, Charlottesville, Lynchburg and Danville in Virginia; Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury, Charlotte and Gastonia in North Carolina, and Spartanburg in South Carolina. It was a beautiful morning in the southeastern United States as we passed through some small towns that I would not have seen had I flown. The night before, I placed my breakfast order, and my attendant brought it to my room at around 8 AM. It was an omelette with sundried tomatoes and mozzarella, along with two sausage links and potatoes (which were the highlight of the meal). By that point, we were about an hour and 45 minutes out of Atlanta having made up an hour overnight, and I spent the rest of the ride just listening to music and looking out the window. At around 9:50 we pulled into Atlanta's Peachtree Station, and I tipped my attendant before making my way into the station to wait for my aunt to pick me up.

Early morning views of South Carolina/Georgia.

The "flexible dining" omelette–the other options were pancakes or a continental breakfast.