DEPARTURE TIME: 8:05 AM (PST)
ACTUAL DEPARTURE TIME: 8:13 AM (PST)
ARRIVAL TIME: 10:58 AM (HST)
ACTUAL ARRIVAL TIME: 10:19 AM (HST)
FLIGHT TIME: 5hr 06min
SID: SUMMR2
ARRIVAL: MAGGI3
FL: 30,000ft
AIRLINE: Delta Airlines
AIRCRAFT: Boeing 757-300
AIRCRAFT ID: N582NW
FLIGHT NUMBER: DL480
SEAT: 2A
FLIGHT PLAN: SUMMR2 DINTY DUETS R576 DENNS MAGGI3
Departure Video (Osmo Pocket 2): https://youtu.be/U8jeemVDYuw?t=1
Departure Video (GoPro Hero 9): https://youtu.be/MVvfR8hAoEA?t=1
Arrival Video (Osmo Pocket 2): https://youtu.be/HHczfFZuXWg?t=1
Arrival Video (GoPro Hero 9): https://youtu.be/Pwbq796r-_0?t=1
This trip report follows along my wedding anniversary trip from Los Angeles to Honolulu. This will be a three part Trip Report: Part 1 Los Angeles to Honolulu; Part 2 Honolulu to Maui and Back to Honolulu; Part 3 Honolulu to Los Angeles
On Thursday April 7, 2022 we got up for our trip at 5:00 AM. We live in El Segundo which is a very short distance from LAX so we elected to skip the outrageous $50-$60 per day parking at LAX in favor of a $12 Uber to LAX. Our Uber arrived at 5:40 AM and delivered us to Terminal 2 at LAX by 5:50 AM. Our trip to Hawaii was a quick three day getaway so we elected to do no checked bags. No checked bags meant that we headed straight for the TSA Checkpoint. The early morning middle-of-the-week flight time meant that TSA was largely vacant. There were maybe a total of 10 people in line for security.
After sailing through TSA we made our way to the smaller of the two Delta Sky Clubs (former Virgin America Lounge) in terminal 2 by 6:30AM and we were the first people there! We grabbed the best window seat booth we could find and headed over to the buffet. I grabbed a cheese omelette and pork sausage patty as well as a plate of cantelope, pineapple and strawberries and a togo Rice Krispies cereal to be eaten later. We both had mimosas and water and I grabbed a glass of OJ.
We watched the sunrise over Terminal 1 which I had also done the day before on my over and back trip to Phoenix, Arizona. After finishing our food and drink we checked out the larger Sky Club in Terminal 2 which is positioned directly across the way from the smaller Sky Club. When we arrived at the second Sky Club and I chatted with the the clerk about how we had just come from the smaller lounge. We talked about the different perks for the two lounges and shared our mutual excitement for the new lounge set to open in a few weeks (April 20, 2022). The clerk said that the smaller lounge is more business oriented while the larger lounge was geared more for families. I agreed but also noted that the smaller lounge receives a lot of very direct sunlight which can make it somewhat uncomfortable for longer stays. The larger club was pretty full when we arrived but I had the opportunity to check out our beautiful aircraft before we headed down to the gate. We grabbed our second round of mimosas while lounging. Before leaving the Sky Club I made sure to snag a bag of chex mix and two bags of Planters Trail Mix. I also grabbed a third round of mimosas before we headed to the gate.
We got to the gate after boarding started (which I hate doing because of limited overhead space). We got a notice that first class was boarding but when we got there we didn’t see anyone boarding so we waited for a little bit. The gate agent soon called comfort plus and we realized first class had already boarded so we kinda rushed the gate. There were no gate lice and no one seemed in a hurry to board so we made it to the jet bridge pretty quickly which was nice!
We got to the plane and made the best left turn possible to the first class cabin. Much to our surprise the cabin was largely vacant. We had enough bin space to put both our carry-ons and out backpacks in the bin. We settled in quickly.
I grabbed all my usual items from my backpack (headphones, chargers, GoPro, and Osmo Pocket) and even had time to visit the bathroom at the head of the plane to change into shorts for the 5 hour flight. Before we took off the flight attendant took out breakfast order and drink order. I ordered the eggs and sausage and potatoes with a Mimosa while my wife got the charcuterie board… a decision she was happy with but kinda regretted after seeing the plate I got. We departed on time and got our breakfast and drinks shortly after takeoff. It was so nice to finally have real hot meals on a Delta flight again! It was great to have real plates and glassware again. We shared food with one another and after finishing our meals and even ordered our second mimosas onboard. After they cleared our plates we settled in to our own entertainment and time literally flew by. I
During the flight I mostly listened to music and rocked back and forth through the nearly 3 hours of constant mild-moderate turbulence. I bought wifi for the flight for a price of $39.99 for the whole flight. This allowed me to stream some YouTube videos and purchase tickets for our Maui Day Trip planned for the following day. Additional drinks were had along the way (mostly beer and possibly at least one more mimosa).
After about 4:40 minutes of mostly bumpy flight time we started our descent into Honolulu. The arrival to Honolulu usually provides some pretty excellent views of the island of O’ahu. I love it when you can finally see land and I especially love it when the flight path takes you directly over Waikiki Beach.
The landing was a little rocky but nothing too crazy. It was windy but the pilots handled it very well. After landing we made a fairly taxi to the gate and before we knew it the boarding doors were open and we were cleared to leave the aircraft. Thanks to not having checked bags we were able to leave the plane quickly and head straight to the car rental facility across the way.
Overall the flight was pretty nice. It was great to leave and arrive on time. The service on the plane was outstanding and the crew was truly exceptional. The breakfast and drinks were good. The selection of snacks during the flight were good but I wish they would bring back mini Oreos or Cheez'its. The turbulence throughout the bulk of the flight was less than ideal but it was manageable. Admittedly the drinks helped ease the discomfort. All-in-all I think Delta provided a pretty nice experience for the flight. I have taken Hawaiian and United on this route while I think Hawaiian is probably the best, Delta certainly did not disappoint.
