Delta Airlines Returns

[Alaska14k]

After stopping service to Rio in 2002, Delta Airlines will resume service from Atlanta to Rio--nonstop direct, being October 1, 2005.

I believe they are also keeping their flight from Atlanta to Sao Paulo, but reducing it to once a day instead of twice a day. The flight number is 61(leaving at 8:35pm) to Rio and 60(leaving at 11:55pm) on the return to Atlanta.

For those of us who get ff miles on Delta, Northwest, AlaskaAir, Air France, etc... this is good news. And maybe American will lower those fares out of Miami alittle!!!!!

Alaska14k:D

[bigguyinpasadena]

This is indeed great news!Thanks for sharing.

[trilingual]

Maybe this will also inspire Continental to resume direct service to Rio from Houston or Newark. I also hope it inspires American to add some better connections to Miami. I have to fly from Kansas City and there is NO direct service on ANY airline right now between MIA and MCI, and there hasn't been for some time. That's not the only good-sized market that's underserved by American's Miami hub. I've been loyal to American, to the tune of more than a million miles, but I may have to switch to Delta to be able to make a one-stop connection to Rio instead of the current roundabout options through Dallas or Chicago.

[grweyers]

I work for Delta and when I heard we were going to GIG, I was so overjoyed. I will how ever still return from Sao Paulo so that I can visit the Sauna's there. With regards to FF Miles and other airlines with Delta, I believe CO and NW will have there flight number on the Delta flight from ATL. (Has not been confirmed yet). So as a Delta Rep. yes Tri, please change over, we would love to be of service to you....With all the wealth of information you give to us I could think of no better way to repay you but to assist with research on flights to and from the US/BRAZIL..It would be my pleasure to offer that service to you......

[trilingual]

Thanks for the offer! I will definitely be talking with you when service begins, unless American builds up its direct Rio services! By and large I've had good experiences with American, but lately they've been less competitive (witness the lack of service to K.C. and other large markets from their Miami hub), cutting back on service and amenities, and devaluing their miles (by adding the $250 surcharge for upgrading discounted tickets without reducing the number of miles needed to do that). If they're just going to be Southwest Airlines, there's nothing to differentiate them from the other airlines that also are cutting back to Greyhound-level service, so why stick with them?

 

As for sharing what I know about Brazil and South America, it's (mostly) been a pleasure! It's been a way to repay the favor other generous friends and travelers did for me by sharing their own wealth of knowledge and experience of Brazil. I've also met some really great new friends through this forum (some of whom are now neighbors here in Rio) for which I'm very grateful!

 

BTW, tonight I fly back to the U.S. for at least a two-month stay, so it's the turn of some of the other "old Rio hands" to help keep things up-to-date here while I'm in the heart of America. I should be back in Brazil sometime in July.

[buckguy]

This is great for me (I live in Atlanta), but with all do respects to grweyers, the downside of this is that the airline is Delta. Their service is easily the worst of the traditional mainline carriers and the international service is as bad as the domestic. Delta flight attendants seem to spend all their time gossiping and ignoring the passengers. No seat belt checks at all on many flights (and you could be going through the worst turbulence and they seem unmoved to do anything). This isn't ancedote, I've been away from home literally half the time for the past 3-4 years and usually have to fly Delta.

 

Atlanta is not a bad place to change planes, but it's very delay prone (#2 only to O'Hare and as a longtime United flyer who has made many trips through O'Hare, I'd have to say that Atlanta's delays are often more puzzling; indeed, my luck generally has been better in Chicago). The Atlanta airport has long, poorly laid out concourses, but there are golf carts that shuttle people. The food selection is weak if you want anything remotely healthy. The other hubs I've used in the recent past have been at least marginally better.

 

Delta has a weak ground staff in Atlanta and they do things like change the gate 3 times and force people to go back & forth among concourses---for an international flight we had to move gates multiple times for a delayed flight even though the councourse was largely empty. I once had a flight delayed because the power was off in part of a concourse and them customer service people within sight of the darkened gate acted like this was news to them and took forever to get me on another airline. I've had better recent experiences on US Airways and American, two airlines I've tried to avoid in the past (American has always seemed rude on the ground, while US Airways has tended toward ineptness and lyiing about delays). So, if you're vested in Star Alliance or American's combo, think twice about the Delta aspect of this.

[Guest Conway]

Presently, Delta's business class flight to Sao Paulo is priced at $1250 from ORD through Hartsfield if you book through the special deals section at Delta.com. Comparable business class on other airlines is $5000 or more.

 

This is only about $150 more than coach. It does not offer a fully reclining seat though it does recline to 160 degrees. It offers first class meal and wine programs as well as other first class amenities.

 

It's a very good deal even considering the service issues mentioned herein. I've alays had very good luck with Delta domestically and will fly them to sao Paulo in the fall of 2005.

[Fit In LA]

I love Delta and their Southern Charm