To kick off our anniversary trip to Nashville and Asheville, we called an Uber to our house in South Austin around 3:00p to catch a ride over to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and our 5:35p flight to Atlanta. Traffic was moderate on a Friday afternoon and we were dropped off curbside 30 minutes later.
Booking
We booked our flights directly through the Delta website, after using Google Flights to find the best option for our trip. We ended up paying less than $200 per person for Comfort+ seats for the entire trip (AUS-ATL-BNA).
Pre-Flight
Since we were going for our anniversary, four days with my parents, and a wedding, Mrs. ATX Jetsetter needed to check a bag. We made our way to the Sky Priority lane where we were the only people in line and quickly had our bags tagged through to Nashville. From there, we headed off towards security where we hit our first snag of the day.
Due to an electrical issue, the east side checkpoint at ABIA was down to only one regular and one PreCheck lane. On top of that, there was only one person working the CLEAR lane so we had a 15-20 minute wait to get through security. They were also working to recalibrate the metal detector due to the power issues so we all had to line up and go through the body scanner.
After clearing security we grabbed our bags and made our way down towards Gate 3 and the Delta Sky Club.
Lounge
The lounge is located one level up from the main concourse and is accessible via elevator or stairs. It is located just across from the newly opened Chase Sapphire terrace and spans the width of the terminal, giving it some great views out over the ramp. I have a full write-up on the lounge here.
Boarding
With bad weather rapidly approaching Austin, Delta was doing its best to get planes off of the gate early. Unfortunately our crew van got stuck in traffic coming from the hotel and I started to get nervous that we weren’t going to make it out in time. We left the lounge 15 minutes after scheduled boarding just as Delta sent the push notification to my phone and made our way to Gate 10.
The gate lice were out in force but we managed to fight our way up to the front and boarded at the tail end of Comfort+. Since we checked our bags and only had backpacks, we weren’t concerned with overhead bin space.
Delta Air Lines
DL 661
AUS-ATL (Austin-Bergstrom International – Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International)
Seat: 13E (Comfort+)
A321-200 (N101DQ)
Scheduled: 5:35p-8:46p
Actual: 6:19p-9:39p
Onboard, we settled into 13E and 13F. These are the best seats in Delta’s A321 Comfort+ cabin as it is an exit row which means lots of legroom. The flight attendant jump seat is located where 13D would typically be which makes this a great option for couples traveling together. Since it is the exit row, there is no seatback entertainment and both the tray table and the IFE screen fold out from the armrest.
Departure
Five minutes before our scheduled departure time the weather hit the airport and a ground stop was called due to lightning. The wind and the rain picked up quickly, and was coming down in buckets, but thankfully we avoided the hail that hit other places in Austin.
50 minutes later, the ramp closure was lifted and the safety demonstration was screened on the seatback IFE. Since we were in an exit row, monitors dropped down from overhead.
We were the first plane off the gate and out to the taxiway once the ramp reopened. We had to taxi around to the other side of the airport and took off towards the south. As we climbed we turned back north and got great views of downtown Austin and the surrounding areas illuminated by the post storm sun.
In Flight
Once airborne, we flew over downtown Austin and headed north towards Dallas to avoid the line of storms that had just rolled through. The ride was fairly smooth though the captain decided to keep the seat belt sign on until we were past it.
During this, I hopped up and visited the lavatory in the middle of the aircraft as we had been sitting on the plane for a couple of hours at this point. It was tight but clean and featured Purel branded hand soap and sanitizer.
Roughly an hour after departure the snack and beverage service started. Our friendly Detroit based crew, including the awesome FA seated in the jump seat next to us, jumped into action as soon as the seatbelt sign went off. Alcohol is complimentary in Delta Comfort+ and I had a vodka soda while Mrs. ATX Jetsetter had a gin and tonic. We also grabbed some harvest cheddar Sun Chips from the snack basket. Delta didn’t offer the upgraded snack basket on this flight.
As we chugged East the sun soon disappeared and the FAs turned on the mood lighting in the cabin just prior to landing.
Arrival
We ended up landing around 9:30p local time on the southernmost runway, Runway 28, and had a 15 minute taxi to our arrival gate in the B Concourse. Since our three hour layover had only shrunk down to two with the delay, we stayed onboard so passengers with tighter connections could deplane before heading off to the Sky Club.
Summary
Aside from the weather delay, which is out of Delta’s control, the flight went smoothly. The staff was extremely friendly, and the passengers were patient even with the stress of the delay. Delta Comfort+ is my favorite of the Big 3’s extra legroom products as they treat it as a more premium class of service as opposed to American’s Main Cabin Extra and United’s Economy Plus. Unless the cost is outrageous I typically just book directly into Comfort+ when flying with Delta.
