Recently, I had occasion to fly to Tampa Florida.  As I go there often I am always looking for the best flight buy.  For awhile it was ATA, a newer discount airline which fly into the Clearwater/St. Petersburg airport.  This is a great little airport where you deplane down a flight of stairs onto the Tarmac and walk into the terminal.  It always reminds me of the airport in the movie Casablanca, which I believe was filmed at the Burbank airport, another of my favorites.  But, alas, ATA's nonstop flight (I always try to fly nonstop, it takes less time and is a lot less worrisome), was no longer nonstop.  It required a stop in Chicago or some other non-direct place.  And, what's more, the price had doubled.  I was not happy with this turn of events so I turned to the various travel sites, Orbitz, Travelocity, and Price Line (my personal favorite, because I love the Bill Shatner/Leonard Nimoy commercials currently running).  I knew that the only other nonstop flight to Tampa was Delta, and that without a pretty good advance in the booking it could be expensive.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that Delta now has a "discount" spinoff called "Song".  The only difference between the Delta Song flight which I took and a regular Delta flight seemed to be that the food (which I can certainly do without) was not included.  Instead, they offer food for cash. The cost for the flight was exactly the same as the ATA non direct flight and there was no penalty for booking within a week of the flight.  I was able to do this on line, an advantage in not having to wait on the phone for a representative.  I could see which seats were available and actually changed my departure date so that I could get the aisle seat I coveted rather than being squashed in the middle seat. 

The flight itself was to be highly recommended.  The plane has leather seats, and while not as much leg room as the new American planes, it was not too uncomfortable.  Each seat has it's own little video screen with Direct TV available as well as music.  For another $5.00 you can watch the in flight movie which I spurned as I like movies on the big screen.  I watched an A&E movie that turned out to be a good way to spend the time.  The menu offered was very impressive.  They actually had healthy food!  Had it been morning I could have gotten a breakfast burrito but the plane left at 10:00 A.M.  so only the lunch choices were available.  They had sandwiches, salads, a pasta and various snack plates, like fruit and cheese.  It all sounded quite gourmet;  a lot better than airport food, and far superior to the slop we have come to expect from airline food.  I ordered a vegetarian sandwich with feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.  It was huge, and delicious.  I couldn't even finish it.  The price:  $8.00, a bargain for a hungry traveller who is trying to maintain some semblance of nutrition while travelling.  I highly recommend this airline.  The staff was courteous and helpful and the plane arrived on time with my digestion intact.