Flying from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, it's like taking a bus to Milan

The airport of Las Vegas is one of the busiest in the U.S., in addition to traditional carriers, all major low cost and ultra low cost carriers fly here. Full service carriers use gates in D and E decks, while low cost carriers generally use gates A,B,C.

Reservation

This was a last-minute flight I booked to fly from Las Vegas. in Los Angeles, prices were more or less all aligned, and so my choice fell on the convenience of departure/arrival time, since in Los Angeles I would have to board another flight home. I thus opted for Delta, a decision that also allowed me to accumulate a couple of points XP on my Flying Blue profile, Air France's loyalty program, SkyTeam alliance member as well as the American company. The cost of the ticket was 103$, Southwest the low-cost carrier I love cost more and also had worse schedules, same for other companies.

At the airport

Things are different from Italy, here if you have luggage to check in you often do it outside the terminal. However, that was not my case, when I can you only travel with carry-on luggage.

When I arrived at Maccarran International Airoport, the Delta counters were virtually deserted, unlike nearby Spirit.

Unfortunately, in the U.S., except for major stopovers, it is virtually impossible to find fast track as in Europe. Here you only get them if you have subscriptions to services like TSA or Clear. Services that offer the possibility of skipping the queue and not even undergoing security checks (taking off your shoes, emptying your pockets...) precisely because you have obtained, by paying, a stamp that guarantees that you are not a terrorist.

Fortunately, the D/E zone controls were virtually deserted compared to the flood of people in the low-cost zone.

To move to the D and E decks, it is necessary to take the automatic train which connects the two areas to the main body of the airport. The trip takes a couple of minutes and trains run back and forth all the time, however, it is important to keep in mind that you will have to go through the controls, get to the station, wait for the train, and then, once on the other side, get to the departure gates. It can take up to 30 minutes, excluding checks.

This was not my case because at 7 a.m. the airport was practically deserted. I could have come even later, but it was an opportunity to visit the two lounges in the airport. Club Las and especially the Centurion Lounge by American Express.

The first is essential, accessible with Priority Pass and is freestanding, much like what you would find in an Italian lounge. The second one, on the other hand, is another story; it is not the nicest one I have ever seen, but it is certainly appropriate for the airport in Sin City. In fact it is the only place in the airport where there are no slot machines.

What I like is the boarding phase. In Italy, or rather in Europe, it is a hunt to get in line 25 minutes earlier, here, on the other hand, everyone knows that there are procedures for zone boarding and that it is totally unnecessary to get up early except to stand. There is maximum transparency. On the monitors, stand-by passengers are shown, how many seats are on the plane, how many people checked in, who got upgrades, etc. etc.

My ticket was super economy, the night before while checking in, I was offered to upgrade to comfort, premium economy, for 9.99$. I didn't do it, anyway for a flight of just over 70 minutes you can live comfortably in the back of the cabin of this Embraer 175. The only risk is not finding room in the hat box for carry-on luggage, but enjoying the SkyPriority benefits guarantees to board before other people in basic economy.

As stated, boarding procedures are well defined. First people with assistance board, then the military, followed by business class passengers and Platinum Medallion holders, the highest level in Delta's loyalty program. Then it's the turn of Comfort+ passengers, SkyPriority customers, and finally everyone else.

On board

When you fly to the U.S. it is like taking a bus, especially with Delta, it is a feeling that is also there when flying intercontinental. The good thing is. Even on short/medium-haul flights there are business and premium economy cabins. Not like in the EU where the difference is only the vacancy in the middle.

Here Business provides 3 seats per row, significantly better seats than Economy. As for premium economy, however, you have a bit more legroom than the rest of the cabin.

In any case, the legroom is absolutely superior to what is found on many companies in Europe, aided by the fact that this E175 was not brand new.

The size of the coffee table is also more than sufficient for working with a tablet or notebook.

IFE

There are no monitors on these models, but On virtually all the rest of the fleet, each seat is equipped with its own in-flight entertainment system. On the other hand, however, there is wi-fi. All passengers are offered the connection to chat for free, if you want you can also pay to have the connection to be able to surf.

Always free and for everyone, there is the ability to connect their devices to the aircraft's wi-fi and watch movies, TV series and cartoons. The offerings all include "new" content and a total of 25 films, including the latest 007. Needless to say, I would love to see European companies follow the example of U.S.-made carriers.

Service

There was no on-board service of any kind, nothing at all.

In conclusion

I have already told the anecdote of the flight in the overbooking with 900$'s offer. to give up my seat to other passengers. I couldn't take advantage of that, but I would have liked to put almost 10 times what I had paid for the flight in my pocket. Otherwise, you don't have as much fun as aboard Southwest, but for such a route one "bus" is as good as another.