01. Introduction
02. Delta Airlines first class San Diego to Atlanta
03. Delta Airlines first class Atlanta to West Palm Beach
04. Delta Airlines first class West Palm Beach to Atlanta
05. Delta Airlines first class Atlanta to San Diego
My flight from San Diego arrived at gate 1 at the far south end of the T concourse at ATL, so that meant that I had some walking to do. A quick check of the electronic flight information boards in the terminal revealed that my connecting flight to West Palm Beach (PBI) would be leaving from gate B17, so I at least had to walk that far. However, I had one hour and 45 minutes before the departure of that flight, so I decided to kill some time by walking all the way down to the E concourse, which is the old international terminal at Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International airport. I’ve always liked the E concourse – it was from here that I took my first ever international flight out of the US, and it’s much brighter and more spacious than all the other terminals at ATL (minus the new F concourse, obviously).
The only way to transit between terminals at ATL is by the underground corridors, where you can either choose to walk or take the train. I always like to walk – it’s good exercise, and it’s usually quiet down there, which makes it a good escape from the hectic airport above.
After snapping a few quick pics of a DL 747-400 in the E concourse, I walked all the way back to gate B17 for my flight to West Palm Beach. I thought that I was running a bit late, but it turns out that the aircraft flying this segment today arrived late to the gate which meant that I had some extra time to spare. It should be noted that it takes approximately 30 minutes to walk all the way from the T gates all the way to concourse E, so it’s an excellent way to kill time at ATL. Note that the only way to walk between concourses E and F is to go into the E concourse – you can’t reach F via the underground walkway.
DL1053
Atlanta, GA (ATL) – West Palm Beach (PBI)
Saturday December 28 2013
Aircraft: Boeing 757-200
Seat: 4D (first)
First class boarding was called about 15 minutes late due to late arrival of the aircraft, and like always, it was a total mess trying to make my way through the crowds of other passengers blocking the boarding lanes.
Once aboard, I was disappointed to realize that the aircraft had been swapped to a 757-200 – it had been scheduled on a 757-300 (of which I’ve only flown twice before) and I was really looking forward to that. I doubt there is much of a difference in comfort between the two, but still, I wanted to add that 753 to my logbook.
No matter though – I settled right in and got comfortable. I was surprised that pre-departure drinks weren’t being offered especially since the boarding process was taking longer than normal and the FA’s weren’t doing much else anyway.
It was very gloomy in Atlanta, so I was very much looking forward to climbing through the clouds and getting the opportunity for some nice sunset photos as we made our way down the west coast of Florida. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until 15 minutes into the flight that we finally broke through the cloud layer and I got my first glimpse if the sun – which was marred by the horribly dirty and scratched window on this old and tired 757-200. I did manage to get some pictures, but nothing really special. I was trying hard though, and I think I ticked off a few passengers in the row across from me because they complained to the FA about my open window shades (and the glaring sun). Sorry!
The sun eventually dropped below the horizon and the older woman sitting next to me struck up a conversation. I’m normally not one to talk to the person seated next to me on airplanes, but she seemed nice in a grandmotherly sort of way so I didn’t mind chatting for the remainder of the flight.
We floated into runway 10L at Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) about 15 minutes behind schedule, thus ending a quick and pleasant flight down to south Florida.
