This Delta Sky Club in Terminal A of the Detroit Airport is a tight squeeze, but it's fine for a quick turnaround. There was no bartender present when I was in the Club, but it honestly was no big deal to pour myself a glass of water and find a place to sit.

The "nibble snacks" were fine, but the selection looked picked over, and the one lady that was trying to clean the food bar seemed overwhelmed. There were two people walking around collecting empty plates and cups, so I would hope that the staff could be better allocated to serve the customers who were waiting on drinks and food.

I travel a lot, and I've come to depend upon the little touches like the Delta Sky Clubs to make the ordeal of traveling a bit less stressful.

Perhaps they could do some work on this Club and it's staff?

The restaurant formerly known as Café SBN has been re-branded and is now known as Bar Fly, Studebagels, and The Pop Stop (pre-security), or South Bend Chocolate Café and Bar Fly (post-security).

Two branches of the same little diner, sandwich shop, and bagel spot can be found inside the airport. One is before you go through TSA Security, and that's where your guests can meet you as you wait on your baggage. The second location is inside the main terminal after you go through Security and walk towards your gate.

The menu at both places is nearly the same, and it's about the only place where you can grab a sandwich, soup, or a wrap, along with a soft drink, beer, or mixed drink inside the airport.

Apparently South Bend Chocolates are a local sweet delicacy, and the ladies at the counter were handing out free samples of candy while you waited for them to make your sandwich. I was there at lunchtime, waiting on a flight out, so I just ordered a bread bowl filled with their homemade chicken & dumplings & fresh veggies soup.

Plenty of seating, lots of charging stations, and the gift shop was right next door with all of your Notre Dame gift souvenirs.

After a nearly disastrous experience trying to reschedule a trip back to Tampa due to a work stoppage at O'Hare International Airport, the crew at the Hertz counter at the South Bend Airport bent over backwards to help me.

We had originally flown into O'Hare, and rented a car from Hertz to drive the two hours down to South Bend. When we learned of the work stoppage and cancelled flights at O'Hare, we contacted Hertz's toll-free reservations line, and were told that there would be an astronomical drop-off fee for returning the car in South Bend.

Feeling a bit stressed, I took the car to the Hertz counter at South Bend and explained my situation to the lady working the counter. She smiled and said "just a minute" as she called her manager. Within moments they had reversed the drop-off fee, and actually reduced the rate on my entire rental. I was honestly stunned by this display of excellent customer service.

On my last trip to South Bend, I flew directly into SBN, and once again rented my car through Hertz. As luck would have it, the same agent was working the counter, so I introduced myself as the guy who had the drop-off charge issues from a few weeks back. Amazingly, she recalled my name and started processing my new rental. A gentleman came out of the back office while she was helping me, and she introduced him as the Hertz airport manager.

I profusely thanked him, and complimented his agent for handling the issue and making my trip home less stressful. Little "thank you's" like that obviously made their day, and I know that the agent got a gold star in her file from this happy frequent traveler.

Yay Hertz!

South Bend Airport is a surprisingly nice regional airport, located about 10 minutes away from the University of Notre Dame and the downtown South Bend area.

We had originally flown in to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, and then rented a car to drive to South Bend. When we were getting ready to return home, we learned of a work stoppage at O'Hare by the various ground crews, and were told that our flights were cancelled pending resolution of the strike.

Anxious to get back to warmer weather, one of the staff at our client's office suggested talking to the airlines and seeing if we could book our return trip through South Bend and completely avoid Chicago. Yeah Baby, I like this plan!

Sure enough, the Delta ticket agent in South Bend very kindly re-booked me from South Bend to Detroit and then on to Tampa. Even though the strike was settled the next day, this saved me from spending the night at a hotel airport in Chicago. Delta waived the change fees because of the strike, and that made me very happy.

On my most recent trip to South Bend, I booked my flights directly into and out of this smaller regional airport, and was quite pleased with the experience. The terminal has nine gates, and is immaculately clean, very modern, and easy to navigate. There's free WiFi available throughout the airport, which is a nice touch while waiting for your flight.

Dining options are limited in the airport, with only one restaurant located before you walk through security, and a second version of that same restaurant located on the other side of security. There's not much in the way of amenities, so bring something to read while you sit back and relax.