Due to an impromptu need to see my family, ironically over the Thanksgiving holiday, I had to book a flight from NYC to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Because I had to fly out the day before Thanksgiving I was praying which airline was going to cut me a deal because of the urgency and the need to get there as soon as possible. After doing some research the winner was Delta Airlines. My ticket went for around 500, while other carriers wouldn't budge for less than 800-1500USD. At that point, I was grateful that there was any airline who had any seats available even if it was a 10 minute flight due to the Thanksgiving traffic. Suffice to say, it gave Thanksgiving a whole new meaning.
Ok, so here's the data:
Delta Flight 141
Departure: THE PORT AUTHORITY - John F. Kennedy International (JFK-KJFK)
Terminal:3
Gate: 20
Arrival: Detroit - Wayne County Metropolitan (DTW-KDTW)
Terminal: Ed Mac
Gate: A12
Equipment: Airbus Industrie A319-114
Registration: N353NB
Seat: 20E (Middle)
ROUTE:
KJFK/31L . GAYEL . J95 . CFB . CFB286 . TRAAD . ULW306 . KOOPR . YQO097 . YQO . SPICA2 . KDTW/
Summary:
Very nice flight. Once we boarded we had a pretty much quick pushback and start up. Once we started our taxi we took a pretty unusual route to 31L to the point where I couldn't tell if we were going for 04L, 22R, or 31L. We definitely didn't enter through Kilo-Kilo. We had a pretty nice wait for 31L.
The departure from 31L was great. We had a nice crosswind and could feel it hitting the plane as we were rolling. Once we lifted off, we were pretty direct for about 45 seconds then we had an abrupt left turn headed roughly 210 over Carnarsie then over the Atlantic we made another left hand turn back over the (Long) Island. Initial ascent was quite turbulent as we've had some nasty rainstorms in the NYC area for the past few days.
The flight itself was very nice. Once above the weather, we could see the sun setting. As I was in the middle seat, I was unable to reach over and get some good shots of it unfortunately.
The inflight service was ok. I really like the flight attendant uniforms, especially the red ones. Some of the female attendants opted to wear a stylish red hat which added to the class of the service, IMHO. I usually have a Sprite or Ginger Ale for a beverage, however, opted for water with my small red bag of lightly salted peanuts.
Once I saw the Lake Ontario coastline, I knew we were moments on Top of Descent. (T/D) Once we were on our final leg of descent under 10,000, I could hear the air breaks go up to bring us down to 240- kts. Then the gear came down with the flaps still up. Once on final, the flaps were gradually extended. Once the gear hit the pavement and the nose was down, we went into a very hard reverse, which is the way I like it. The Captain informed us that we left late however, arrived early. Now, that's what I call a good pilot.
Delta Flight 1225
Departure: Detroit - Wayne County Metropolitan (DTW-KDTW)
Terminal: Ed Mac
Gate: A21
Arrival: Gerald R. Ford - Grand Rapids, MI (GRR-KGRR)
Terminal: A
Gate: 5
Equipment: Airbus Industrie A319-114
Registration: N324NB
Seat: 20D (Aisle)
ROUTE:
KDTW/ . DUNKS . V170 . LESSY . GRR . KGRR/26L
Summary:
This was a very short flight, however, it seemed like forever getting the pushback and startup going. The crew was NYC based which made it feel like home, even though I was going home to see my family. Being that the crew was NYC based, they were also international flight attendants meaning that their spoken languages ranged from Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch (which I personally enjoyed), and Arabic. The one highlight from this flight was the was a shaking / squeaking noise throughout the duration of the taxi which became a concern for some of the pax (passengers). The purser jokingly stated that it was a beverage cart, however, it was the hydrolics system that was creating the noise. Once we came closer to the the departing runway, it ceased.
No beverage service was provided on this 18 minute flight, however, I had a nice view from the isle of downtown Grand Rapids when we were closer to final. At the end of the abrupt reverse, we came to a very hard stop which startled a lot of the passengers. The taxi to Gate 5 was quick, as was my departure from the plane as I knew I had my mother and family anxiously waiting for me inside the terminal.
