On the way back from my most recent trip to Rio de Janeiro, where I enjoyed a stay at the JW Marriott Rio de Janeiro and heard lots about the World Cup that will take Brazil by storm in June, I flew from Rio to New York City via a rather circuitous route, with stops in Brasilia and Atlanta. Here is a review of my flight experience on the Brasilia-Atlanta leg.
THE ROUTE: Brasilia – Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport (BSB) to Atlanta (ATL), Boeing 757-200, 8 hours 30 minutes (economy class)
THE AIRPORT: Even though I had flown Gol Airlines as a Delta codeshare flight from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia and received all my boarding passes in Rio (read my review of the Gol Airlines inflight service here), I still had to leave the departure area and check in again at the Delta Air Lines ticket counter in Brasilia. At least the check-in process and security screening were fast and efficient, although the line for immigration processing (which Brazil requires for visitors leaving the country) was more time consuming. Gate 12, the departure point for my flight, is a rather small gate, but had sufficient seats for all passengers, as well as charging stations, which are a plus.
THE AIRCRAFT: The Delta Air lines Boeing 757 had two classes of service — and even though I’d recently covered Delta’s international upgrades on business and first class in Latin Trade’s annual Best of Travel issue (and in spite of being a gold member of Delta Sky Miles), I was unfortunately (but as usual) in the back of the plane on this flight.
THE IN-FLIGHT SERVICE:
Pillows and blankets on seats? Yes
Airline seating: Economy-class seats had headrests with wings, and AC outlets between seats.
Free airline food? Yes. For dinner, choices included cold chicken salad, hot beef with rice or hot pasta. All were served with salad, roll, crackers and cheese and a brownie. In the morning, the breakfast consisted of a warm egg-and-cheese sandwich and a box of orange juice, accompanied by beverage service.
In-flight entertainment: Seatback video screens with a variety of movies and TV programs for free; ear phones were distributed for free before departure.
THE ARRIVAL: The Atlanta airport provided a relatively fast and efficient arrival process.
MORE AIR TRAVEL TIPS:
• Read more airline service reviews in LatinFlyer’s airline section
• Comparing In-Flight WiFi Costs on Latin American Airlines & Beyond
• Getting the Best from Latin America’s Low-cost Airlines