Excellent domestic first flight between LaGuardia and New Orleans on Delta, which makes me rate american airlines a little higher in my esteem. I would even go so far as to say that it is far superior to what European airlines offer on this type of flight, with the exception of Turkish Airlines.
It was time to leave New York and head for New Orleans, a city I had always really wanted to discover. Choosing which airline to fly with wasn’t difficult: I had a group of friends on the same flight and it made sense for me to join them.
As a reminder the air routing of this trip.
You will find the summary of the articles on this trip to Boston, New York and New Orleans at the bottom of the page.
Booking
I booked a one-way ticket a little over a month ago for 550 USD. Not cheap, but it was the flight with the best times (that explains it) and my friends were on that flight.
A week before the flight, I will receive an email offering me the chance to pre-order my meal online, which I will do, but more about that later.
Arrival at the airport and ground course
I checked in online the day before my flight.
I arrive early before my flight, my Uber having encountered no traffic between downtown and LaGuardia, which, it must be said, is ideally located.
From my previous stays in the USA, I remember an old-fashioned airport that was not at all pleasant, but it was recently and beautifully renovated.
I’ve just got out of the Uber and I see a luggage drop-off station on the sidewalk. I leave my suitcase there, which means I don’t have to queue at the terminal.
Compared to my memories, it’s completely different, really nice.
And the queue, which I will avoid.
I head for the security checks, which will be over in no time, and then on to the Delta Sky Club, where I will have a good time.
However, I left it a while before the flight to join my friends in a bar in the departure lounge, as they didn’t have access to the lounge.
We were told we had a 15-minute delay, but even at the said time the plane had not arrived, so we went back for a drink while waiting to see if it would come. No point wasting time in front of the door.
The plane finally shows its nose and we return to the gate.
Boarding
People start to crowd around the different queues, which is completely stupid given that boarding is done in sequence.
There is overbooking and we are witnessing a scene frequently seen in the USA: people are being offered cash in exchange for taking a later flight.
$300 to fly on the evening flight? Nobody. 800 ? Nobody. 1000? A few hands are raised and if I weren’t due at a dinner party that evening I think I would have done it.
Boarding finally begins in strict accordance with the priorities and I can get on board.
The cabin
The domestic first cabin (equivalent to business class) on Delta’s 737s is of good quality. Of course, here we have a 2-2 configuration totally foreign to European airlines on medium-haul flights.
It’s not worth the Delta One seat available on some domestic flights, but for a flight of this duration it more than makes up for it.
There is good legroom and the screen is of a decent size.
The flight
It is hot outside and the portholes are closed to keep the cabin temperature at an acceptable level. They will not be reopened for the entire flight because, contrary to popular belief, it is not compulsory to have the window covers open for take-off or landing. In the United States, it is therefore common to make the entire flight with the window covers closed from boarding to disembarkation.
We take off and are offered an aperitif. For me it will be a whisky and coke and a glass of water.
The crew takes the orders for the dishes and I am told that my order, placed online, has been taken.
I went for the roast chicken, which was only available if you pre-ordered.
The staff lay the tablecloths, then serve the drinks a few minutes later, and then a few minutes after that the food is served.
I’ll start with the salad.
It’s fresh and tasty.
Then the chicken.
The chicken is a little dry and lacks seasoning, I had to add salt and pepper liberally.
Quinoa and vegetables are very good.
To finish, the cookie will be very moist.
All in all, a rather good meal, far superior to what you get on this type of flight in Europe.
The staff clear away and I settle down to watch a series on my iPad while connecting to the Wi-Fi.
Delta has found a clever way to increase the number of members of its loyalty program: you need to have an account on their Skymiles loyalty program to log in. I’m creating my own and probably won’t ever use it, but it gives them one more member.
Arrival in New Orleans
As we approach our destination, I open my window blind to enjoy the scenery.
We touch the ground and go to our parking spot.
You disembark after waiting a long time for the jetway to be deployed and after a long walk through the corridors you arrive at the baggage claim.
It will take forever for the luggage to be delivered, and priority luggage will arrive last.
As I’m about to order an Uber, a deluge is falling on the airport.
The price of the Uber suddenly jumps from 40 to 100 dollars…. so I wait for a lull and fall back on a taxi, which is more affordable.
Crew
On this flight, the crew were very friendly, smiling, helpful and responsive.
Bottom line
A very pleasant flight despite a slight delay
The articles on this trip to Boston, New York and New Orleans.
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