- Introduction: An Aria Suite Adventure To Hong Kong
- Review: Capital One Landing Washington National Airport (DCA)
- Review: Capital One Lounge Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
- Review: Etihad & Chase Sapphire Lounge Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
- Review: Turkish Airlines Lounge Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
- Review: Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
- Review: Lufthansa Business Lounge Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
- Review: British Airways Lounge Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
- Review: British Airways Club Suites Business Class Boeing 777 (IAD-LHR)
- Review: Qantas Lounge London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
- Review: Cathay Pacific Business Lounge London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
- Review: Cathay Pacific First Lounge London Heathrow Airport (LHR)
- Review: Cathay Pacific Aria Suite Business Class Boeing 777 (LHR-HKG)
- Review: St. Regis Hong Kong (Great Marriott Bonvoy Property)
- Review: Kyra Lounge Hong Kong Airport (HKG)
- Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class Airbus A321neo (HKG-ICN)
- Review: Korean Air First Lounge Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN)
- Review: Korean Air First Class Airbus A380 (ICN-JFK)
- Review: Delta One Lounge New York Kennedy Airport (JFK)
- Review: Delta One Business Class Boeing 767 (JFK-LAX)
- Review: Delta One Lounge Los Angeles Airport (LAX)
For the last segment of my Aria Suite Adventure to Hong Kong, I flew Delta’s Boeing 767-400ER business class (marketed as “Delta One”), on the six hour flight from New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX). Delta has a fleet of over 60 767s, and while they operate select premium transcon flights, they also operate some long haul flights to Europe, South America, etc.
Ultimately for a flight across the country, I found this to be perfectly pleasant, with comfortable enough flat beds, very friendly service, extensive entertainment, and free Wi-Fi. For that matter, the best part of the experience is Delta One Lounge access, as these facilities are simply incredibly good.
However, the experience also isn’t perfect, with two major downsides. First of all, Delta’s premium transcon soft product isn’t very good, with food and drinks more in line with what you’d expect in a standard domestic first class product, rather than on a flight that’s marketed as Delta One. Second of all, I find Delta’s 767s to offer the weakest business class hard product of any wide body operated by one of the “big three” US carriers, with the exception of United’s domestic 777s.
In this post:
How I booked my Delta business class ticket
It’s hard to redeem Delta SkyMiles for outsized value in premium cabins, and the airline doesn’t really make any saver level award seats available in these transcon markets. So I took a different approach.
I booked the following in business class for $1,272.83 (I used Amex Pay With Points, so since I have the Amex Business Platinum, this ended up costing me 82,733 Amex Membership Rewards points):
2/09 DL738 New York to Los Angeles departing 3:45PM arriving 7:19PM
That’s not the most exciting value on earth, but I figured it was worth it, to be able to review Delta’s 767 business class, plus to check out the Delta One Lounge JFK and Delta One Lounge LAX.
Delta business class lounge & boarding
In the previous installment, I reviewed the incredible Delta One Lounge JFK, which I had access to on account of my ticket. Delta really knocked it out of the park with this lounge, and I’d argue that was by far the best part of this experience.
My flight was departing from gate B29, just a short walk from the lounge. While the 767-400ER is far from the most cutting edge aircraft, and isn’t as “curvy” as some of the newer planes, I still think it’s a sexy beast.

Boarding was scheduled for 3:05PM, 40 minutes before departure. Sure enough, that’s exactly when boarding started, with Delta 360 members being invited to board first, followed by Delta One passengers.

Delta 767 business class cabin & seats
I boarded through the second set of doors, where I was greeted by a friendly flight attendant, and then turned left into business class. Random tangent, but one major advantage of the 767-400ER over the the 767-300ER is that it’s possible to board through the second set of doors, which makes for a lot less foot traffic in business class during boarding.
Delta’s 767-400ER business class cabin consists of 34 seats, spread across nine rows, in a 1-2-1 configuration (the center section only has eight rows). Delta opted for a customized version of the Thompson Vantage seat, which is a pretty average staggered product.


Those traveling with someone may prefer to select a pair of the center seats. Note that the two seats are always equally far apart from one another, so the only thing that varies with each row is how far the seat is from the aisle. There are no “honeymoon” seats in this configuration, unlike in some other staggered layouts.

If you’re traveling alone and end up in one of these seats, worry not, as there are privacy shields that can be raised, so you’ll actually have more privacy from the person seated next to you than from the person across the aisle.

Most people will probably prefer the window seats, where you don’t have a seat mate, and you have a view out the window, while still having direct access to the aisle. In this staggered configuration, there are two kinds of window seats.
In odd numbered rows, you’ll find seats that are closer to the aisle and further from the windows, which would be the less preferred seats. These seats really offer such little separation from the aisle, and it’s easy to get bumped into by anyone walking down the aisle.




The best seats are generally considered to be the window seats in even numbered rows, where seats are closer to the windows and further from the aisle. These seats offer more privacy, and you’re less likely to be bumped into. I assigned myself seat 8A, the “true” window seat on the left side in the second to last row.




As far as seat features go, each seat has a panel to the side of the seat, where you’ll find an AC power outlet, two USB-A outlets, a headphone jack, and all the seating controls. There are no USB-C outlets, or wireless charging.

Beyond the specific seat recline functions, there are also some pre-sets right next to the seat, if you want to turn your seat into a bed, or want to put it fully upright.

There’s an entertainment controller to the side of the seat that’s located underneath a panel, and when that’s flipped over, there’s also a little mirror.

The seat’s tray table extends from the console to the side of the seat, and is easy to use. When stored, it’s flipped over in half.

In these staggered configurations, one of the space saving techniques is that the footwell is located to the side of the seat in front. Unfortunately the footwells in this configuration are really tight, which isn’t surprising, given the lack of width of the 767’s fuselage. For what it’s worth, the bulkhead seats do have slightly larger footwells, so that could be a reason to select those seats, if available.

On the plus side, the 767 does have individual air nozzles, which helps with regulating airflow and perception of temperature.

To Delta’s credit, the 767-400ER cabins feel modern and fresh. That being said, purely in terms of hard product, this is weaker than United’s Polaris business class, plus American’s 777 business class and 787 business class.
One important thing to emphasize is that Delta’s 767-400ER hard product is way better than the carrier’s 767-300ER hard product. The 767-300ER really is a stain on Delta’s reputation of being premium. Anyway, that’s neither here nor there, but my point is that not all Delta 767s will be this nice (as a matter of fact, most aren’t).
Delta business class amenities
Delta offers its full set of international business class amenities on transcon flight. For one, there was the standard Delta One bedding available at each seat. This was in a zippered pouch, and included a pillow and blanket. The bedding is decent quality, though not to United’s level, for example.


I also finally got my hands on one of Delta’s Missoni amenity kits — I have to hand it to Delta, these are super stylish. The kit contained a dental kit, earplugs, eye shades, a pen, and Grown Alchemist products (hand cream and lip balm).


Delta even offers slippers on these premium transcon flights — very nice!

The headphones were just okay quality, and Delta doesn’t offer bluetooth audio on these jets.

Lastly, there was a bottle of water at each seat.

During boarding, the crew came around with pre-departure drinks, with the choice of sparkling wine or orange juice. However, they were happy to accommodate any other requests as well.

All-in-all, Delta does an impressive with its amenities on these transcon flights, with everything from Missoni amenity kits, to proper bedding, to slippers.
Delta 767 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi
Delta’s 767-400ER business class offers 18.5″ seat back monitors, which are touchscreen. These feature the carrier’s typical selection of entertainment, which is huge. There were 473 movies, 74 TV series (with many having multiple episodes), 141 music albums, live TV, games, and more.
You really can’t argue with Delta’s entertainment selection, and shouldn’t get bored. It’s not just that the selection is huge, but for the most part, it’s stuff people want to see as well.






In addition to extensive entertainment, my flight also featured free Wi-Fi, which is available to all SkyMiles members. There’s no need to actually credit the flight to Delta SkyMiles, but instead, you just have to be a member and log into your account.

If you forget your account log-in details, you can instead enter your name, email, and date of birth, and it will connect you that way.

Lastly, if you don’t want to log-in with a SkyMiles account (for whatever reason), you can buy Wi-Fi for $5. I found the Wi-Fi speeds to be quite good, and appreciated the ability to stay connected throughout the flight.

Delta knocks it out of the park with entertainment, between seat back options and free Wi-Fi.
Delta 767 departure from New York
Boarding was efficient, and wrapped up by 3:30PM, at which point the captain added his welcome aboard, informing us of our flight time of six hours, and our anticipated on-time arrival in Los Angeles. At 3:40PM the main cabin door closed, at which point the safety video was screened.
At 3:50PM we began our pushback, with a gorgeous A330-900neo off our left wing.

Then five minutes later, we began our taxi.

It was a short taxi out to runway 31L, and not much of a queue for takeoff.

At 4:05PM we began our takeoff roll, and then rocketed off into the northwest, on a cold but beautiful afternoon.





The seatbelt sign stayed on until we reached our cruising altitude, as is pretty standard on US carriers.
Delta business class dinner & snacks
Dinner was served on this flight, and service was quick to get started after takeoff. I was disappointed that Delta doesn’t offer menus in business class on these flights. It’s strange how the airline offers proper bedding and Missoni amenity kits, but then it seems like there’s nothing premium about the inflight food and drinks.
Around 15 minutes after takeoff, meal orders were taken, with options described as turkey meatballs or vegetable lasagna. Around 20 minutes after takeoff, warm towels were distributed.

50 minutes after takeoff, the drink cart was rolled down the aisle, so passengers were served warm mixed nuts, plus their choice of drinks. I couldn’t believe how cheap the drinks election was.
For example, the sparkling wine (described as “champagne) was Gambino Sparkling Wine Brut, which retails for $9.99 per bottle (and significantly less when buying in bulk). For context, the average retail price of Korbel is higher. The red and white selection wasn’t much more impressive, with most options retailing for somewhere around $10 per bottle. I had a glass of Spanish white wine, which was drinkable.

The meal was served around 70 minutes after takeoff, with everything coming on one tray. The meal consisted of a starter with roast beef, a side salad, and then I chose vegetable lasagna as the main. There was also a side of bread.

As soon as my tray was cleared, I was offered the choice of either a pineapple upside down cake or a cheese plate, and I opted for the former.

The meal was relatively good if you view it as a standard domestic meal, but definitely less impressive by international standards.
Once the meal service was done, there was a snack basket in the galley with chips, pistachio nuts, etc.

Then around an hour before landing, warm chocolate chip cookies were served.

Delta 767 business class lavatories
Delta’s business class lavatory situation on the 767 is quite annoying, to be honest. There’s one lavatory located at the very front of the cabin, by the flight deck. Then there’s a second lavatory located at the back right of the cabin, right in front of premium economy. Both aren’t particularly big, and have Grown Alchemist soap and hand cream.



The issue here is that there was almost always a queue to use the bathroom. The bathroom behind the cabin is shared with premium economy (or really anyone who wants to use it), so there’s almost always a wait there. Meanwhile most business class passengers just automatically go to the lavatory at the front of the cabin, so there’s almost always a queue. And that assumes the pilots aren’t using the bathroom, in which case it’s all even more complicated.
It’s not a huge deal on a flight like this, but I have to imagine this get a bit tricky when we’re talking about a transatlantic overnight flight, where everyone wants to use the bathroom before landing.
Delta 767 business class bed
After the meal, I decided to get some rest, as I was quite exhausted, and I still had a long day ahead of me (I’d be taking a redeye the same night from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale). So I reclined my seat and made my bed.
While I was of course grateful to have a flat bed, this seat is really narrow, with a very small footwell. I felt like I was basically wedged in there, with little room to move.


Fortunately my exhaustion from this trip caught up with me, and I managed to fall asleep a bit over two hours after departure…

…and I woke up roughly three hours later, with under an hour remaining to Los Angeles.

Delta business class service
I have nothing but good things to say about the service on this flight. Los Angeles-based Jaylen was working my aisle, and he was friendly and engaging, and took his time with each passenger. He really tried to make sure that each passenger had a great flight, so huge credit to him for his professionalism.
Often it’s the little touches that make a big difference. For example, at the beginning of the flight, he introduced himself by name to each passenger, and said “if you need anything during the flight, don’t hesitate to let me know.” That really sets the tone for good service. Similarly, he kneeled down when he spoke to passengers, rather than towering over them.
Delta 767 arrival in Los Angeles
For the last hour of the flight, I mainly just gazed out the window and looked at the map feature. Here’s something interesting — an hour out, before even passing Las Vegas, we were already down at 24,000 feet, and we cruised there for quite some time.
Of course I understand the basics of why aircraft use different altitudes, but does anyone know why we’d be at such a low altitude so far out? Was there that much congestion in the area, was the jet stream that strong at higher altitudes, or…?


Anyway, at 6:40PM, the captain was back on the PA to announce that we’d be descending shortly, and would be touching down in roughly 25 minutes. A couple of minutes later, the seatbelt sign was turned on.

Sure enough, at 7:05PM we touched down on runway 24R. We then started our taxi to our arrival gate at Terminal 3, which required waiting for around five minutes due to traffic in the alley. We finally made it to our gate at 7:20PM, a minute behind our scheduled arrival time.

Bottom line
All-in-all, I had a pleasant flight in Delta One business class on the 767. However, I’d describe the experience as being a bit uneven.
The single best aspect of Delta One on this flight was access to the Delta One Lounge JFK, which is an unbelievably good facility. Beyond that, I appreciated the friendly service, the extensive entertainment and free Wi-Fi, and the solid bedding and nice Missoni amenity kit.
Beyond that, I can’t say I love Delta’s 767 business class seat, as it’s not very spacious, and feels tight. And I got the better version of the 767, as the 767-300ER business class is even much worse. I also find it disappointing how this flight is marketed as Delta One, but the food and drinks are more in line with what you’d find on your standard domestic flight.
I suppose Delta thinks it doesn’t have to invest more in the soft product due to other strengths, but it’s definitely not an end-to-end premium experience.
What’s your take on Delta’s 767 business class?
This looks a lot better than the ratty old ancient 757s that Delta uses on LAX-BOS. But same poor catering, especially that awful cheap wine. Glad to see that the new D1 lounges help compensate for the very poor onboard product.
just like the old 757s that UA uses even on transatlantic flights.
DL has already retired some of the ex-TWA 757s which are international configured.
AA, DL and UA will all have A321NEO based premium configured aircraft, hopefully within a year.
as for food, compare what other airlines offer on US domestic flights.
Not many lie-flat J seats could be installed on narrowbodies back in the day—Vantage and Parallel Diamond were among the few that didn’t take up too much floor space, unlike the more space-consuming setups like the A321T First Class that AA uses. Of course, now there are improved herringbone Vantage seats, like those on ITA’s A321neos.
correct... and DL and UA both have chosen to keep the 757s in service until the A321NEO premium configurations are in service while AA retired them.
Same thing for the 767s.
Not every aircraft can be the newest and best.
An intellectual called E39 claims that this is an average SkyTeam experience.
Awarded four stars, his knowledges are truly exceptional and proves SkyTeam inferiority every word he speaks.
Skyteam is the worst!
Shouldn't there be 3 options for dinner instead of 2? Or did they run out of the third one by the time they got to you?
Delta hopes the lounge and excellent on-board entertainment (with wifi) is enough for customers to overlook the old plane and inconsistent product, both hard and soft.
Why does it take 50 minutes to serve drinks? That's absurd. Meal and drink orders should have been taken on the ground before departure.
On a daytime 6-hour flight, which is about the same length as some of the shorter transatlantic routes, why is the meal not...
Delta hopes the lounge and excellent on-board entertainment (with wifi) is enough for customers to overlook the old plane and inconsistent product, both hard and soft.
Why does it take 50 minutes to serve drinks? That's absurd. Meal and drink orders should have been taken on the ground before departure.
On a daytime 6-hour flight, which is about the same length as some of the shorter transatlantic routes, why is the meal not served in courses?
And why is there no champagne? Or at least a champagne method sparkling wine, perhaps a Mumm or Chandon from California or a cremant from France.
I also wonder whether Delta is hoping to downgrade in-flight catering by steering customers toward pre-flight dining at the restaurant-style Delta One lounge.
Most people on flights of that length want their food quickly. The bed doesn’t matter if you are upright
Very few people are sleeping at 3-something pm Eastern time. Your argument is more applicable to short Boston-London or New York-London flights at night. Delta should very much eliminate the evening food service on those flights and incentivize lounge dining.
Except for a purely domestic flight that's filled with business travelers, they probably want to get the food over with so that they can work and be productive.
Coursed meal service is pointless for domestic imo. You also get Delta One lounge access on both ends of this flight too. I'd rather have proper dining at JFK and LAX anyhow.
Honestly, you don’t need to defend every single thing that Delta does at every single opportunity.
More crying from our resident alcoholic FNT Delta Diamond bc the price tag isn't high enough for their wine snob taste buds.
Like you realize the point of a flight is not the wine, right?
The point of having a business class is for snobs right?
Most people Tim?
Bed doesn't matter?
Where did ChatGPTim get your data this time, DOT again?
please tell me you misread what I said.. it is pretty clear for most English speakers/readers.
The best bed in the world doesn't do any good if you have a long-drawn out meal service and can't take advantage of the bed.
Even on longer flights, DL does offer a Dine and Rest option in which flight attendants will serve the meal all as one course except for the dessert cart or presented on a tray....
please tell me you misread what I said.. it is pretty clear for most English speakers/readers.
The best bed in the world doesn't do any good if you have a long-drawn out meal service and can't take advantage of the bed.
Even on longer flights, DL does offer a Dine and Rest option in which flight attendants will serve the meal all as one course except for the dessert cart or presented on a tray.
Even if you don't intend to sleep, some people prefer to receive everything except dessert at one time so, as noted, they can clear the tray and work.
The point is choice. I have never tried to ask for coursed delivery if they are serving it all at one time but I suppose you could try and let us know how it goes.
Because it is a domestic flight. That is why you didn’t get the international flight food and bev selection. Makes sense to me but seems to give author a bit of confusion.
@ CRS- -- To be clear, the reason for the confusion is that it's a Delta One marketed flight. For example, at American, if a flight is marketed as "Flagship Business" (as American's transcon flights are), then food and service is more in line with what you'd get on long haul international flights, rather than domestic flights.
And, I believe, UA markets its transcon flights on 757s or transoceanic widebodies as Polaris but not domestic configured aircraft.
AS has very few widebody transcon flights
@ Tim Dunn -- That's not correct. If you look up routes like EWR-SFO, you'll see they're marketed as "Business" and not "Polaris Business" when operated by a wide body or 757.
You are right on how UA markets its transcon flights
But UA does not use consistent equipment types or configurations
On DL LAX to JFK is always wide body international aircraft. US on EWR to SFO is multiple domestic and international aircraft types. AA DL and B6 have product consistency on their transcons. It is UA that does not
@ Tim
DL uses 757s on it's JFK-SFO route as well as 767s. So it isn't consistent either.
International configured 757s like UA’s. UA also uses domestic 777s and 737s
Delta and United will eventually replace their 757s with premium configured 321s
UA absolutely does not use domestic 777s or 737s on premium transcons. Just like they don’t market it as Polaris. But Tim D is a total wanker and doesn’t stop him from making up his own facts.
Tim Dunn, The Man(?) With Zero Friends
UA EWR-SFO regularly get 777-200HDs which I believe you are referring to as Domestic 777s. I fly this route on UA a dozen times a year or more and it is a mix of 777-200s with Polaris, 7878s with Polaris, 777-200s with the 8 abreast HD lie flat first class seats, 757-200s with international lie flat 2x2 seating. It is always scheduled for lie flat, not always Polaris seats. Once I had an equipment swap...
UA EWR-SFO regularly get 777-200HDs which I believe you are referring to as Domestic 777s. I fly this route on UA a dozen times a year or more and it is a mix of 777-200s with Polaris, 7878s with Polaris, 777-200s with the 8 abreast HD lie flat first class seats, 757-200s with international lie flat 2x2 seating. It is always scheduled for lie flat, not always Polaris seats. Once I had an equipment swap to a 757-300 with recliner 2x2 in first. In all you get Polaris branded bedding, amenity kits, and upgraded food and bev, including two meals each direction and decent wines. Ben is right, it is not sold as Polaris, but "Business".
wc,
and the point is that DL's product on the transcons is more consistent than UA's.
all of the talk about the consistency of the Polaris seat on international routes is lost when UA uses multiple versions of aircraft on transcon routes. AA, DL and B6 do not do htat.
that branding is immaterial. The product does matter.
JFK-LAX is all widebodies all of which offer direct aisle access with rare exception for...
wc,
and the point is that DL's product on the transcons is more consistent than UA's.
all of the talk about the consistency of the Polaris seat on international routes is lost when UA uses multiple versions of aircraft on transcon routes. AA, DL and B6 do not do htat.
that branding is immaterial. The product does matter.
JFK-LAX is all widebodies all of which offer direct aisle access with rare exception for DL. the int'l 757s are comparable for both DL and UA and neither have direct aisle access. Add in the 772s and there is nothing comparable to either Polaris or Delta One.
The only real disconnect in DL's use of Delta One is the ex-Latam 350s and one of them has already been converted, 2 are in mods now, and the rest will be done or out of service by fall.
yolo,
I have never had lasagna or meatballs on DL 1 international flight
and again, look at the competition.
Is AA or UA ON DOMESTIC flights -the subject of this article - consistently better?
the answer is no.
@Ben to be fair, they serve the exact same meals in domestic F as Delta One on international flights. You see the same boring shit all the time. The meatballs, lasagna, short rib, etc.
It's more about the fact that Delta doesn't have any elevated food offerings, save for a few Asian curated menus, where the difference would be massive.
@yoloswag420
And no one is calling out their terrible catering out of DTW, or lack of to be correct.
This is on going for months now. Especially on international DeltaOne, DTW is the worst, everyone avoid regardless of what Tim Dunn would say.
you need only look at where this flight is compared to the competition.
When AA pulled its 767-200s off the transcons, DL fairly quickly went with an all widebody schedule (nearly all 767s) on JFK-LAX and became the largest carrier in the NYC-LAX market and has remained that way.
Other widebodies are too large for domestic routes and other carriers including AA uses narrowbodies for their "premium transcon routes"
AA, DL and UA will...
you need only look at where this flight is compared to the competition.
When AA pulled its 767-200s off the transcons, DL fairly quickly went with an all widebody schedule (nearly all 767s) on JFK-LAX and became the largest carrier in the NYC-LAX market and has remained that way.
Other widebodies are too large for domestic routes and other carriers including AA uses narrowbodies for their "premium transcon routes"
AA, DL and UA will all have A321NEO based premium transcon routes and a few of those might show up on JFK-LAX but they can't replace the capacity the 767 carries so will likely be used on BOS and SEA transcons as well as JFK to destinations other than LAX.
and let's also remember that UA sometimes uses 787s or international configured widebodies on its EWR transcons but also uses 757s which have a smaller seat than the DL 767-300ERs and also do not have direct aisle access.
B6 uses A321s with nice configurations but they don't compete for the same pool of premium cabin passengers as the big 3 because of the lack of lounges, alliances and a global network.
AA largely does not use widebodies on its transcon flights from the NE so arguing about what the 787 or 777 has is largely irrelevant because those aircraft types are not consistently available.
Delta also uses 757s for some of it's premium transcon routes as well.
"Delta also uses 757s for some of it's premium transcon routes as well."
Yup, DCA-LAX and v.v. is a prime example.
You mention no usb-c and no bluetooth. Which airlines/airplanes have usb-c? Which have bluetooth?
@ Richard_ -- It's an increasingly common trend with new products introduced in recent years. There are too many products to list, but most cutting edge business class products offer that nowadays.
United's new configs have Bluetooth. He was talking about wireless charging though, which is in a lot of newer products like JetBlue Mint and various international business class seats
The new thales system can be installed with integrated USB-C, some narrowbodies already have them
I’ve also noticed on my flights into LAX and BUR in the past several weeks we’ve been flying much lower for the last portion of the flight. I believe it is partly related to where the jet stream is currently and partly for flow control into the LAX area.
Flow controls from East->West flights are almost never capped around the Vegas area, because that airspace is designed specifically for that volume. It was almost certainly for turbulence, we had a lot of high altitude turbulence in February when that flight happened, plus strong headwinds often make pilots want to descend early to save gas.
Doesn’t flying at cruise speed at 24,000 feet burn a lot more fuel?
Usually, but the winds at altitude can get very strong. In the winter, they regularly get up to 140 kts in that area, so a lot of times it actually saves gas to stay low and out of the jetstream.
It also depends on what aircraft you are flying, the A320/330s don't suffer so much, but the A350 suffers a lot of fuel burn even at FL330 as opposed to FL390/FL410.
Delta did a nice job overhauling the 767-400ER nose to tail but the Delta One seat is narrow. Delta's premium cabin catering is mediocre at best. A touch better than what you'll find on United, but it isn't amazing. The advantage of Delta on the JFK-LAX sector is that it operates wide bodies. Apart from that there is nothing really remarkable about it the service or the product and T4 is a crowded, unpleasant facility at JFK.