Dear Delta, Retire the MD-88 Family

While boarding an MD-88 recently, I noticed the workman at McDonald Douglas had riveted a plate into the door frame that identified when the plane came off the line...1991. That is to say, that I have been flying on this fleet of planes for the material preponderance of my lifetime. They've served me well, carrying me for what must be hundreds of thousands of miles back and forth from Atlanta to domestic and Caribbean destinations. A true work horse. But, as with any great tool, eventually its utility will apex and for this family of planes that time has come.

I honestly enjoy the 3 x 2 seating arrangement in coach. It almost assured that I would never have to fly in a middle seat. Now, however, approximately 1 in 3 flights I am on with MD-88 equipment spend an extra 30 minutes or more at the gate while they either: fix the thrust reversers, replace a landing gear tire, correct an instrumentation problem, or whisper sweet nothings in her ear to get the engines to turnover. Not to mention, on the other end of the flight, about half the time upon landing when the pilot hits the brakes they scream as if being tortured by the cruelest dungeon master.

It has reached a point where I now check equipment while booking flights and if workable with my schedule, avoid flights serviced by MD-88s. It's not a safety thing. I don't believe if you knew they were mechanically unsafe you would fly them, I just don't have the patience for the near certain scheduling disruptions.

I believe I recently read a WSJ article that said you were planing substantial fleet purchases. I can only hope those purchases are meant to replace the MD-88 family, Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Embraer...I don't care, anything that doesn't require a few extra hours of ground maintenance between flights will improve things markedly.
Just some unsolicited feedback from a regular Delta customer.

Alaska Airlines

Were it not for the arrangement between Delta and Alaska Airlines, I would probably have never found myself on Alaska.  As it is, I end up in an Alaska Air seat semi-regularly. 

There isn't much to complain about.  The fleet feels very fresh, from the regional prop planes to their trademark 737s.  The service in the air was well above average.  All of the drinks are free, and they are constantly offering a new microbrew and wine from the northwest.  All of that is capped off by an easy and smooth process on the ground from check-in to boarding.  If my travel plans drop me somewhere on Alaska's route map, I definitely look to book on them first.  They are well worth consideration if your travel plans do as well. 

Tipping My Hat to Delta Today

With more than 140,000 MQMs amassed flying Delta Air Lines so far this year, I have had ample opportunities to find things to complain about.  In fact, my most recent flight that is earning Delta this hat tip left Atlanta 2 hours late.

Otherwise the flight started rather uneventfully, simple taxi and takeoff.  One of my fellow passengers (total stranger with a horrible laugh), however, wasn't contented with the calm.  He was drinking with a speed that suggested he was racing someone none of the rest of us could see.  Eventually, the situation reached the inevitable apex where the flight attendant had to stop serving him.  At this point, the man with the awful laugh delivered an Academy Award deserving performance of the preponderance of drunk stereotypes.  The flight attendant, on the other hand, maintained a perfect poise while working to calm down the tanked man for the better part of half an hour.  She diffused a situation with a lot of downside potential and avoided any further complications on a flight that had already suffered too many.  It sounds simple enough, but I have a lot of respect for grace under fire.  For that, I tip my hat to Delta today.

Air France Business Class

I preface this by saying that I believe Charles de Gaulle Airport is place that was forsaken by God long ago.  I've passed through on many an occasion, none of them exceptionally pleasant.  Once I was corralled to the end of the one of the terminals with every other passenger so that they could explode a suitcase somewhere in the middle of the terminal (turned out to be completely full of candy...mostly Laffy Taffy...I wasn't laughing). 

That being said, despite transiting through CDG, my most recent trip (ATL-CDG-LED-CDG-ATL) with Air France was really enjoyable, especially the transatlantic legs.  On their long-haul international fleet, AF has fully flat beds on all aircraft.  In my experience (A330, A340, B777), the seat experience has been exactly the same.  The food and wine are above average for airline fare.  The entertainment system is robust, easy to use, and (knocking on wood) always seems to work.  The flight attendants are always pleasant.  The wider planes in the fleet (A380, B747, B777) have a middle seat in business class, but the space is contained enough not to overly erode the experience. 

I always try and take in the Economist on Sundays.  On the last leg of my flight home (on a Sunday as it were), I stopped by the lounge but there were none available and the line at the newsstand was long enough to make me miss my flight, so I was prepared to do without.  With an air of hope, I asked the flight attendant who came to take my coat if there was a copy on board.  He offered to check and disappeared.  Just before the doors closed, he returned Economist in hand.  I'm not sure if there was one on board or if he went out and secured a copy somewhere for me, but that is fantastic service either way in my book.

Within Europe, AF has substantially less plush business class appointments.  Though the meal is upgraded and there are frequent flier bonuses, the seating itself is simply a row of coach seats where they do not sell the middle seat.  It isn't a terrible experience, but a little extra legroom on the three and a half hour hop from Paris to St. Petersburg would have been nice for the money. 

On the whole, however, all thumbs up to Air France for their business class.  It might not be Singapore Air or Virgin Atlantic, but it is comfortable and good value for the price.