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Hertz shuttle to LAX
We were out of the hotel by 4.30am for 7.45am flight to ATL. We had quite a bit to do; first we would need to fill our rental car up before returning it to Hertz. Then we had to rely on the shuttle to get us from Hertz to the airport. Thankfully everything went smoothly and we were on our way to LAX shortly after 5am.
There was only one other passenger beside us and the shuttle driver checked with us which terminal we were heading to. We reached LAX T5 around 10 minutes after departing Hertz and there was already a long queue for baggage drop.
Early start for these people too
We wanted to join the queue but a staff informed us that we would need to use the terminals to self check-in first.
Originally our LAX-ATL segment was supposed to be operated by DL 2155 but there were several schedule changes and we found ourselves ultimately on DL 80 instead. Our departure time was pushed back 15 minutes from 7.30am to 7.45am. I didn’t like it that Delta didn’t proactively informed the passengers in advance and I only found out after logging on to the website to check the flight timings.
Wait a moment
After getting our boarding passes we joined the queue and then proceeded to check our bags. There was no mention of our (non-existent) onward tickets out of Peru.
Went out after checking in to take a picture of the control tower
There was confusion before the security check; some non-English-speaking elderly Asians (Vietnamese I think) couldn’t understand that their carry-on bags were over-sized and the security staff refused to let them through.
We didn’t stay on to see the issue being resolved as we were directed to security counters in another area. To get there, we had to take the escalator down to the Arrivals followed by a 5 minute-walk through some corridor. Thankfully the security check was painless (beside having to take off shoes) and soon we were at the gates.
LAX T5
LAX T5
There were quite a few dining options in the terminal but we didn’t partake in any.
TV’s showing Monaco GP
Since we had no lounge access, we settled down near our gate and waited for boarding to commence.
Waiting area
Gate for DL 80
N-128DL
My boarding passes
As usual I got restless and decided to go around taking pictures of the planes. There weren’t much variety though.
UA A320 (N-478UA)
SkyWest CRJ operating as Delta Connection
We ended up in the last boarding group and I got to observe the boarding procedure. The gate agent would say to every passenger “Good morning. How are you doing?” without any emotion and usually the passenger would reply something along the line of “I’m fine thanks”. More of a formality than anything else.
Flight: Delta Airlines DL 80
Depart: Los Angeles (LAX) – 07:45
Arrive: Atlanta (ATL) – 15:01
Duration: 4h16m
Distance: 1944 miles (3129 km)
Aircraft: Boeing B767-300
Registration: N-128DL
Seat: 30G
767 should be the smallest wide-body aircraft that I had been on and the overhead cabins were noticeably smaller.
Cabin shot
A pleasant surprise to have personal screen at every seat.
Coca Cola ad
There were lots of stuff in the seat pocket too.
Seat pocket content
The BOB menu wasn’t very inspiring.
Delta EATS
Delta EATS
View from my window:-
Deltas
Americans
Uniteds
The cargo planes
Taking off through the clouds
The IFE was fired up after the plane reached cruising altitude. The touch-screen wasn’t very sensitive though.
Impressed with the language options
Domestic economy passengers had to pay for the movies and TV shows.
Charges
So we made do with the flight map.
Somewhere over Arizona
Flight details
Desert beneath us
The crew came around to offer snacks and drinks. I went with the mini pretzels.
Snack
While Ying slept, I discovered that there was wifi on-board and one could connect it for free for a limited time. Pretty cool to be connected from 10,000 feet in the air.
After my free time was up, I flipped through the in-flight magazine.
Sky
Delta’s fleet
Delta’s domestic network
I also went to nap midway through the flight and only woke up when the crew came around for the second round of snacks and drinks.
I chose biscuit this time
Delta-branded Biscoff
By the time I finished my snack, we were around 40 minutes away from ATL.
Southern US
We landed on a cloudy Atlanta’s afternoon.
ATL is DL-central
Taxi-ing
Our plane was docked at Concourse A and our connecting flight to LIM would leave from Concourse E. We would need the Plane Train to get us there.
ATL Concourse A
On the Plane Train
Concourse E
US doesn’t have any exit control and we only needed to proceed our gate. There were quite a few dining options and we decided to have lunch at American Chinese chain Panda Express.
Panda Express
We noticed that the chef was an African-American and wondered how good its Chinese food would be.
Fried rice and noodles with long beans and chicken (7.27 USD)
The food turned out to be pretty good and the portion given was enough for the two of us. Satisfied from the meal, we made our way to the gate where our flight to LIM would depart from.
Gate E4
Shyh + Ying RTW 2014 