As I was making my way home yesterday afternoon, it really hadn’t occurred to me that my flight would be an event worth blogging about. I’ve already posted about my difficulties getting to Atlanta which was supposed to be my first MD-90 ride. Somehow the upgrade made it OK that I had to fly down on a 757. đŸ™‚ But at some point yesterday, I looked at the seatmap for my flight home and caught on to the fact that I’d get the opportunity to ride in an MD-90 afterall….my flight home was on an MD-90!
OK, life’s little joyful moments. My upgrade into seat 3C had cleared at the Gold Medallion window, and I was all set for a nice flight. We were a little late due to the storms in the DC area Friday night, but not terribly late. I caught a glimpse of the aircraft out the window at gate A-5, and sure enough, the big engines and the slightly taller tail meant I’d get my first ride on an MD-90. Call me a geek if you want, but I actually keep up with the aircraft types I’ve flown on, and this is one that’s been missing for whatever reason.
Soon enough, we boarded, and I turned right to find seat 3C. For obvious reasons, the aircraft feels a lot like an MD-80, but I found the pitch on the MD-90’s first class seats to at least feel a little more generous. The seat was of a slightly different design than the MD-80 seats I was accustomed to as well. I think I like the Delta MD-90’s first class cabin a little better than that of their MD-88s. The customary bottle of Dasani was waiting at my seat as was a pack of peanuts. They must’ve known I’d skipped lunch. đŸ˜‰
After a few fits and starts, we blasted off for DCA. It was in the takeoff that I think the ex-aviator in me could feel the difference in power of the MD-90 vs the MD-88. The MD-90 definitely had more “wheaties” in the takeoff roll. Other than that…everything felt about the same as an MD-88. Inflight service was gracious as I’ve come to expect on Delta, and the GoGo wi-fi was working mostly well…though I think the Diet Coke promo may have been having a slight impact on speed. All in all, a good flight, and the geek in me finally got to cross the MD-90 off my list!
How’s the legroom in Row 1 in F on the MD90?
Not “generous” but good enough.
I was dropped off in Detroit once trying to get home from Chicago. Lucked out enough to get on a MD90 repositioning flight from dtw-msp so there was maybe 12 of us, almost all of whom where in first. An unloaded md-90 can get off the ground pretty dang fast!