Off to Johannesburg

Mrs. SFO777 and I are off again this week to another bucket list adventure with our good SoCal friends. Seven days in South Africa including two three-day stays at two over the top resorts. And then 24 hours in Dubai as Mrs. SFO's never ending birth month celebration continues... with planned visits to both Mall of the Emirates and The Dubai Mall. To make matters even worse, she decided that in order to maximize shopping time we should stay at the Sheraton Dubai Mall of the Emirates. I am in so much trouble.

 

Thanks to Alaska Airlines' new partnership with Emirates and a dose of patience and perseverance, we are off in style on miles on one of my favorite airlines. For the first couple of months, EK First awards were plentiful. Then someone in Dubai realized that F inventory was disappearing and AS mileage is a lot easier to accumulate than EK mileage. So EK cut way back on award availability. Nevertheless, we were eventually able to bag some great EK First fights starting with JFK-DXB and 12 hours on an Emirates A380. Hope you enjoy the ride.

 

-Delta First Class DEN-LGA
-Sheraton Laguardia East
-Emirates Lounge at JFK
-Emirates A380 First Class JFK-DXB
-Emirates New First Class Lounge at DXB T3
-Emirates Business Class Lounge DXB-JNB
-Intercontinental Hotel at JNB
-Federal Air
-Singita Boulders Sabi Sand Game Reserve
-Odie Air
-Royale Malewale Thornybush Game Reserve
-Federal Air
-Emirates Lounge at JNB
-Emirates First Class JNB-DXB
-Sheraton Dubai Mall of the Emirates
-Mall of the Emirates
-The Dubai Mall
-Another Nobu Fix: Nobu Dubai
-Emirates Old First Class Lounge at DXB B Gates
-Emirates A380 First Class DXB-JFK
-Delta Sky Club at JFK
-Delta First Class JFK-DEN

 

Since Emirates has chosen not (yet) to fly nonstop to Denver, we must connect yet again to the good stuff. Using one of my two annual companion passes, this cheap DL nonstop is perfectly timed to get to NYC for a good night's sleep before our 20 hours of Emirates First to Joburg. As an experience DL flyer, I remembered the golden rule when traveling DL... never assume an edible meal. With that in mind, we left 15 minutes early to stop at newly opened Root Down, the DIA Concourse C branch of one of our favorite Denver restos. Only open a month with some funky decor, it did not disappoint.

 

 

 

 

And nice views of an airline I hope to never fly again...

 

 

 

We shared a breakfast burrito and tandoori chicken wrap... both delicious.

 

At T-35, we headed over to Gate C36.

And arrived just as Priority boarding began.

Delta 1794
DEN-LGA
A319
3:38p-9:20p (sked)
3:29p-9:00p (actual)
October 1, 2013
Seats 2AB

Friendly NYC-based FA Karen, provided excellent service for the most part, including PDB.

But once in flight, the usual bad DL habit of rushing thru drink service to get to the meal. Even worse today, as our FA brought my cocktail with the meal tray. Seriously??? To her credit, she had no objection when I asked if she would take my meal back and serve it later. Today's "lunch" selections were cold Herb Chicken salad or (stinky and no doubt processed) hot beef and provolone sandwich. Older and wiser when it comes to DL food, Mrs. SFO passed while I took one for the team and the photo op. The chicken was semi-edible but the rest of the salad was awful. Yo DL, how about if you fly AA and see what a proper domestic lunch looks and tastes like.

As usual, the best of any DL meal is the Dancing Deer dessert. Today's Molasses was pretty good, so much so that Mrs. SFO ate half of mine and asked for her own.

Periodic drink refills and a pass of the snack basket. Good WiFi service today.

And the always classy A319... the usual no curtain means the galley is part of the F cabin.