OH DELTA!
I got invited to go to Canada for two reasons. The first was to return to Toronto to tape more episodes of "Call For Help" on Tech TV; the second was to go on to Montreal, to check out the city. My ticket was arranged for me, and the travel agency they used must have had a deal with Delta. They booked me on that airline, even though there were other carriers available with nonstop, cheaper flights. Don't you hate when corporate travel agencies pull that kind of nonsense?

Don't get me wrong: I love travel agents. I hear (far too often) from my corporate friends how their in-house travel agencies have to use certain airlines on a specific fare code which is usually much more expensive than other fares, and involves undesirable routes. But I didn't complain or get upset. After all, I got a free ticket, and besides I don't mind hanging out in airports (most of the time). In addition, I recently became a Gold Medallion member in Delta's Sky Miles program (I flew at least 50,000 actual air miles in 2005 on Delta and its partners).

This was my first time reaping the benefits of an elite flyer on Delta (I usually get them from United or American). Being upgraded for free without even asking was a total surprise, and new experience for me (United and American don't normally do that). I love the fact that Delta upgrades elite members if space is available -- and that they don't wait till the last minute either. My upgrade went through 72 hours before departure!

LAX-ATLANTA
That made my 6 a.m. flight to Atlanta much more enjoyable on the two-class 767. The plane looked kind of old, but the wide blue leather first-class seats were comfy. Each seat had a bottle of water, headset, pillow and blanket. I was impressed with the friendliness of the flight attendants as they served a hot breakfast on the quick 1,940-mile, 3-hour,15-minute flight. The Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport was crazy as usual (in 2005 it was the busiest airport in the world, with 980,197 takeoffs and landings). From Atlanta I took a 50-seat regional jet to Toronto. Fortunately, it wasn't packed. Having an open seat next to me made the 2-hour, 741-mile flight pretty nice. For more click HERE.