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Liiegtofe Thursday, June 25 - July 1, 2015 Page 7B
Waiting area at Signature Executive Terminal in Memphis
A Southern Airways Express plane readies for takeoff from DeKalb Peachtree Airport
I recently had the pleasure of flying on
Southern Airways from PDK to Memphis
and was certainly impressed with the
departure from what has now become the
norm for air travel.
A couple of hours prior to my scheduled
flight, I glanced at my watch and became a
bit anxious thinking of the normal hassles of
flying out of Hartsfield Jackson International
Airport. I hurriedly left the office, rushed
to my car and then realized that all I had to
do was drive the short distance to PDK in
Chamblee, and there was no need to rush.
A sense of calm came over me. My entire
mental state changed quickly; I was actually
looking forward to the flight.
Upon arrival at PDK, there was
complimentary parking within feet of the
Signature Flight Services executive terminal.
Pleasantly absent was the need to drive row
after row in search of a vacant parking space,
or the concern for the security of my car.
Inside the terminal are leather upholstered
seating areas which overlook the airfield;
passengers can watch incoming and outgoing
flights, charge their devices or just relax.
There are also complimentary beverages and
luxurious bathrooms. And even better, there
are no crowds, lines or messages blaring from
a public address system.
Instead of being required to go through
the typical prescreening of baggage and a
full body scan, or even more intrusive, a
physical pat-down, passengers on Southern
Airways are greeted by a staff member,
who in my case was actually the pilot, and
asked to show photo identification. It is that
simple. Passenger names are entered into
the Transportation Safety Administrations
database when reservations are made, so
there is also no concern for safety.
The pilot took my bag and personally
loaded it onto the aircraft—another pleasant
surprise! There was no concern of seeing
my bag thrown onto a conveyor belt and
wondering if it would make it to the right
plane and destination.
The entire process of arriving, parking,
checking in and being cleared for boarding
took less than 10 minutes and was more
like being welcomed to a private VIP event
than what we are accustomed to on a typical
commercial flight.
Within minutes, the pilot announced that
passengers could board at their leisure and
take any seat they wanted. We were also told
that if we wanted to keep our cell phones
on, no problem. There was no lengthy set of
safety instructions by flight attendants nor
was there a wait on the tarmac.
The engines started, the pilot confirmed
that all passengers were securely buckled in,
and we taxied to our take-off position.
From arriving at the terminal to actually
being airborne, the time span was no more
than 30 minutes.
As impressive as the arrival and check-it
was; the inflight experience was even more
pleasant. The leather-upholstered seats can
be moved forward, backward or reclined to
ensure passenger comfort, and armrests can
be positioned up or down and are not shared
with another passenger.
There are only two rows of seats on the
Cessnas in Southerns fleet so passengers are
never crowded or exposed to a less-than-
pleasant stranger in the adjacent seat. Each
seat also has a window view and aisle access.
In addition to comfort and convenience,
another benefit to flying in smaller aircraft
is the cruising altitude, which typically is
lower than the altitude of jets and allows
passengers to have a constant aerial view of
the landscape below. As we departed PDK, we
had an impressive view of the former General
Motors production plant and the downtown
Atlanta skyline. While in-flight, we also had
the pleasure of viewing numerous bodies of
water and mountains along the route and
literally flying among the billowy, white
cumulus clouds.
On arrival in Memphis, a uniformed
representative of Southern Airways met the
plane on the tarmac offering an assisting
hand if needed and telling us where to
retrieve our checked baggage. As is the case at
PDK, the Memphis Signature Flight Support
terminal is luxurious, uncrowded and easy to
navigate.
Instead of retrieving bags at a crowded
carousel, a staff member called the names on
bag tags, and set them beside the counter. As
I retrieved my bag, another representative
was gracious enough to ask if I needed
transportation and offered to call a taxi. That’s
the kind of unheard of customer service that
makes for such as overall positive experience.
It’s professional, yet personal; it’s welcoming
and genuine. It is like a throwback to the old
ways of flying where the passenger’s comfort
was the main priority.
Having flight options such as Southern
Airways gives the traveling public an
opportunity to truly enjoy the experience
and not be rushed or crowded at any time. It
seems to me that Tittle and his company are
doing an excellent job of achieving the goal of
bringing back the old days of flying.
I have already recommended DeKalb’s
only commercial passenger service to
numerous friends and associates and intend
to use them for weekend jaunts to Destin,
New Orleans, Chattanooga and Nashville in
the near future.
For additional information and a full
flight schedule, visit www.IFlySouthern.com.