In Flight Reviews, Flung writers provide key information about flights they take in order to leave the flying public better informed in an age of frustration, obfuscation and increasingly unfriendly skies.
JFK –> SLO
Flight: Delta Flight 432 from New York’s John F Kennedy Airport to Utah’s Salt Lake City International Airport.
Date and Time of Flight: June 12, 2015. Takeoff at 7:20am.
Terminal: Other than a couple of Pete’s Coffee counters, not much was open in Terminal 4 at that time of the morning. There were a few shops selling books, magazines, snacks, etc.
Boarding: I waited in a long line for coffee and missed the beginning of the boarding process. By the time I arrived at the gate they were already on Zone 2. Things seemed to be moving along in an orderly fashion: a line of Zone 2-ers had formed and the rest of the passengers were waiting patiently on either side of the boarding lane. Since I had missed my chance for priority boarding, I went ahead and boarded with Zone 2.
Seats: The seats were new-ish, comfortable and had adjustable headrests. My seat was in the Comfort+ section so I had plenty of legroom.
Entertainment: Individual screens were on the back of each seat. There were a few movies and television shows to choose from but not a wide selection. Headsets were not provided.
Food and drink: The usual complimentary beverages were available: soda, juice, coffee (Starbucks), tea, etc. The flight attendants ran out of Styrofoam cups about halfway through the beverage service and announced they could no longer serve warm beverages for safety reasons(at which point I congratulated myself on my decision to wait in that coffee line before boarding). The complimentary snack was a tiny bag of pretzels, peanuts or cookies. Other snacks, and alcohol, were available for purchase.
Staff: The staff seemed pleasant enough. I had no cause for complaint.
Bathrooms: Tiny (of course), but not so small that you could barely turn around. There were two in the back of the plane for the main cabin and another one in the front for first class.
Arrival: We landed ahead of schedule (which a flight attendant cheerfully pointed out in an announcement just after landing).
Misc: Flight time was approximately four hours. The few entertainment options available didn’t interest me so I ended up reading for most of the trip. I was glad I had a window seat that allowed glimpses of the beautiful dessert landscapes we flew over en route.
The author’s ticket was purchased using a Delta Platinum card. She later added an upgrade to Comfort+ for $275, which included generous legroom complimentary beverages and snacks, and priority boarding. The author does not qualify for elite status with this airline.
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-by Elizabeth Rose
Feature image credits:
Photo of Manhattan by Daniel Schwen courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
“Salt Lake City – July 16, 2011” by Garrett from Salt Lake City – Salt Lake City, July 2011. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
