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After enjoying my first visit to the LGA Centurion Club I walked back to Terminal C. Although it was early in the morning lines were already starting to form at security. Fortunately, I was TSA PreCheck and that line was relatively short. I find this to be typically the case at LGA and TSAPre is especially useful at this airport. After a few minutes I was through security and on my way to the gate.
New York for New Year’s – An unexpected invitation
Getting There: Delta it is
Review: Delta Regional First Class – Sacramento to Los Angeles
Review: Delta Transcontinental Business Class – Los Angeles to New York
Review: Park Hyatt New York, New Year’s Eve
Interlude: New York
Review: LGA Centurion Lounge
Review: Delta Domestic First Class – New York to Minneapolis
Review: Delta Domestic First Class – Minneapolis to Sacramento
Delta 2119
New York (LGA) – Minneapolis (MSP)
Sunday, January 3rd
Departure Time: 8:10AM
Arrival Time: 10:22AM
Flight Time: 3hr12min
Aircraft: McDonnell Douglas MD88
Seat: 3A, Delta Domestic First Class
Terminal C at LGA is “U” shaped with the right side of the U shorter than the left (short leg gates C15 – C24).
Map Terminal C LGA
My gate was C23 which sits in the left hand upper corner of the left side of the terminal. When I arrived to the gate it was jammed. The short leg of terminal C is really cramped and I find boarding in this location to be problematic. If your flight happens to be at the end of the hall at gates C18, C20, C21 or C23 it’s even worse as the area is less open.
Our flight today
After waiting for 20 minutes we started to board. The McDonnell Douglas MD-88 (Mad Dog) aircraft is one of my favorites. It’s a design goes back several decades with most planes in operation from the late 80s to 90s. The plane is pretty quiet after takeoff, and who doesn’t love the 3+2 seating arrangement in coach. The first class cabin has 16 seats in a 2+2 configuration. I was greeted by a friendly female flight attendant and took my seat 3A. Every so often the she would hold the boarding process while she took and delivered a pre departure beverage. I had a club soda. Afterward she went through and collected jackets to hang them. As crowed and rushed as the boarding process was, she handled the situation well.
We closed the door a couple minutes early and prepared to push back. And then we waited, waited and waited some more. After about 15 minutes the captain came on and apologized for the delay. A plane directly behind us was held up and we couldn’t push back until they were on their way. Finally, at a few minutes after 9am the we pushed back and headed out.
My view of anther MD88 being catered at LGA
First Class Cabin on the MD-88
The cabin was in great condition for an MD-88. It had been recently refurbished and included Delta’s newish quilted seat style.
Seat 3A
First class cabin
Leg room
First class cabin’s have been shirking over the last 10 years and Delta is not except from this trend. Still, the MD88 seems very comfortable for such a narrow body plane. I’m not sure if it was the updated cabin, the proficient flight attendant, or the fondness for the Mad Dogs, but this Delta flight felt more comfortable than my recent Delta Airbus flights.
About 20 minutes after takeoff the cabin started meal service. We were offered a choice Delta’s egg omelet or cold cereal (read Cheerios). Normally I would have the omelet but I was still full from the French toast at the Centurion Club.
Cereal
After breakfast I drifted off to sleep and woke up to the announcement of our intial descent into Minneapolis. Our flight had made up some time and we arrived at the gate 18 minutes late.
Burrrr
In summary
Delta 2119 LGA to MSP was a smooth and enjoyable flight. Even though we were delayed almost an hour getting out of LGA we only ended up being just under 20 minutes late. The cabin crew was excellent and the Mad Dog MD-88 is one of my favorite narrow body planes to travel in.
