I haven’t checked this out yet, but knew it was coming per a post on View From the Wing. Delta has revamped its mileage award structure, adding a third tier to awards starting at 25,000, 40,000 and 60,000 miles for domestic award travel. Delta’s press release can be reviewed here. I’ll post my thoughts later.

Well, one of the few holding out on the fee for a first checked bag has shown us why. Delta Air Lines will soon begin charging $50 dollars to check a second bag. First Class, Business Elite and Medallion customers are still exempt. Good for me, not so good for those without status.

I continue to remain indifferent to these fees to a point. Delta is getting awfully close to that “point” where I start to wonder if there may be unintended consequences to these ever-increasing “fees.” Only time will tell.

I’m in Atlanta this week. Flew down on Delta this morning. I am a Silver Medallion member with Delta, meaning I’m low on the elite status totem pole. Nonetheless, I chose my flights wisely today, knowing that the 9:55am from DCA to ATL is operated by a 757 with 24 first class seats. My Medallion upgrade cleared at the 24-hour window, assuring a comfortable flight down from DC this morning.

I find that Delta’s staff both on the ground and in the air are usually polite and exceed the “friendliness” of any other domestic “legacy” carrier, and this trip was no exception. Service on the ground was polite at check-in. I had one bag that I just wasn’t going to carry onboard whether I could have or not. No wait for a kiosk, but the one Delta employee working ALL of the kiosks was over taxed with travelers, one or two of which had issues with checking in. My wait was still under 10 minutes, but it should’ve been less than 5. The one agent was still pleasant enough once she’d worked through the backup of issue-oriented neophytes and others waiting to check their luggage. Security was a less than 5-minute affair, and I was on the inside!

I camped out at the Delta Crown Room for the one hour wait. I am not a Crown Room member, but access via my American Express Platinum Card ($450 annual fee that pays for itself in spades), which allows access to the Crown Room when flying Delta, not to mention American’s Admiral’s Club, Continental’s President’s Club and the Northwest World Clubs when flying those airlines. Delta provides free wi-fi to Crown Room members, but T-Mobile service (both wired and wireless) is available for the rest of us.

The 9:55am flight is operated by the 9:01am arrival from Atlanta, and 54 minutes is tight for a full 757. Thus, we were maybe 10 minutes late pushing back after a last-minute snafu with incorrectly boarded passengers. Turned out that they were non-revenue employee travelers. Not sure what the confusion was about. In-flight service was polite and pleasant, but late getting started due to turbulence. And we landed 5 minutes early even with the late start.

Baggage delivery was fast in Atlanta. My bag was already on the carousel when I arrived at baggage claim. Granted, I walked from terminal A rather than riding the train since I knew I wouldn’t make it to the gym today.

All in all, a typical Delta flight. They delivered what was promised with an air of “southern hospitality.”

Yes, there is a reason I don’t post my name on this blog. I’m not hiding from anyone or afraid of anything. In fact, I’m considering introducing the man behind the initials any day now. However, there could be implications to my doing so, and I need to work through those before I do.

My current employer (no, blogging does not pay my bills just yet) is one that many readers will know, and my particular position puts me in touch with a lot of interesting issues that relate to aviation. Not just airlines, but the whole kit and caboodle…. air traffic control, safety, security, customer service, not to mention general and corporate aviation…a plethora of cool stuff that I would love to talk about. I have not and will not blog about anything directly related to my job. That just would not be appropriate. But I can certainly talk about travel experiences, past and present, as well as a host of topics that I think you’ll find interesting and useful. I can be especially helpful in navigating the crazy-quilt world that air travel has become, and have a number of survival strategies to help make travel bearable. Things you’re seeing at the airport not making any sense? I spent four years managing a large airport operation for a major airline, I’ll gladly give you my perspective….not only as a former airline manager, but current customer too.

In the meantime, here’s a piece of my aviation resume:

Commercial Pilot (and as my bio states…Diabetes took care of that)
-2,000 hours total flying time
-1,000 jet/turboprop
-Soloed at age 16 and flew on from there

Maintenance and Engineering/Quality Assurance Auditor
-Station safety and surveillance
-Repair and overhaul supplier safety and surveillance
-Fuel supplier safety and surveillance

Manager – Customer Service
-Passenger and Ramp Operations
-Security Coordinator
-Environmental Coordinator
-Regulatory Liaison
-Station Safety Manager
-Airport Automation Lead Manager

In any event, anonymous or not, I’m honored that you stopped by. And a special welcome to those of you referred from joesentme.com. I hope to see you again soon.

You may have figured out by now that I just completed two separate week-long stays in Tulsa, Oklahoma as part of a project I’m managing at work. Or is that project managing me? Oh well…..

In any event, I lived in Tulsa for a few years towards the end of the last century, so it was kind of fun to return, see some old friends, and check the place out. Long story short, Tulsa has changed. And changed for the better. Not so much that I’m clamoring to escape the confines of D.C. for a simpler life in Oklahoma, but it’s not bad, nonetheless.

Quite a bit of time, effort and money is being invested in the downtown area. Old warehouses are being converted into loft apartments and condos, bars and restaurants are opening, and the live music scene (good even when I was there for a town this size) is still better than average. The new BOK Center opens later this summer.

Next time you’re in Tulsa, try and check out James E. McNellies Public House (409 East 1st St.). You won’t find more beer on tap anywhere nearby, trust me. Try the locally brewed McNellie’s Pub Ale. I went on Wednesday, which happened to be $3 dollar burger night. I think everyone in Tulsa must’ve been there, because the place was packed!

There are other good options as well. Lola’s at The Bowery being one. Great tapas and good bar service. And Caz’s Pub, another good bar, which happens to also have a restaurant, Caz’s Chowhouse, nearby.

There are more, but my time was limited. If I make it back to Tulsa, soon, you’ll find me at McNellies!

I’ll be spending this week in Atlanta. Flying Delta and bunking at the W Atlanta Midtown. I’ll post a trip report about this relatively new hotel (remodeled Sheraton) from the road. Also need to post some more details about my recent trip to Tulsa. Have some more restaurant recommendations should travel take you there.

I recently completed a four night stay at this property, and will definitely return again. I believe I’ll call this Doubletree my favorite Tulsa Hilton HHonors property with the Hilton Southern Hills being a close second.

My colleague and I checked in early (as in 10am or so) on Monday expecting to just store our bags until later in the afternoon. Indeed, my non-HHonors status colleague was told that her room was not ready. Much to my surprise, my room was ready. I was provided with executive floor level accommodations which can only be reached with your room key. The Doubletree Warren Place has an executive lounge on the 9th floor which is staffed with some very pleasant ladies for breakfast and evening hours. All staff I had contact with during the week were friendly and helpful, which isn’t unexpected in a city like Tulsa.

You can walk to a Starbucks, and a handful of restaurants, the best of which is McGills (south Tulsa location). Both are located in a shopping center that has all the basics for a week on the road including a drugstore.

It was a productive week of work, and the Doubletree Tulsa Warren Place made my week away from home all the more liveable. I’ll stay again.

Did anyone else get the letter from 12 airline CEO’s asking you to sign a petition to end oil speculation? Ha… I got a couple from different airlines….don’t remember which.

While I’m sure “speculation” has played a small roll in market volatility, I really don’t think that the evil speculators are why oil is so high. That would be due to….let’s see…. demand for the product, the weak dollar, and geopolitical instability.

Expect this letter to be the first of many…. and look for the crying to start for a handout to the airlines again. They are right about one thing….. oil prices this high are going to result in changes in the airline industry.