Review of Delta Air Lines flight Bogota → Atlanta in Economy

Introduction

Hello amigos!

This time I'll share a couple of FRs related to when I moved from Bogotá to Washington DC.

There are many ways to go up there. There is AV's direct flight to IAD, or you can have a myriad of connecting flights either through MEX (AM), PTY (CM) or SAL (AV)…and then there are the US carriers through their respective hubs.

I ruled out flights that would arrive to IAD as I rather never fly there until there is a reasonable public transport link, so there went all options that weren't US carriers.

I had recently flown through AA to DC, and thus flying again with them didn't seem interesting. UA, neh. B6, was left as the fall-back option. NK, didn't even think about it. 

So I was left with DL, and it only had things I liked: I'd fly a 757 (my favourite NB), there was a chance to score a flight with the 717 or the MD88, service is the best to the US, previous experiences connecting @ATL were great….and: I had a gazillion of Skymiles that would make DL the cheapest option overall.

So I was sold, DL would fly me to my new home. 

At BOGOTá ELDORADO

My mum took me to BOG early in the morning. I was carrying three bags plus a carry on. 

Check-in was carried out with a previous filter before reaching the counter. The person asked me about my visa status, made me show him all paperwork, etc…a lengthy and messy business. Actual check-in was painless. 

Done with that I moved to the international gates… at the time, La Riviera, BOG's previous Duty Free tennant went broke due to shady business, so the first impression after security was this dingy place:
 

Having lost my PP card in LHR the previous year and my bank being lame as ever, I didn't have access to any lounge. I was looking forward to the delicious breakfast DL usually handed out so I didn't mind not having anything. 

I went to my assigned gate and waited for my ride to ATL to pull in, and it did in the full grace of the morning light. I felt so happy that it was a winglet-less plane, I love the 757's wing in its original state.

BOG was happy self-promoting as the coolest airport in LatAm back then…

This LATAM 789 was a rare visitor back then in 2017, LATAM kept sending 763s and 788s

I was so busy replying goodbye messages and calls that boarding came in no time….

Boarding

I boarded without any problems…there was a gate agent handing out candy as we boarded. Inside, the 757's cabin looked fresh and comfortable. All seats featured up to date IFE and dimensions felt right. The PSUs were modified to mirror the SkyInterior cabins on newer Boeing jets.
 

Each seat had a blanket and a pillow waiting for us

While I waited for boarding to be complete I checked IFE's options. Sky Magazine was featuring who seemed to be 2017's man of the year: PM Trudeau.

Taxi and takeoff

When boarding was complete we were pushed back…while at it the safety video was played

Bye BOG…

We took off from RWY 13L and took a northward direction

Enroute to Atlanta

These were my last views of Bogotá for a year (back then I wasn't certain of when I would return)

The city gave way to the fields… I had mixed feelings about leaving Colombia behind, and the excitement of my new adventure ahead…

The Andes gave way to the Caribbean Plains…and eventually to the Sea. 

And this is where my musings were interrupted by food service. I was taken by surprise as I didn't smell the traditional french toast breakfast I was craving for…

Instead I was served this: 

That was it (and an Apple Juice). Fruit cuts, ham and cheese bread roll (the bread was delicious though) and a muffin. Some pretzels and peanuts for later.

It was good (I guess even better under pandemic standards), but it wasn't what I expected. I felt so turned down…meh

So back to the views of the Caribbean and its islands

Oh..hey there!

As we neared the US, live TV became available. Wall Street thought DL was worth it that day. Reading that Trump was president made me feel a bit uneasy about my new life as an foreigner living in Trumpland.

The Caribbean Blue gave way to Florida…green (?)

Our track thus far

landing at ATLAnta hartsfield-Jackson intl

We had a fairly straight forward approach to ATL, that allowed for some cool views of Downtown Atlanta

Along with the 757 wing in its full glory

Howdy

We taxied to the F concourse (a first for me) in almost no time.

Once we were out from our 757, we were basically dumped in front of the immigration queue.

If I'm not wrong, there were three queues: US nationals and residents, ESTA and B1/B2 visa holders and…the rest. And so…I queued with the rest. 

It was a mess, the place was understaffed and my fairly long connection time was slipping away. Once I made it to the CBP officer, the guy missed all the Southern Charm I remembered ATL for. He asked me a ton of questions about my background, where I was studying…etc. At a point I feared I would be in some trouble (others in the queue were) but luckly the guy stamped my passport and waved me in. No "welcome" or "have a nice time"… he was pissed.

And this is how my year in the US began.

Stay tuned for the next episode where I report on the connection in ATL and the flight to DCA.