Where Have All the Upgrades Gone?

Trying to catch up.

Raleigh/ATL/TPA
then TPA/ATL/MEMphis
and manged to sit at number 7 on each upgrade list.  So when I got to MEM last night, I was wondering what was going on.

But I just got the email from DL confirming that next weekend's trip (TPA to Austin via ATL) has cleared in first.

Not sure if my MEM/TPA segments have cleared for later this week.

Frankly, I'm so buried with work, I don't have time to check.

Watching the Heat play the Celtics.....

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL1564/history/20130315/1845Z/KRDU/KATL

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL15/history/20130315/2125Z/KATL/KTPA

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL1922/history/20130317/2230Z/KTPA/KATL

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL1658/history/20130318/0200Z/KATL/KMEM

Tampa-Raleigh-Durham - The DL Sky Club Guys are just Great!

So it's off to RDU, looks easy through ATL.

Just as I pull into the Robert Goddard garage at TPA I get the much dreaded phone call from DL telling me my outbound to ATL is delayed by an hour.

So it's into the terminal, right through PRE (these TSA guys are hilarious there!) and up to the Sky Club, prepared to just take the delay and hope for the best.

So I check in and the guy there (and he's there a lot) tells me he's gonna route me through Cincy with a first class seat out of TPA on the MD 88.

Then a CRJ200 out of CVG to RDU, scheduled to get me in 30 minutes before I would have had the ATL connection held up.

To make a long story short, this guy did not have to do this, and I'm sure being a Diamond was the reason he did.  I applaud him, and while I'm on the subject, I've found the Delta staff at TPA to just be fabulous! (at least inside security, I've never been to their counter!)

Thank you sir!  I know I gripe a lot but I'd still be in ATL and possibly not into RDU until tomorrow morning had he not intervened.

The CR2 was nasty of course, but it got me here.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL2041/history/20130311/2110Z/KTPA/KCVG

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/FLG4031/history/20130311/2355Z/KCVG/KRDU

Scranton to Tampa - Not Easy, and Please Stop Yelling (You Know Who You Are)

It's not always easy to get out of small markets, particularly late in the day.  When I tried to get a ticket from AVP to TPA, no carrier sold a connection after 2 pm on Sunday.

But I needed a Florida fix so badly, that I purchased two one way tickets on Delta, one to Detroit, and then from DTW home to TPA.

That gets pricey, plus you have no protection if you blow the trip into DTW (the airlines don't know you are coming, so they won't protect you.)  And if you are late for the second segment, you just appear as a no show who's already checked in.

It was close, too close for comfort actually, but I made it.

Regrettably, the bean counter in our corporate office didn't quite "understand" what I was doing (my guess is she flies once a year) and questioned the fares and the routing.

And I blew up.  I busted my butt to work for these people this weekend, even getting into AVP at 3 am on Friday night, and worked through Sunday.

I decided I would actually resign if I got hassled anymore about my choices.  I did receive one email in reply to mine.  To hell with it, I didn't open it.

Off to Raleigh-Durham next.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/FLG3823/history/20130310/2115Z/KAVP/KDTW  (note the looping holding pattern at DTW)

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL1721/history/20130310/2350Z/KDTW/KTPA

Manchester NH to Scranton PA - Late at Night

I can't complain about this. I brought it on myself when I stupidly agreed to work in Lebanon, NH and then go straight to Scranton to work for the entire weekend.  I need a Florida fix terribly now.

This trip can only be made on US Air, and considering the terrible weather that was blasting the east coast most of this week, I was lucky we were only 30 minutes late into AVP.  The connection was through PHL, of course.

The worst part was the 2 hour drive after midnight to get to Williamsport, PA.  Yes, there's an airport at IPT, but I would have not made the connection out of PHL.

Why in the hell did I agree to this trip?

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/RPA3131/history/20130308/2310Z/KMHT/KPHL

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/PDT4408/history/20130309/0349Z/KPHL/KAVP

Tampa - Manchester, NH - Southwest Delivers

I say delivers because after the last trip to Newark, I needed something to be on time, and as is almost always the case, SWA does it.

The nonstop from TPA to MHT was five minutes early.  My only problem is the late hour of the arrival, at 1130 PM.  Then I had to drive in light freezing rain to Lebanon, NH.

Here for two days, then on to Scranton (actually Williamsport, PA), a place I've never been

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA216/history/20130307/0130Z/KTPA/KMHT

Tampa-Newark and Back - Jet Blue Gets it Right, Well Maybe

Yea, sort of.

It starts with the nonstop night A320 to EWR from TPA. 

I get to the gate, the Airbus is there, the flight deck crew is there, but no flight attendants.  They are arriving 45 minutes late on a delayed inbound from BOS.

I never knew they operated this way, it's almost Delta-esque.

So the arrival into EWR is an hour late.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/JBU534/history/20130304/0112Z/KTPA/KEWR


Next, the return.  What I'm about to type will bore everybody on earth EXCEPT high mileage serious business travelers who know how the system works.

To fly back to TPA, you obviously need an airplane and I check and see that the inbound from West Palm Beach is set to arrive 20 minutes early!  And the weather is great, it should all be great!

Well, at the adjacent gate sits a delayed A320 to Orlando, with an obvious maintenance issue.  No big deal to me, right?

Until they off load the Airbus (which is completely full) and announce to the pax that they are going to have a "new a/c at the next gate in just 10 minutes".  Problem is, it's the a/c that is SUPPOSED TO MAKE UP MY FLIGHT TO TPA.

Now I have to outguess them and figure out what a/c will be used for my flight to EWR and where in the hell it is.

And sure enough, it's inbound from Ft. Myers and will arrive just 20 minutes before the scheduled departure to TPA.  Meaning, we are gonna be late.  It's just a matter of how long.

I guess 30 mins.

Wrong.  We load and suddenly take a maintenance delay on this ship as well as one of the PA phones is inop.  I have no idea of a PA phone is on the MEL list or not (the minimum equipment list which you gotta have to legally fly).

So we sit and watch JBU MTC put in a new phone on the forward galley.

Now the delay is one hour.

And that's how our modern air transportation system works, for our new folks.

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/JBU537/history/20130305/2016Z/KEWR/KTPA

Delta SkyMiles Gets Trashed in USA Today

I'm beyond adding my two cents worth on this.

Again, please remember that EVERY product an airline has is designed to:

1)  Enhance their bottom line

2) Is never driven by customer satisfaction as evidenced by on time ops or customer service.

I'm sure the Virginia Ave. spin masters are all over this one already.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2013/03/04/delta-frequent-fliers-complain-about-redeeming-miles/1963057/