We cut our arrival into the Atlanta airport too close for comfort for our morning trip to Aruba. With an international flight, we needed to arrive early in order to check-in. So we headed straight for the new Atlanta International Airport Terminal F. The parking situation at this terminal is great. A few minutes after arrival we were in the short security line with boarding passes in hand.

We chose Aruba for this quick getaway for a few reasons. Growing up in Florida, we always pay close attention to Hurricanes. Not only because they effect our well being, but they also effect our ability to travel to the Caribbean during peak Hurricane season. But one place comes to mind instantly when we think of venturing to the Caribbean during Hurricane season, Aruba and the Hyatt Regency.

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Trip Report

• Delta economy comfort to Aruba
• Amazing Aruba Sunset At Palm Beach
• Aruba Hyatt Regency Resort & Casino
• Return flight in Delta economy comfort

Pre-Departure At The Airport

The Atlanta International Terminal is our go to check-in terminal for international trips. We pulled into our parking space with 17 minutes to spare this morning. Within minutes, we were fully checked in and heading through security. There is rarely a disappointing view at the F Terminal, check out the view of the Lufthansa, Korean Air, and Air France planes from only a few days ago.

This was Mrs Weekly Flyer’s first time departing from the new Atlanta International Terminal so we looked around a bit, then headed over to the Terminal E SkyClub for a breakfast snack before our 4 hour flight to Aruba.

False Alarm For Upgrade

The E Terminal SkyClub was busy this particular morning. With only one SkyClub agent at the front desk, the line began to form outside of the SkyClub. Once inside, we found the usual assortment of snacks including bagels, muffins, oatmeal and bloody mary drinks.

After a few snacks I pulled up my Delta iPhone application to check the status of our upgrade requests. I have Platinum status and Mrs Weekly Flyer has no status, so we weren’t hopeful for an upgrade. But my heart skipped a beat when I viewed the picture below on my iPhone.

I noticed my flight class said Business (X) Class, which I thought meant we had both been upgraded. In my haste, I walked to the SkyClub desk and mentioned how I’d like to have my new boarding passes printed due to the upgrade. The agent said congratulations on the upgrade and directed us to the gate for the new boarding passes. My dreams would soon be shattered at the gate.

I checked the overhead monitors and things just didn’t add up. The monitors showed me on the standby list as #2 and Mrs Weekly Flyer as #20. A quick check with the gate agent and again with my Delta iPhone application confirmed that the “Business (X)†referred to the fact that my reservation had been requested an upgrade, not confirmed an upgrade. So lesson learned, don’t get excited if you see a class of service change on the application unless your seat is confirmed.

Delta 737-800 To Aruba

We boarded our Boeing 737-800 plane with the SkyPriority boarding class and were quickly settled into the second row of economy comfort.

Our strategy on this flight was to snag both aisle seats in economy comfort. Since Baby Weekly Flyer stayed behind at home we decided the aisle would give us both a little extra space. Speaking of extra space, a gentleman seated directly behind Mrs Weekly Flyer apparently purchased two seats (aisle and middle) to accommodate his need for a little extra room. I think this is the right thing to do for passengers in need of a little extra space.

There was a slight delay at departure. Two people had to leave the plane for some reason, and the flight left with about 4 empty seats in economy and a full First Class section. The food for purchase program was in full effect on this flight. We picked up a few snacks to nibble on with the free $200 credit from our Platinum American Express.

Mr 10 D asked the flight attendant to retrieve his bag during the flight service. He then proceeded to pull out about 5 in-flight certificates and used 2 for drinks and 3 for snacks. Things got interesting as the flight attendant arrived at our row. Mr and Mrs 11E and F ordered first. Mrs 11 E said she’d take two bottles of wine. Mrs Weekly Flyer looked at her and said “I like your style.” Mr 11 F then said I’ll take two bottles as well as did Mrs Weekly Flyer. The flight attendant joked that she was almost out of wine and it was only the second row. I couldn’t be left behind and knew it would be a long time for them to return, so I picked up two cold ones for the four hour flight a well.

On the way down, we received a note from a friend in San Juan that the weather in the Caribbean was fantastic this weekend. He sent a quick picture from the SJU airport after he landed on his American Airlines flight. Clear blue skies awaited us on our arrival into Aruba.

We passed to the west of San Juan on our way to Aruba. Crossing over Haiti and the Dominican Republic we snapped a few photos of the clear skies and blue water.

Arrival into the Aruba airport was a breeze. We walked through the terminal and passed through customs in about 10 minutes.

Flight from Venezuela on Venezolana airlines.

We then grabbed a taxi which cost about $25 USD from the airport to the Hyatt Regency Aruba.

Bottom Line

The economy comfort aisle seat strategy worked great. We had plenty of extra room and the ability to chat across the aisle from each other for the quick 4 hour journey to one happy island, Aruba.

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