Despite the rocky start, our trip was excellent. The baptism was beautiful and the food afterwards was very good. It was so nice to see everyone. We went to AC on Sunday night to Trump Marina. Ida won! The rest of us lost. We visited my grandma on Monday afternoon and then Joe & Heather met us for dinner at Tuscan Tavern that night and again for breakfast at the hotel this morning.
We left the hotel around 9:30am. We made it to the PHL airport, returned the rental car, checked in for our flights and went through security with no problem what-so-ever. There were no lines, anywhere. Our flight to ATL is running early and we’re connecting in ATL at the same gate from which we arrive. So far, the day is going good. 
We made our connection in Atlanta and that flight also left on time. We made it back to FLL about 10 minutes early with all of our luggage already on the carousel waiting for us in baggage claim.
What I’ve learned …
- Delta communicates well with its passengers. ASA does not. Delta hires friendly, knowledge people. ASA does not. We were kept informed of the delays and automatically re-booked by Delta’s computers. They called my cell phone and sent me an e-mail to let me know. They also would have sent me an text message had I set that feature up in my profile on their website. Tara L, the gate representative in FLL, was the friendliest, most professional airline employee I’ve ever seen. These are the people Delta hires. Good people who treat their customers like humans. However, Delta could improve their delayed baggage experience by directing calls regarding lost bags to a call center in the States and posting accurate information on their website. The experience on ASA was the opposite. The agent that gave me my boarding pass at the gate looked like who-did-it-and-ran. The agent making the boarding announcements didn’t speak much English. The flight attendants on the ASA flight were not very happy or very friendly. And, they lost our luggage. Delta needs to dump ASA as one of their connection carriers. They’re giving a great airline a bad wrap. I understand the difference between Delta and the Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines. I suspect most people would not. They see Delta painted on the plane and just assume Delta is Delta. Essentially, Delta is paying ASA to ruin their reputation.
From Forbes : America’s Worst Airlines : http://www.forbes.com/2007/09/26/airlines-performance-faa-biz-logistics-cx_rm_tvr_0927worstairlines.html … The numbers show that Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a former Delta Air Lines unit that still has working agreements for baggage and other ground operations with its former parent in Atlanta, and which ranks at or next to the bottom in all three categories, has earned the dubious distinction of America’s worst airline.
The following statistics are from The Consumerist : Delta’s Atlantic Southeast Airlines Is America’s Worst Airline : http://consumerist.com/consumer/travel/deltas-atlantic-southeast-airlines-is-americas-worst-airline-319948.php
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- Take advantage of your carry-on allowance. Don’t trust the airline to put you and your bags on the same flight. If you’re making a connecting flight and your luggage is too big to qualify as a carry-on, pack a carry-on bag with clothes and whatever else you’ll need for the next 24 hours after you arrive. Only after 24 hours will Delta start paying for incurred expenses for delayed baggage … $25 a day, up to $125.
- Afternoon flights usually means no lines, no waiting. We arrived at PHL at 10am for our 1pm flight … after the morning rush had ended and before the evening rush started. That means, we didn’t hit rush-hour traffic on the way to the airport and we didn’t wait in line to return the rental car, or to check-in or to go through security.
- Park ‘N Fly = Save $. The FLL Park ‘N Fly is very convenient. I only paid $6.50 per day to park in their lot, paid in advance online. Had I parked in FLL’s long-term parking lot, it would have been $15.00 per day for terminal parking or $9.00 per day for remote parking. They pick you up and drop you off right at your car. I will use their service again when I fly out of FLL.
