Delta's New Economy Seating Chart - Satire

The Cooper Review has a great article on Delta's seating chart (with a handy diagram!)


Stick with me and you can avoid the "Satan's Den Economy" section.

Je Suis Charlie.

This is a travel blog, not a politics blog, but some issues of the day transcend categories.  The attack on Charlie Hebdo and the murder of its employees was an attack on the West and the values of a free society.  Here's hoping the French bring swift justice to its perpetrators.

#JeSuisCharlie

REVIEW- British Airways Contract Lounge, Dallas (DFW)

Mrs. Pointsninja and I recently returned from a Christmas Markets cruise with Avalon Waterways.  We took my parents along and had a lovely time in Europe.  I, of course, was especially happy at getting to try out some new travel experiences: 1) river cruising and 2) BA First.

Ordinarily, we are captive to the Delta ATL hub for our transatlantic travel, but American also operates a few flights from MGM-DFW so I was able to put together MGM-DFW-LHR-FRA in AA coach, BA F, and BA Club World using US Airways miles.  Happily I did so during the brief window when US wasn't passing along BA's exorbitant fuel surcharges.

This was my first time traveling through DFW, so I was anxious to try out the Centurion Lounge (which I'll review later), but once we arrived at DFW I discovered that a contract lounge for British Airways travelers had recently opened.  Because we were in BA F, we had access.  The DFW contract lounges are located next to gate D22:

Entering and going up one floor you find a reception desk with lounge information, including a sign indicated that Priority Pass members would have access to these lounges:

Since several airlines have individual "mini lounges" in this shared space, the attendant will direct you down to the appropriate room.  In our case we went down the hall (past the available shower rooms) to Club 5:

Just inside the entrance was another reception desk where our boarding passes were scanned and we were welcomed in to the lounge.  To the right of the entry door was a large (and entirely empty) seating area:

 As my lovely assistant was kind enough to indicate, the comfortable seating features tray tables and power ports:

Past the reception desk you come to the main lounge area with views over the tarmac:

The lounge is fairly small, but it features a surprisingly good (by US standards) selection of complimentary beverages.  There was a coffee machine that I didn't try:

Wine was available:

There was a well-stocked self-serve drinks cabinet with some surprisingly good beer:

And finally a list of hard alcohol that was available on request:

Food was also available, including soup and finger sandwiches:

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this lounge.  It doesn't compare to the Centurion Lounge, so if you have an Amex Platinum, I wouldn't recommend it for your next DFW layover.  But if you don't have access to the Centurion Lounge, this would be a decent substitute.  It was, in my opinion, superior to the (much larger, granted) American AAdmiral's Club lounge.