18 May 2022

American Airlines versus Delta

I was with American for about 13 years and Delta for nearly 15. Four million miles with American and nearly two with Delta. (I used to travel mostly international while in Dallas and mostly domestic after moving to Atlanta).

In just about every aspect, I have liked Delta always better. However, there are a few things American scores better than Delta to me. First, the passengers are far more orderly while boarding in American flights. Also true for United. Somehow boarding in Delta flights reminds me of the queue discipline that I used to experience in India.

But my biggest complaint with Delta passengers in first class is that they always keep the windows closed. It is like we are always in the dark. I can’t understand why would we sit 35000 feet up in the air and not look outside and marvel at the beauty below and also what we have created. Plus, I am claustrophobic and it creates anxiety.

American haas no TV for every chair. So at least that partially explains why they do not care about it being bright inside. But they also work on laptops and watch videos on phones and iPads. But somehow the American windows are always open. Delta’s are closed.

Never quite figured out why.

17 May 2022

That was some level of justice served

Watching her in front of the laptop on that May morning in 2020 wearing her purple robe and cap in the basement was very painful. It was her graduation day. That was supposed to be the most joyous day of her college chapter. The culmination of four years of hard work put in, life long relationships made and a lot of euphoria stitched with a few setbacks here and there. That was supposed to be the day that she got to “walk the walk” of her life.

But there she was – staring at a laptop screen watching one of the best moments of life slip by uncontrollably. The pandemic had crippled the world.

Two years later, she got her day back! NYU went out of their way to celebrate the graduates of that year by recreating – as best as they could – the exact same environment.

Looking at all the kids grinning from ear to ear, you got the sense that, in some measure, two years later, justice was finally served.