For the second segment of my two times to Latin America review trip, I flew Delta’s Airbus A350-900 business class (marketed as Delta One) on the nine hour overnight flight from Santiago (SCL) to Atlanta (ATL).
Continue reading: Review: Delta One Business Class Airbus A350 (SCL-ATL)
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Hey Ben, DL does actually have espresso on some fleet types including the ex LATAM A350s but don't believe it's on the "flagship" A350s. It's listed on the menu you posted.
Why schedule an international flight to arrive at 5:16AM, if the immigration facility only opens at 5:30AM?
yeah this genuinely doesn't make sense, there's no reason to do this, SCL doesn't even have a curfew or anything! just leave a half hour later and arrive at 5:45 am; if passengers have to wait for immigration to open anyway it's not like they're going to miss connections they'd otherwise be able to take
The first ex Latam A350 is in for mods right now and the type isn’t scheduled beyond next summer which means Delta expects them all to be converted in less than a year.
The highs of Delta service aren’t as extreme as the lows of AA and UA which is why Delta service is rated higher. It is much more of a guess how low you might get with Delta’s competitors.
The most surprising thing about this review is your rating for it. 4.5 given the long list of things to be improved, from service to food to bathrooms to tech and so on. Is it really as good as other airlines you rate at 4.5?
Do you have any idea how likely Delta would be to do anything if you used ATL as a hidden city and just didn’t take the last flight?
Looking at Flight Aware, this flight arrives anywhere between 6:20-6:40 on average, so it probably depends on taxi times and maybe weather en route.
So glad Delta changed their amenity kit. I got the Missoni one and it is definitely a huge upgrade over that ridiculous cloth pouch they used for years.
It is not the Flight Attendants job to tidy/clean the loo’s? Never heard of this. This makes no sense. I guess one can count on dirty loo’s on Delta, other US airlines. Really?
Exactly, if not them, whose job is it? I guess the flight crew, because there are no other employees working on the flight.
I suspect the rating is for the North American context: the big US 3 plus Air Canada and Latam. Otherwise, no way. Only drip coffee available, no beef entree, only bacon choice for protein in the breakfast, non-serviced lavs, etc; a total embarassement ig compared to what is offered by the top ME and Asian airlines.
I find it disappointing to not even offer a flimsy mattress sheet just to be able to not sleep directly on the seat itself. Even LH is able to offer a seat cover on long haul flights. UA's bedding makes this embarrassing.
"Pre-departure drinks." The French champagne is only opened after take-off (for duty-free/customs reasons?). So for Delta One pre-departure it's bubbles of a Delta-branded Mionetto off-dry prosecco. Mionetto-labeled prosecco is about $8 a bottle. …(Nov 21, 2022 vftw)
Passengers should keep it clean after use. Many don’t. It isn’t difficult but for some, peeing ( or worse) on the floor and leaving tissue paper everywhere is normal.
The best North American flights I've had recently was on WestJet to NRT.
Really solid flagship lounge in YYC and the actual service and food quality was excellent. I would say it was better than European airlines and not too far behind Asian carriers. They should really be the standard in North America.
WestJet could actually hold its own against Air Canada if it had a proper expansion strategy. Without any of its additional 787s, they're having a hard time growing and the choice to have a 4 row business cabin probably hurts the revenue quite a bit too.
@lucky...
"One thing I don’t enjoy about US airlines is how the crews don’t do much to tidy the bathrooms during flights. I get it’s not their job..."
If it is not the FA's job to 'tidy' bathrooms during a flight, who's job is it?
I wish Delta and United could use a "plate" to plate their main dishes instead of "bowl" they currently use. These aren't so comfortable to cut food.
In contrast, American uses a better one with although I wouldn't exactly call those a plate.
As with anything do it sparingly. If you did it once or twice a year you'd have no issues. Past 5 times a year you might start to get a look.
Yes, but isn’t that just for the longest routes? Mainly to Asia and to JNB if I’m not mistaken? Would make sense to introduce it to transatlantic routes as well, given the premium on those routes.
I don't think he is saying it *shouldn't* be their job. But it is literally not their job, as defined by their contracts.
Lucky, can we get an interpretation on this TOPIC? Also, if a round trip ticket is cheaper than a one way ticket, is it OK to simply toss the return ticket?
One thing I find really lacking is the DeltaOne menu is always so boring. Grilled salmon, seared chicken thigh, roast beef. Would really appreciate something that tries a little harder.
Aeromexico have been consistently good for me, certainly far better than my experiences with UA. The lounge at CDMX isn't fantastic, but everything else has been spot on.
This has sort of been mentioned already, but I don't see the point in rating a global airline in comparison to literally two others. You wouldn't say 'I enjoyed my experience on TAP and I think they're the best airline in the whole of the Iberian peninsula because IB this and UX that', what's the point of doing it with DL? Someone flying e.g. between Europe and Mexico may be able to choose from more than a dozen options.
The proper Delta One procedure currently for presentation of the main course is to first clear the whole tray (salad, soup, appetizer), leaving perhaps the bread dish (if the pax is still enjoying their bread), and the salt and pepper shaker. The main course is then presented with a new cutlery set without any trays. Obviously this crew (and purser) decided to do it the old old way.
I noticed in several reviews that you mentioned that US airlines do a good job with ice cream sundaes. But I'm a bit confused at how you could possibly mess up a scoop of ice cream with toppings haha? Imo the other. desserts would be more interesting to review.
"Delta’s A350 probably offers the best business class experience you’ll find on any US airline, on balance."
Come on ... United is without question better. United has better beddining, better in-flight wine, and more business-class-only lounges.
I am not sure why but Delta One seats are uncomfortable for sleeping and make me sweat way more than any other carrier. I am not sure if it’s the material of their seats, but I hate this aspect of their seats.
The washrooms on N American carriers, any class, any route are a disgrace more than Hal the time. WestJet seems to be the exception!
Airline staff hopefully live in better circumstances. Passengers should too.
It takes neither a lot of materials - gloves, brushes, spray cleaner - nor a lot of training. The big problem will be supervision and motivation.
Lots of airlines mess up ice cream sundaes, because many times the portions are dished up prior to loading them on the plane and then re-frozen in the individual dishes, and they are served to passengers still frozen solid and impossible to eat. You can usually tell by looking at the dishes of ice cream on the cart if this is the case, and when it is, I pick another dessert option or the cheese course.
"...Ontanon Tempranillo Blanco (white whine)"...
If White Whine had been the title of the review, it would have been hilarious.
If it was unintentional, you may want to correct the spelling of the word "wine".
Regardless, thanks for another fun read.
Weird that wifi map.. in 22 and 23, I flew a delta 350 from Detroit to Japan and had wifi the whole way.
Yeah, this aligns with my experiences - the a350 gets hype from some loyalists online, but in person it's a bit of a paper tiger. Unfortunate given that DL had so much to work with here.
"It’s worth mentioning that Delta’s A350s do have overhead consoles with individual air nozzles." It is probably also worth mentioning that this is only true for the window seats. The center seats do not have them (no overhead bins). Also, I think the ex-Latam A350's don't have them at all in J.
Can you explain with any data about the lows of AA / UA? Yes, I've enjoyed flying DL...but I've also enjoyed AA...I don't fly UA...you just made up that silly statement.
Delta only has mattress pads on ultra long haul routes--South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, some Asia routes. The cutoff is 6000 mile flight length. FWIW, I think AA removed their mattress pads for business class with their amenity update this past April (while it lasts, Flagship First still gets them).
Maybe there were caught in the gap where the two markets were in different phases of daylight savings time.
Can anybody explain why airlines continueto install those silly two prong headphone jacks?
Sure: to make it less likely that people will steal the headphones, since they aren't compatible with most personal electronics.
(Yes, of course there are adaptors. But that's the reason.)
House Hunter International is so much better then the US House Hunter. Too bad they do not have the International version.
You are far more likely to get the random AA or UA employee that offers service well below company standards.
AS, DL and WN are far more consistent with few highs but far fewer lows.
I’m glad you mentioned this. I’ve ordered espresso before on the DL 350’s, but many FA’s get annoyed when you do, but it is on offer.
Delta is so cheap that it use sticky sweaty plastics coverings for its business class seats instead of the typical breathable fabric.
Enough said.
. They're covered in plastic, while a good seat is covered in breathable fabric.
Agree. It's like a review saying that China Southern (or whatever) is the best international long haul airline in China.
Who cares, when you can find many better airline to carry you over the Pacific.
It is a stupid way of doing things. If Ben flies Singapore Airlines, gets amazing service, food, wines, service and so on, but the flight attendant at certain point forgets to refer to him using his name, will the airline end up with a 4.0 rating in the contents of it being Singaporean (and the high standards of service in Singapore)?
The funny thing is, Delta will give the D1 seats to non-revs for free, I steady of giving paid pax a decent upgrade price. As a DM, my upgrade price is usually $2k+.
For all that's holy, can you please please please for once have something else besides the sundae. It is boring. I want to see what the other desserts are like.
How refreshing to have a productive exchange without the dipshits making stupid Tim Dunn comments