background
It had been over four years since I had last flown, and obviously a lot had changed in those four years. Since the middle of 2022, I had begun traveling again, but only by car/bus/train and I had tried to avoid flying whenever possible. But that changed when my younger sister moved out to Seattle just this past August, and it just so happened that the first weekend of October, the Washington Spirit women's soccer team was playing in Seattle, so it was the perfect opportunity to go somewhere I'd never been before.
I have an aunt who lives in Portland, so whenever my mom and/or my grandmother has visited her, they've always flown Alaska out that way. However, when I saw that Delta had a nonstop flight from IAD-SEA on the A220, which would be a new aircraft type for me, I didn't hesitate to book it. (According to Wikipedia, this is actually the longest A221 flight in the world). DL has always treated us pretty well in the past and I was hoping this would be no exception.
pre-flight/at the airport
Getting to IAD from the DC area is now easier than ever with WMATA's Silver Line now in operation, and in turn, IAD has become one of the US's fastest growing airports due to the direct connection from downtown (WS, N0, OG and AZ have all begun serving IAD this year and LX is coming soon). I would recommend setting aside about an hour to get there from downtown DC by train, because it is quite a long distance. There's a tunnel underneath the parking lot from the station, and it takes you up a series of escalators to the arrivals area, with check-in another escalator up. However, I had only hand luggage and I had checked in the day before, so I headed right through to security, which was fairly painless (liquids and iPad got to stay in my bag) and I was airside!
Tunnel between the Metro station and the main terminal.
WS, OG and AZ are all new to IAD this summer (albeit AZ did serve IAD previously as Alitalia)
Never gets old
Top picture has the SV 77W preparing to depart for RUH and the TK 789 preparing for the trip to IST. Bottom pic has the OS 763 having just arrived from VIE as OS94.
Enter text here…
TP, BA, TK and VS all gearing up for their transatlantic flights
After taking a bit of a stroll around the concourse, I grabbed some Cava and sat down at gate B76, in the domestic part of concourse B. Delta and the other non-UA US carriers have their gates down there and I caught a glimpse of an ex-AirTran 717-200 preparing to return to ATL. Soon enough, my A221 arrived at the gate from SEA, and my first impression of it was that it was super sleek. My excitement really ramped up for the flight, and soon enough, it was time for boarding, which happened right on time.
The aforementioned 712, preparing to head back to ATL.
My ride to SEA, N125DU, which was delivered back in 2019.
Knee shot in 16A–as someone who's traveled on Amtrak a lot in 2022/23, it was very hard to go back to the tight seat pitch in the sky.
Once I got onboard, I made my way to 16A, and one thing I immediately appreciated was the seatback entertainment screens. I know that lots of airlines have moved away from those in favor of streaming to personal electronic devices, so kudos to DL for having those on their newer planes (and having it available right away). The flight attendants did a good job keeping the boarding process moving, and after a slight delay, we pushed back and eventually took off 13 minutes late.
This E70 was headed to MSP.
This 77W–N2352U–was headed to FRA as UA989
We were behind N225UA for takeoff, headed to FCO as UA884
The flight
Once we got into the air, it was quite cloudy over western Pennsylvania/Ohio/Michigan, but it cleared up once we crossed the eastern shore of Lake Michigan and over Green Bay, leading to some great views later in the flight as we got further west (more on that later also). The crew soon sprung into action for the first drink service, and I had the usual Biscoff cookies and cranberry apple cocktail. All of the supermarkets near me sell Biscoff, and earlier in the pandemic I would buy them to remind myself of how it was to fly, but there's something about having them at 30,000 feet that just makes them hit different. The F/A gave me two packs of them, AND let me have the whole can of juice. The crew was very attentive throughout the flight, doing two formal drink services, but they came through several times with coffee and water. 10/10 crew on this flight in my book. In addition, the captain did a great job keeping us informed throughout the flight as far as turbulence, because there was some earlier in the flight.
Climbing somewhere above PA
Biscoff, cranapple cocktail and the 1994 classic Angels In The Outfield, feat. Danny Glover and a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Green Bay, Wisconsin down below
The rest of the flight was spent watching movies and the live TV on the IFE system (with some podcasts sprinkled in from my phone for good measure), which was top notch and worked perfectly. But the highlight of this flight for me was the views out the window as we got further west. Once we got past Green Bay, the skies cleared up, and with the help of the moving map, I could pick out exactly where we were flying over. It was truly a stunning last 2 hours or so of the flight, and before we knew it, we were beginning our approach into SEA.
Those dots are from the oil fields in North Dakota
Moscow, ID; Pullman, WA; and then Lewiston, ID farther south
Night cabin shot somewhere over Montana/Idaho
I believe this was Moses Lake, WA but if there are any Washingtonians reading this, feel free to correct me
We made a turn to take a southerly approach into SEA, and we touched down at 8:00 PM right on the dot, 34 minutes ahead of schedule. After a quick taxi, we pulled into to gate A4 and we were quickly off the plane. Since I had no checked luggage to pick up, I headed right for the Link station to take me into downtown Seattle and my hotel. Keep in mind, however, that the A/B/C/S gates where most of DL's flights arrive are quite a long walk from the Link stop, and there was no operational shuttle. But an airport with a transit link to downtown will always get high marks in my book.
Very much a fan of this atrium after leaving the airside area in terminal A
