New member here, kinda new to non-rev, seeking advice on day trip from ATL to NYC on Delta

**akincai** · 09-Aug-2009, 03:35 PM

Hello everyone! I'm a new member here at The Nonrev Network. My father is a retired Delta pilot and I have a Delta Flight Pass card that I have barely used. We did enough travelling when I was a kid, so as an adult, I haven't been that much interested in travelling. My co-workers berate me constantly that I don't use my privileges so I'm trying to (finally) venture out in the world of non-rev travel. I'd love to go into work on a Monday morning and flaunt my weekend travels :)

So here is my question: It's probably been over 10 years since I traveled non-rev and I have no clue what the landscape is like these days. [As a side note, I'm 35 years old so I remember flying first class as a kid (I know, spoiled rotten) and getting served meals on a tray with the little salt & pepper shakers with the stickers on top, rolled silverware, exploding salad dressing, and chicken cordon bleu - those were the days! :)] Anyway, I've never been to NYC and would like to take a day trip on a weekend to NYC to just walk around Manhattan. I'm sure standby travel on the weekends is even more difficult which is why I'm hoping there is someone out there who can teach me the ropes! Also, I have no clue what the best times to fly out of ATL would be, which airport to fly into, how to get into Manhattan (subway, taxi, car service, etc.) and how much time to I need to get back to the NY airport, etc.

I know this is probably a lot to ask, but I would be eternally grateful for a seasoned non-rev traveler to educate me - especially someone who has experience traveling non-rev into NY from ATL on Delta. And if there is another Delta non-rev person that would like to tag along, I'd be open to that too!

Thank you so much!

Andrew

**mrs767er** · 10-Aug-2009, 08:31 AM

Hi and welcome. Pilot spouse here. We do tons of nonrev and he commutes CVG to NY base. Experience with JFK or LGA any given regular day:
start early, it can be hopeless after 2 pm or wait until late ones to JFK (too late for INTNL conx) but you'll have hotel expense. We use Five Town Motor Inn 516-371-2600s w/free shuttle out of LGA or JFK. If you need car between airports, we use Kew 718-846-6666
My husband starts his commute early or night before. Much of OUR service is not DL, tho.
It's really hard to do some days even with 23 yrs on an S3. I guess you're S3CR?
You may fare better out of ATL these days

We find it's easier for INTL travel and I always get business class. You have the NW option now, via DTW, too. Domestic just gets so iffy--several times I have not made an overseas trip due to domestic flight problems. Oh well...
Happy to offer any more tips--I'm sure you'll get lots of advice from some our intrepid flyin' fools!

**SummerShi** · 10-Aug-2009, 11:23 AM

Andrew,

New to this board, but agree with the mrs. 767, early, early,....earlier flights you will have more luck on. Are you based in ATL? Also, getting one seat is easier than getting two seats, so you have that going for you. Don't count on getting first class but it's not impossible on the earliest flight out. I got biz class out of Chicago at 5:40 am flight, couple of weeks ago. What works good is to stay your last night at airport hotel if it isn't too costly that way it's easier to get yourself to the gate for that early flight out. Just be prepared for anything, bring a book, download a movie, etc....

mrs767er,....i have yet to go INTL....is it really easier than domestic? I want to do UK this winter and wondering what the best day of the week to shoot for in and out. Will be going out of ATL.

**mrs767er** · 10-Aug-2009, 12:25 PM

be prepared for some high taxes and fees and really horrid prices for food/bev/transport
Set yourself up on DLnet and see what the charges will be.
I personally avoid UK destinations because of them. I used to have a BF from Portsmouth waaaaay back in the single girl days, so I've seen quite a bit of England.
I prefer Eastern EU cities like Prague and Budapest--apts are cheap and fun! Where else can you buy fine paprika, tour castles and take a hot springs public bath with a few hundred other people in the middle of Dec?

I just missed an opportunity to go to EDI before DL dropped service from JFK, but maybe another year...
Are you the employee, Summer? You just have to be flexible--we lost some of the CVG service to EU, so loads may be hard to figure out until the traffic rates and the merger really settle in and so on...
I wouldn't make any concrete plans you can't fix in a day (or abandon) I just reversed a trip to Rome (23 yrs on S2) and couldn't get to NY that day, so I went to Vegas for the first time. I stayed less than 12 hrs but it was better than paying $$$ for a hotel in NY IF I could even get one...)

I do see that good nonrev timing is early Dec 2 wks after TGiving before the next hoilday period starts. ALso end Jan when people are reeling from bills but not as late as Valentines/winter school breaks. The first week in Nov is often good for EU. Just watch their holiday dates too.

Hope the hints help!
Wherever you go, there you are!
That's my motto--don't steal it, like Jumper [asked] with my "Carpe Trippem"

**akincai** · 10-Aug-2009, 04:10 PM

Thank you both for that valuable information! I do live in Atlanta and will be traveling by myself most of the time; however, I do have a friend who also has a Delta Flight Pass Card so that's good to know about traveling by yourself vs. with another. As far as my status (S3, etc.) I believe, since my dad is retired, that I'm just one above Friends and Family riders (buddy pass?) - so I don't know what that makes me. I'm pretty sure I'm very low on the list.

If I could ask another question: I remember using the Delta Travel Line Voice Response Unit (VRU) years ago and it really wasn't that bad. I was able to easily check on flights, get a yield fare quote, cancel a listing, etc. However, after dialing in a few times recently, they have really changed it! I could not get a yield fare quote or cancel a listing easily. I'm actually on hold as I type this with a Delta agent trying to cancel my mistake listing and get a yield fare quote. The agent did not seem to understand me when I said "yield fare". Do you know if a non-dependent child of a retiree can be set up on DeltaNet? I would imagine an online system has to be infinitesimally easier than VRU :)

Thanks again for the help!

Andrew Kincaid

**mrs767er** · 10-Aug-2009, 06:27 PM

hey andrew!
well, if your dad still likes you, he can give you access to his DLnet website. then you can shop till you drop--the VRU line might still be available but it's a horror unto itself--most of us HATE the darned thing. the yield fares will be calculated before you have to pay (using a credit card) and will show you all the fees, taxes etc
res agents don't really have access to YF prices--same for zed and so on. The website is the only accurate way to get the scoop.

As DL Retiree kid, you have pretty good standing above buddy passes, but now we have a zillion more employees/dependents/step-families in the mix with the merger. But, wow! access to Asia and so much more
It's going to be interesting...

**SummerShi** · 10-Aug-2009, 07:27 PM

Mrs. 767er - no I'm not the employee, I'm a survivor of one.
I have heard about the $$$ expense of UK but I've something I have to do in London and I'm a bit of a anglophile so I'm willing to save for the trip. I intend on doing more of Eastern Europe but I also kind of felt it might be easier to do England for my first international trip and solo at that, at least I'll speak the language...sort of.

Thanks for the tips on travel time. I might be back to ask for some tips as it gets closer to my attempt.

Andrew - I think, but am not certain, that only the primary pass rider can set up on DeltaNet. Maybe your dad would give you his log in. FYI, I tried to use the phone system this past weekend, I missed my connection in ATL, coming home from a funeral, and I listed on a later flight, it gave me a confirmation number but when I got to the gate, they didn't show me listed at all.

Does anyone know if you can access travelnet via iphone without connecting to a WiFi in airport?

Good luck Andrew and let us know how it goes.

**spongebue** · 11-Aug-2009, 10:38 AM

You don't need to be in an airport to get on travelnet, so your normal data plan on the iPhone should be just fine. The browser may not be the best, since there probably isn't a mobile/iPhone version of the site, but you should get by, at least.

As for the flight itself, it helps that you're essentially going from one hub to another, with plenty of cities that both airports serve. Take a look at the wikipedia page on your airport of choice (LGA or JFK) and find a city with a decent connection time (you don't need to give yourself too much time in the smaller airports, but watch for delays) and loads if the nonstops aren't very good.

Example: I was in YYZ with a friend of mine, and we were a few hours early at the airport. A flight was boarding to DTW when we got to the gate, and the agent (awesome guy) was able to get us on, exit row seat and everything. When I got to DTW, I realized that I couldn't get home on a nonstop to MSP until 9:00 if I was lucky, since the standby lists were all out the door. Looking at the flight monitors, I noticed a flight to RST (Rochester, MN, where that CO flight was recently stuck) leaving in less than an hour, which went to MSP soon after. Got my friend onto his own flight home to FWA, and I hopped on the flight to RST, no problems. Rather than 9:00, I was home at 6:00.

**SummerShi** · 11-Aug-2009, 09:28 PM

spongebue,

good info on the connection times....

I know I don't have to be in an airport to access travelnet but I guess I should have worded the question differently. I tried to access travelnet on my iphone while at the airport an couldn't get on, thought it might be a security default that you can't use a cell phone network to access. I will have to try it again to see if it works.

**egrant28** · 18-Aug-2009, 11:48 PM

I just joined this site a few moments ago myself. I'm a 4 yr Delta spouse.

In regard to going to NYC for a day trip, I find that Saturdays are a piece of cake. Most business travelers aren't flying. Most vacationers have attempted to reach grandma's on Friday, returning Sunday. I don't imagine many problems for your day trip. In fact, I just took a peek at Travelnet. Wide open.

In regard to viewing Travelnet on an iPhone, I don't know. I know I simply cannot on a Treo :-(.

As far as the UK goes, I went earlier this yr around Independence Day. Pain in the butt as I was bumped twice out of here. I found that it was cheaper and more open to catch a ZED flight on British Airways rather than take our beloved Delta out of Atlanta during that holiday period. Can you believe it? My ZED flight was cheaper than my employee flight would have been. British airlines don't seem to be subject to the heavy taxes that "foreign" airlines have to pay to land there. They have 4 classes. I wasn't in first class, but it wasn't stowage either. Remember, "buddies" can't fly ZED, if you were planning to bring one. I find that other airlines still have a dress code, so don't wear shorts if you go that route.

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