Review of Delta Air Lines flight Columbia → Atlanta in Economy

Hello!

Welcome back! My wife likes to do one charity half-marathon a year. This year she chose to do the flagship St. Jude race in Memphis, TN. As that is a 10+ hour drive, we decided to fly instead. Our routing will take us to ATL then on to Memphis on Delta.

Glad to have you along with us and hope you enjoy the trip!

Also, please excuse how short this report is. A half hour flight makes it tough to create volume. It was also dark outside.

They are also blurry. I was just not on my A game at all.

TAble of Contents

Flight Info
Check In
Arrival to CAE and Security
Boarding
Seat
IFE
Food/Beverage
In-Flight/ Landing

Flight Info

Airline: Delta Airlines (DL)
Aircraft: Boeing 717-200
Registration: N993AT
Delivered: 2002
Route: CAE-ATL
Flight Number: 2808
Seat: 20D
Departure Gate: A9
Departure Runway:11
Scheduled Departure Time: 6:00
Actual Departure Time: 6:06
Scheduled Arrival Time: 7:11
Actual Arrival Time:6:44
Landing Runway:27L
Arrival Gate: C49
Scheduled Flight Time:  1 HR 11 MIN
Actual Flight Time:  38 MIN

Check In

As always, I checked in 24 hours in advance via the Delta App.  I was awarded Main Group 1 as I am a Delta Select member ( I know how that is a divisive topic but it creates value for me). My wife also likes to have access to overhead space and on 717s it gets very iffy if your beyond Main 1.  The check-in process was straight forward as always and in no time I was ready to fly! Delta really does have a great app.

Arrival to CAE and Security

We arrived at CAE at around 5AM in the morning. I did not need to stop by the Delta desk so I proceeded straight to security. Regular security had around 100 passengers in it, not sure why. Luckily, I had Pre-check and the lane was empty. CAE is a small airport with only 1 security check point and roughly 15 gates. 

I was through security in under 10 minutes as I had to have my bag screened twice. Past security you walk down a short hallway until you reach a circle with gates (7-10) (Delta) on the right and (1-6) (American and United) on the left. Gates 11-5 were straight ahead and down and from my experience are used by all three. Today we will be using gate 9. 

Food options are limited so eat before you arrive. Ample seating with decent outlet availability exist in the waiting area.

Limited spotting options this morning but I could see all regional aircraft on the tarmac in addition to the (3) 717 mainline jets for Delta.

Boarding

Boarding began at 5:25 and Main Cabin 1 proceed at 5:35.

SEAT

The seat was lumpy but clean. Leg room was tight but more than enough for a short flight. The one saving grace is adjustable headrests. I was located in the fantastic row 20 where the left side has only 1 seat and the right 2 seats as opposed to 2 and 3.

IFE

Power plugs with USB chargers were provided under each seat. Wifi was available as well. The seatback pocket had your usual safety card, wifi book, food book (none offered) and the Delta Sky Magazine.

Food/Beverage

On flights under 250 miles, Delta does not provide any snacks or drinks in the main cabin. I have come to expect this and knew going in.

In-Flight/Landing

We pushed back early at 5:52 and made a short taxi to Runway 11 for a 6:06 take off. The caption announced a short 46 minute flight with a cruising altitude of only 28,000 ft. The flight was un-eventful and we touched down at 6:44 on runway 27L. The taxi to gate C49 was fast.

Thanks for flying with me and I can't wait to see you again on the next leg of this journey.