This part was written before I boarded the plane to Israel:
Our last flight was to Las Vegas, with Delta Airlines. I wrote about that horrible flight and how I detest the way Delta treated us on both our flights (in and out of Las Vegas). After I had written that post, a friend told me that his experience with US Airways had not been any better. So, when it came down to booking today's flight to Israel, I decided that I would not use either Delta or US Airways, and instead I chose Continental Airlines. To my pleasant surprise this flight was significantly better than my previous experience. Although the flight was much shorter than the flight to Las Vegas, we were given snacks, and not just one. It was actually a small meal (though my stomach ache prevented me from enjoying it, but that is not the airliner's fault), and not just a small pack of peanuts. They also served beverages. And lo and behold! they even did it free of charge. Who would imagine that?!
If the flight to Israel, which I am about to take, is as good as the one I just came down off, I think I will have found my airliner of preference.
This part was written after my return from Israel
I am now after completing the entire itinerary. The flights to Israel were okay as well. My only complaint is that Continental learned too well from El-Al's method of packing passengers into small spaces. The leg-room was horrible. On my flight to Israel at least the seat beside me was empty, so I could maneuver a bit. On the flight back it was impossible. When I got off the plane, my knees hurt from sitting like this. On the other hand, the video on demand system was absolutely great, and superior to any VOD system I saw in any airline. It had so many choices of movies and shows, and I enjoyed it very much. So much, that I even didn't get to sleep on the flight to Israel (also because of the leg-room). Kudos for the VOD system.
Showing posts with label Delta Airlines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Delta Airlines. Show all posts
Monday, September 14, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
To Vegas and back with Delta
We spent a few days in Las Vegas. A more complete account of that will follow sometime soon, I hope. In the meantime you can see D's account here.
This post, however, will be dedicated to the worst airline company I have ever traveled with: Delta (do yourself a favor: don't follow that link and book a ticket with them). For starters, they are the stingiest most penny-pinching bastards in the industry. Everything - and I literally mean everything - costs an extra. The extra for checking in luggage is not new, but is still annoying. From here it just goes straight down: do you want to eat on a four and half hours flight? No problem - you can either get two tiny "complimentary" peanuts packages or pay for a sandwich. Are you thirsty after eating "all these peanuts"? We'll fetch you drinks, don't worry. It will take us a full hour before we start doing it, and then it will take us another full hour to traverse the entire length of a Boeing 737 aisle (it's not long, believe me), and then we'll give you a small cup of water or soda. Don't think of getting another one before landing.
What about in-flight entertainment? Contrary to most airlines (including Delta) that use a small airplane that doesn't have in-flight entertainment systems, we had a system on both flights. However, this is probably only for extortion purposes: Delta charge for everything, except maybe some TV shows. They charge $2 for the headsets, and about $5 for every film, game or other entertainment during the flight. May I remind you that it's a 4.5 hours flight, which is roughly the time to fly from Tel-Aviv to any Western European destination?
The seats in coach have such a small leg-room that I think Delta actually broke El-Al's record here. Do you want to stretch your legs or God forbid use the bathrooms? You're pushing your luck, pal, because for every stray cirrus cloud seen from 40 miles distance the pilot turns on the "buckle your seat-belt" sign and you're not allowed to get up. This literally left about 10-15 minutes of flight without being constrained to the seat. Needless to say that with other airlines I was able to go to the restroom and use them while the aircraft experienced much greater disturbances.
Since the seat-curfew was enforced on both flights (to Vegas and from Vegas) I am quite certain that it's a policy with Delta. Like in any crime one can only ask what is the motive behind this crime? Well, it could be as benign as the simple explanation: it's easier to control the crowd when they all are seated and buckled to their chairs. It could also be something more problematic: someone realized that this way people will not be able to get to the kitchenette and ask for more drinks, or nobody will use the restrooms, thus the airline can spend less on toiletries. I am not joking here, from all the stinginess I have experienced from Delta I am quite certain of the latter being the real reason.
This post, however, will be dedicated to the worst airline company I have ever traveled with: Delta (do yourself a favor: don't follow that link and book a ticket with them). For starters, they are the stingiest most penny-pinching bastards in the industry. Everything - and I literally mean everything - costs an extra. The extra for checking in luggage is not new, but is still annoying. From here it just goes straight down: do you want to eat on a four and half hours flight? No problem - you can either get two tiny "complimentary" peanuts packages or pay for a sandwich. Are you thirsty after eating "all these peanuts"? We'll fetch you drinks, don't worry. It will take us a full hour before we start doing it, and then it will take us another full hour to traverse the entire length of a Boeing 737 aisle (it's not long, believe me), and then we'll give you a small cup of water or soda. Don't think of getting another one before landing.
What about in-flight entertainment? Contrary to most airlines (including Delta) that use a small airplane that doesn't have in-flight entertainment systems, we had a system on both flights. However, this is probably only for extortion purposes: Delta charge for everything, except maybe some TV shows. They charge $2 for the headsets, and about $5 for every film, game or other entertainment during the flight. May I remind you that it's a 4.5 hours flight, which is roughly the time to fly from Tel-Aviv to any Western European destination?
The seats in coach have such a small leg-room that I think Delta actually broke El-Al's record here. Do you want to stretch your legs or God forbid use the bathrooms? You're pushing your luck, pal, because for every stray cirrus cloud seen from 40 miles distance the pilot turns on the "buckle your seat-belt" sign and you're not allowed to get up. This literally left about 10-15 minutes of flight without being constrained to the seat. Needless to say that with other airlines I was able to go to the restroom and use them while the aircraft experienced much greater disturbances.
Since the seat-curfew was enforced on both flights (to Vegas and from Vegas) I am quite certain that it's a policy with Delta. Like in any crime one can only ask what is the motive behind this crime? Well, it could be as benign as the simple explanation: it's easier to control the crowd when they all are seated and buckled to their chairs. It could also be something more problematic: someone realized that this way people will not be able to get to the kitchenette and ask for more drinks, or nobody will use the restrooms, thus the airline can spend less on toiletries. I am not joking here, from all the stinginess I have experienced from Delta I am quite certain of the latter being the real reason.
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