Day 1 – In Transit Los Angeles to Amsterdam
Morning flight was delayed, causing a lot of anxiety as to whether we ought to keep our original flight itinerary (Los Angeles – Portland – Amsterdam) or change to a later flight via Minneapolis. We got conflicting advice from the agent in the Delta Lounge and the gate agent. At the end of the day, we opted to keep our original flight.
Long story short, the flight took off at the new scheduled time, the flight Amsterdam ended up boarding about 10 minutes late and we made it off the first plane before the next flight boarded. We got lucky on two accounts: Portland is a very small airport and gates aren’t far apart and (2) there were no additional delays (mechanical or otherwise).
Pro Tip: Try to get at least a three hours layover to account for potential delays.
Our itinerary was dictated by four factors: (1) it had to be Delta, as we had “International Upgrades” due to status, (2) had to leave out of LAX (even if it had a connection), (3) had to have guaranteed upgrade availability (so we weren’t on standby), and had to leave Saturday AM due to Patricia’s work schedule. Via Portland was our best bet, but if other factors weren’t in play, we definitely would have opted for a longer layover. Last year’s European debacle to Naples was a lesson well learned!
Once we got on the long-haul Airbus A330 to Amsterdam, it was smooth sailing. Delta One seat configuration was their second most spacious option (reverse herringbone) so we were very comfortable. The plane itself felt warm and we fell asleep before we had a chance to take an Ambien, so we didn’t sleep great, but that was on us.
More tomorrow from Amsterdam!