Trip report: TLH-MIA-CDG-WAW-ATL-TLH

This trip actually took place before the holiday period, but
nevertheless, let's write it down. I was using Delta Skymiles, but
still had to pay almost $100 in taxes and fees. Last time (2 years ago
or so) I paid $18. Quite a difference – I guess we are paying
for the TSA and associated security measures.

TLH-MIA, Chautauqua Airline 6362 (Delta Connection), Embraer RJ135.

I guess few people have ever heard about the Chataqua Airline, and
neither had I until I boarded that flight. Nothing outstanding about
it: on time, and the AC was new. It was my first flight on an Embraer
regional jet, and the impressions were good. Most importantly, the
windows are on your head level, unlike in Canadairs. This was
particularly useful since the flight took us all the way along the
Western coast of Florida, and the weather was great allowing
spectacular vistas until we turned East and started descending over
the Everglades.

MIA-CDG AF95, B747-400. This was still before the pre-Christmas scare,
so the security check in Miami and the check-in were reasonably
relaxed. The Economy was 90-95 % full. I never cease feeling awe when
inside a 747 because of its size. Of course, the AC's age starts
showing, most of all in terms of the entertainment equipment –
no personal videos, and the picture quality on the monitors placed
under the ceiling was low. Had a window seat in the front of the first
economy cabin – nothing particular about it. The two seats next
to mine were occupied by an elderly French couple returning home from
a holiday in Florida. By 'home' they meant the Republic of Niger in
Africa, and they had some interesting stories to tell about it.
Anyway, the food AF served on the flight was very good – somehow
even a camembert tasted like a camembert, unlike the products sold in
most supermarkets in the US. Alcoholic drinks still free, and served
quite freely. Wine was good. Generally, no complaints about this
flight. Arrived on time, with good 4 hours of sleep behind me.

CDG-WAW AF2046, B737. Again, no problem with this flight. Security
control at CDG OK, departure on time, flight almost 100% full.
Breakfast fine, weather over most of Europe lousy, arrived on time at
noon. My luggage has made it too, quite exceptionally.

WAW-CDG AF1247, B737. A problem-free check-in, but soon thereafter
– trouble. The departure postponed until fog clears at CDG, at
least that's what they announced. Why can't AF say it a bit earlier,
so that one can sit at a café rather than in a drab waiting room?
Anyway, departure about one hour late. I knew I would lose my
connection in Paris, and indeed, my next flight had just left when we
landed, after an uneventful flight. By the way, I noticed that
Business Class in AF has six seats abreast exactly the same way as
Economy. On at least one of the flights there were actually six people
in some of the rows. Seat pitch looks the same, too. So what exactly
are you paying for when flying Business?

CDG-ATL, DL21, B767. Since I lost the original AF316 connection to
Atlanta, I tried to get on one of the two daily Delta flights operated
on this route. First attempt at the Air France desk in Terminal 2B
failed: "You are flying on the next AF flight, sir, period." The
problem with that flight (AF304) is that it leaves Paris late (4 PM),
and arrives correspondingly late in Atlanta, so it's easy to lose the
last flight of the day to TLH. There was no discussion with the AF
lady; I only managed to get a free lunch coupon. I thus took the
shuttle bus and moved to the new Terminal 2E, recently opened to the
public. But not quite ready, as it turned out: while all the duty-free
shops are in operation, there is apparently not a single restaurant
open. I should have had my lunch in 2B. Ah, well, there was a café
where I managed to get a decent snack.

Before lunch, however, I visited an Air France desk in 2D, and chose a
good-looking lady who didn't seem particularly busy at the moment.
Let's give another try. She was kind enough to explain why I could not
fly Delta (although I was using Delta miles!): the free-mile tariffs
at AF and DL are differently coded. Hmmm, and I thought the two
airlines are members of the same alliance. The lady felt a bit
embarrassed because of that and starting calling some other people.
After about 30 minutes she managed to get the proper code for the DL
tariff and booked me on a DL flight leaving about 2 hours prior to my
scheduled AF one.

I like flying 767's – I feel much better on board than, say in
777 (or 747) because it's smaller and more cozy. I don't keep the seat
layout in my head, though, so when asked by the nice AF lady which
seat I may desire, I took an exit row, hoping for an increased leg
space. Wrong. There are two exits rows in a 767-300ER that Delta
operates, and the first of those – which I chose – is a
bulkhead row with an average leg space, and not reclining because the
next exit row is immediately behind it. What to do? Luck was with me.
Although the Economy was almost 100% full with only a few free seats
at the back of the AC, all _eight_ exit row seats had been obviously
kept free until the last moment. I thus quickly switched rows to the
one behind me and had one of the most luxurious travels in Economy I
could remember: twice the standard leg room, fully reclining seat, and
nobody in the seat next to me. Other than that, the flight was quite
ordinary and not worth mentioning, which includes service, food and
drinks. It was also quite long, with the route taking us over
Greenland, and the Labrador. We entered the US space over Lake Huron,
way to the West of the standard route, probably to avoid bad weather
on the East Coast, but it took well over 10 hours.

ATL-TLH, DL1545, B737. By taking an earlier flight from Paris, I hoped
to catch an earlier one to TLH as well. No luck: on particular days
that flight is not scheduled, and this was one of such days. It's
little fun to sit and wait 3 hours in Atlanta after having been
already 18 hours or so under way, but it was not so bad this time. At
least I was sure I wouldn't spend the night in some nondescript motel
in ATL, as happened to me before. The flight was short as usual (35
min.) and 100% full.

I truly wonder: if in a non-tourist season (early December) the
airlines fly close to 100% capacity (five of the six flights I took
this time were between 90 and 100% full, and it's the same each time I
fly, a few times each year), how do they manage to lose money? Too
high operating costs relative to the ticket prices?

Arrival in TLH on time, but my luggage did not make it. I already knew
it in ATL before going through the customs. The DL representative was
not surprised. Air France, you say? It turns out CDG is particularly
bad in this respect. My record there is about 50%. Well, at least they
delivered it next day, so it wasn't that bad. I once had it delivered
a week after arrival, but at least it wasn't lost.

It's always nice to be home, particularly just before the holiday
period. As a Christmas gift from Air France I got mileage for the
CDG-ATL and ATL-TLH legs. It's the first time I got mileage for
flights _using_ the mileage. Apparently the AF lady in Paris got so
confused with the different codes that she assigned to me one of the
paying tariffs. Well, I'll take it, thank you.

jrk011