DC to Santiago…the long way

I’m still not certain how I ended up with this routing, but once it all came together the circle around the world sounded really fun. Only problem was to make it work, somehow I had to get to Sao Paulo, Brazil, which would require a visa. After my previous nightmare getting a Brazilian visa nearly ten years ago I wasn’t looking forward to it, but this turned out to be easier than I expected.

Once this was planned, I couldn’t resist a couple more stops in South America, and when I found award space from Santiago to Buenos Aires then Buenos Aires to Sao Paulo it all seemed to fall into place. There was even award space from DC to Santiago with United so it all seemed to work out.

But then a few weeks before the trip, I started to have buyer’s remorse about all the miles I had spent on the trip, and began to think of ways to possibly cut things back a little. After a little checking, I found lots of space on Delta to Santiago, so decided that I would give standby a chance. Now, lots of people have realized over the last couple of years that even when you find space for an award ticket, the toughest part can be the domestic segment to your gateway. Unfortunately, I learned with standby it can be the same thing.

In the few days leading up to the flight, just about every flight from DC to Atlanta went from having lots of open seats to being nearly full. I probably would have gotten on one, but it looked very, very risky. After some checking, I knew I could get to LaGuardia, and since Delta flies to 30+ destinations from there I figured I could get from there to somewhere and eventually to Atlanta. Yes, the LaGuardia to Atlanta flights were also extremely full.

So, I found myself at the airport, and with lots of open space, no problem getting on the flight to LaGuardia.

Delta Shuttle Flight 6140, Operated by Republic Airlines
Washington DC, National (DCA) to New York, LaGuardia (LGA)
Depart 11:00, Arrive 12:13, Flight Time: 1:13
Embraer ERJ-170, Registration N823MD, Manufactured 2005, Seat 7A
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 68,281
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,445,258

DCA is one of the few airports I actually prefer a window seat, especially on the A side of the plane. On a clear day, I love this view right after takeoff:

…and on approach to LaGuardia, you’re treated to this. Makes being “penned-in” to a window seat very worth it. Fortunately, in this case, the aisle was even empty!

After landing and a short wait for the shuttle bus, it was off to the main terminal at LaGuardia to enjoy the Centurion Lounge for a bit…and plan how I would get to Atlanta.

Glass of Veuve Cliquot, a nice seasonal salad and some tomato soup made for a tasty lunch.

At this point things were still a little iffy, and I started playing around with options to get to Atlanta. Originally I was thinking of flying via Richmond, but that started filling up. Some more playing around, and I found an option I didn’t even know existed: Savannah, Georgia. The flights were wide open, so I booked it and then headed over to the Delta terminal to sit out the rest of the wait in the SkyClub.

I got there just in time, because they were rolling out the hot dog cart. Who knew they served hot dogs in the SkyClub. Fun, and different. Lunch part two, with a glass of wine.

Delta Flight 3366, Operated by Endeavor Air
New York, LaGuardia (LGA) to Savannah, Georgia (SAV)
Depart 15:10, Arrive 17:47, Flight Time: 2:37
Canadair CRJ-900, Registration N924XJ, Manufactured 2008, Seat 8D
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 69,004
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,445,981

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who figured out this route. I was joined by another 20+ standbys also trying to get to Atlanta who figured out that this was likely the safest routing. Still not a full flight, and got both seats to myself…and a Comfort+ seat to boot. Can’t complain about that at all…and much better than getting the last middle seat on a nonstop to Atlanta from DCA!

Wine, Biscoff, and Almonds for the ride down to Savannah. Delightful service for a long regional flight.

20 minutes out from landing I looked at the radar, and found this. The blue cross was our location…this was going to be very bumpy on the ride in…

Wasn’t too bad as far as turbulence, but after deplaning looked out to the tarmac and saw this view. Yup, the skies are angry!

I admit – part of the reason I chose this route was to see a new airport I’d never been to before and to add to my routes flown. I may have to do these strange connections more often just to get a little variety on my flight map!

Although the connection was supposed to be only 30 minutes making it tight, thanks to weather things were a bit delayed and I ended up having almost 90 minutes between flights. Just enough time to get Starbucks and wake up a bit. Another fun fact: people may have heard of the “Big Mac Index” where the Economist did a relative cost of living exercise for different cities around the world using the price of a Big Mac. I’ve been doing the same at Starbucks for a couple of years, using the price of a grande drip coffee (tax included). If anyone would like to contribute to this project, feel free to send me datapoints!

Delta Flight 1475
Savannah, Georgia (SAV) to Atlanta, Georgia, ATL (ATL)
Depart 18:15, Arrive 19:25, Flight Time: 1:10
Boeing 717, Registration N972AT, Manufactured 2002, Seat 11E
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 69,219
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,446,196

Not much to say about this flight – the crew spent the whole thing seated due to turbulence, which fortunately ended up not being as bad as expected. Nice short hop, and soon we were in Atlanta.

Checked one more time online, and things still looked very good, so I headed to the SkyClub to enjoy my time before boarding. Couple glasses of wine and some cheese, and when I saw I had been assigned a seat headed down to the gate to enjoy the spoils of my victory: saving 55,000 United miles and still getting to ride in the pointy end of the plane in DeltaOne.

Delta Flight 147
Atlanta, Georgia, ATL (ATL) to Santiago, Chile (SCL)
Depart 22:25, Arrive 08:00 next day, Flight Time: 9:35
Boeing 767-300, Registration N183DN, Manufactured 1993, Seat 7D
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 73,914
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,450,891

Welcome aboard bubbles…in a glass. A real glass. Are you listening United and American?

Nice simple, but useful Tumi amenity kit.

Warm nuts came around after takeoff, which was nice…except for the tinfoil ramekin. Found out later from some in the know that there’s been a catering shortage in Atlanta recently which should hopefully be resolved soon.

Soup, salad, and appetizer were all served together on a tray. Normally I wouldn’t be too fond of this, but given it was a 10:30 pm departure, efficiency was appreciated.

The corn and green chili bisque with cilantro lime sauce didn’t look very appetizing, but was absolutely delicious.

Sad salad with ramekin of veg. I suspect maybe this was supposed to be poured over the salad before serving?

Went with the grilled beef tenderloin expecting it to be overcooked, which it was. It was still tasty tho, and the polenta and grilled artichoke were nice as a different side from the potatoes and mushy veg I’m used to.

For a US airline cheese plate this was really good, not to mention it was served with fig compote. Everyone knows how I like my fig compote! Plus, I can’t quite put my finger on it but the simplicity of the sundae was also really good. Big fan of this desert combo compared to what I’m used to on United and American.

Slept nearly seven hours after all the food and wine, and missed the breakfast service as usual on longhaul redeyes, waking up with just enough time to brush my teeth and put some contacts in before landing. On the walk to immigration, we were greeted with this sign:

I love how they blacked out other countries no longer subject to the reciprocity fee, and made it very clear only Australians are the bad guys in Chile these days. Immigration was nice and simple, and with that it was time to find my way to the hotel and start enjoying the trip!