- Introduction: Twice To Tokyo
- Review: Delta SkyClub Miami Airport
- Review: Delta A321 First Class
- Review: Alaska Lounge New York JFK Airport
- Review: British Airways Club Lounge New York JFK Airport
- Review: NEW ANA 777 “The Room” Business Class
- Review: Haneda Airport Transit Hotel
- Review: ANA Business Lounge Tokyo Haneda Airport
- Review: Lufthansa A350 Business Class
- Review: Lufthansa Business Lounge Munich
- Review: Lufthansa A320neo Business Class
- Review: The Langley, Marriott Luxury Collection Hotel
- Review: NEW ANA 777 “The Suite” First Class
- Review: Andaz Tokyo, A Hyatt Hotel
- Review: Delta One Business Class A330-900neo
To finish off the trip it was time to fly back home via Seattle on Delta’s A330-900neo, which the airline started service with in July 2019.
This would be my first-ever flight on an A330-900neo, and only my second-ever flight in Delta One Suites (I had flown the product on the A350-900, so I wondered how the product compared on the narrower A330-900neo).
In this post:
Redeeming Miles For Delta One Business Class
I booked my Delta One business class ticket using Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club generally has much more attractive redemption rates on Delta than the SkyMiles program does directly, at least when there’s “saver” award availability.
I booked the following one-way for just 60,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles plus $50 in taxes and fees:
01/12 DL166 Tokyo to Seattle departing 5:20PM arriving 9:31AM [Business]
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is transfer partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou, so there are lots of ways to easily earn miles with them.
Best of all, we sometimes see transfer bonuses to Virgin Atlantic. I transferred over points from Amex when there was a 30% bonus, meaning the ticket cost me just 47,000 Amex points. Now that’s tough to beat!
Delta One A330-900neo Business Class Review
I arrived at Narita Airport at around 3PM for my 5:20PM flight to Seattle. Delta departs from Terminal 1 at Narita Airport, and they have a SkyClub there. However, I won’t be reviewing it, because Delta is abandoning Narita Airport as of March 2020, as they move all their flights to Haneda.
This lounge will only be open for another couple of months before (I assume) something else happens with it.
I will say, I found the lounge to be underwhelming. The seating as such was fine, but the food selection was worse than you’d find in a US SkyClub. I hope Delta does better with their new SkyClub at Haneda Airport.
Delta SkyClub Narita
Delta SkyClub Narita
The inbound plane from Seattle was arriving late due to strong headwinds, so it only pulled into the gate at around 4PM. The A330-900neo sure is a pretty plane, especially with those bigger engines.
Delta A330-900neo
While my boarding pass indicated that boarding was supposed to start at 4:25PM from gate 26, that was understandably delayed, since it takes more than 25 minutes to deplane everyone, clean the cabin, and let the new crew onboard.
Boarding ended up being delayed until 5PM, and sure enough, that’s exactly when boarding started.
Delta boarding gate Narita Airport
I was curious to see how the Delta One Suites on the A330-900neo compared to the A350-900!
Delta Air Lines 166
Tokyo (NRT) – Seattle (SEA)
Sunday, January 12
Depart: 5:20PM
Arrive: 9:31AM
Duration: 9hr11min
Aircraft: Airbus A330-900neo
Seat: 7J (Business Class)
At the forward door I was greeted by the purser, Katherine, and pointed towards the far aisle, where my seat was located. Delta’s A330-900neo business class cabin consists of a total of 29 seats, all of which are between doors one and two on this plane.
Like I said, this was my first time on an A330-900neo, and at first glance the cabin as such felt like any other A330, except the space between doors one and two was longer.
The cabin with Delta One Suites looked fresh, especially for an A330.
Delta One business class cabin A330-900neo
Delta One cabin A330-900neo
Delta One Suites are essentially modified Vantage XL seats, which are a form of staggered seats. These seats are an efficient use of space because the footwell for each seat is to the side of the seat in front.
In the center area you have seats together, alternating in each row. The good news is that there’s a privacy shield between seats, so if you’re traveling alone you’ll still have plenty of privacy.
Delta One seats A330-900neo
Ideally I’d recommend one of the window seats, though. The absolute best window seats are those in even numbered rows — 2A, 2J, 4A, 4J, 6A, and 6J.
Why? Because these seats are further from the aisle and closest to the windows, so they really give you a sense of privacy, and also allow for the best views out the windows.
Delta One seats A330-900neo
Delta One seats A330-900neo
I booked pretty late, so I wasn’t able to snag one of those, but I was able to snag one of the other window seats. In odd numbered rows, the window seats are closer to the aisle and further from the windows. They feel a bit less private and it’s a bit tougher to look out the windows, but they’re still great.
I was in seat 7J, the window seat on the right side in the last row of this 29-seat cabin.
Delta business class seats A330-900neo
All around this is a well designed seat, though I definitely noticed that the entire suite felt a bit narrower and more compact.
Delta business class seats A330-900neo
Delta business class seats A330-900neo
To the right side of my seat was a huge side table where I could leave my laptop and other belongings during the flight.
Delta business class seat armrest
Underneath that was a storage compartment. This is a benefit of the seats that are further from the windows, as the ones closer to the windows don’t have these.
Delta One seat storage
To the back right side of my seat was a panel with the seat controls, a 110v and USB outlet, and a headphone jack. There was also a hook for headphones, a bottle of water, and an exposed area where you can store some things.
Delta business class seat controls & storage
There was a panel that opened to the right side of the seat, containing the entertainment controller, which also had a small mirror.
Delta business class entertainment controls
The tray table extended out from the right side of the seat as well.
Delta business class seat tray tables
The major downside to these staggered seats are the footwells, since they’re to the side of the seat in front. Well, this footwell definitely felt on the tight side, but that didn’t come as a surprise to me.
Delta One seat footwell
Each seat had an individual air nozzle and reading light.
Delta A330-900neo individual air nozzles
I’m still undecided as to whether the cabin looks snazzy from the back, or like an airborne office.
Delta A330-900neo cabin
Waiting at each seat were a pillow and blanket. Delta has had a partnership with Westin Heavenly Bedding for eons. The bedding is solid, though this is also an area where other airlines have caught up over the years.
Delta Westin Heavenly bedding
Then there was a Tumi amenity kit, with socks, a dental kit, a pen, eyeshades, hand sanitizer, and some Le Labo products. Business class amenity kits don’t get much better than that.
Delta Tumi amenity kit
There were also a pair of slippers waiting at my seat.
Delta business class slippers
Then there were some headphones — it seems like Delta has finally changed their vendor for headphones, which was so long overdue, in my opinion. The old headphones were terrible, while these were okay.
Delta business class headphones
A few minutes after settling in I was greeted by a friendly flight attendant. He was one of the Japanese speakers, and if I didn’t know any better I would have guessed he was Tokyo based (though I don’t think Delta has a Tokyo base). So take that as a compliment, because he provided true Japanese hospitality.
Pre-departure drink choices were between champagne, orange juice, and water.
And yes, that controversial napkin still throws me off — at first glance it still seems to me like it says “the world is better without you in it.”
Delta pre-departure champagne
The menu for the flight was also waiting at my seat.
Delta One menu
Since most passengers boarded through the second door, the cabin was fairly quiet during most of the boarding process, even though business class was full. The lovely purser came around and introduced herself, informed each person of the flight time of 8hr8min, and took meal orders.
She was all smiles, and thanked each passenger with status for their loyalty. I was surprised by how few elite members there were, and even I was thanked for being a Silver Medallion member. Hah.
The boarding process was efficient, and by 5:25PM the main cabin door closed, and five minutes after that we began our pushback. At that point the safety video was screened.
We started our taxi at 5:40PM, and were airborne from runway 34L by 6PM. As mentioned above, this was my first time flying the A330-900neo. The plane didn’t feel that different during takeoff, though I did feel like it was maybe marginally quieter?
As we climbed out I browsed the entertainment selection. I like how the main page displays just how much content they have — 374 movies and 711 series. Wow!
Delta entertainment selection
Delta entertainment selection
Delta entertainment selection
I also checked out the airshow for this very quick transpacific flight.
Map enroute to Seattle
Map enroute to Seattle
I decided to watch a few episodes of “Shrill,” a kind of adorable sitcom that I enjoyed.
Delta entertainment selection
Delta’s A330-900neos also have Gogo 2Ku Wi-Fi. In addition to everyone getting free texting, the following passes are available:
- You can get a “Browse” pass for $6.95 for one hour or $21.95 for the whole flight
- You can get a “Stream” pass for $12.95 for one hour or $39.95 for the whole flight
Delta Wi-Fi pricing A330-900neo
Since this was a quick overnight flight I ended up just getting a one hour pass for $12.95. The speeds were great, though that’s all I needed since I also wanted to sleep.
Delta Wi-Fi pricing A330-900neo
Service was quick to get started after takeoff, with warm towels being distributed just 15 minutes into the flight.
Delta business class dinner service — warm towel
The menu read as follows:
The drink list read as follows:
By the way, I’d like to acknowledge that Delta kept the cabin lights dimmed during the entire meal service, as it should be. In ANA business class they kept on the lights at maximum brightness for the entire three hour meal service.
Delta A330-900neo business class cabin
About 30 minutes after takeoff I was offered my first drink. I was impressed that the crew addressed passengers by name in a natural way (in other words, they weren’t squinting at the manifest while butchering names).
To drink I ordered some champagne, and was offered mixed nuts to go along with it. Delta serves Canard-Duchene Brut Cuvee Leonie, which is good enough.
Delta business class dinner service — champagne & nuts
About 60 minutes after takeoff I was served the starter. I would have gone with the Japanese option, but they were out of it. I’m an idiot, because I could have pre-ordered it, and since those tend to go fast, that’s just about the only way to get a Japanese meal on Delta.
Nonetheless my Western meal was good as well. Delta is quite generous in serving an appetizer, soup, and salad to Delta One passengers, while many other airlines make you choose between those.
The starter included:
- Marinated shrimp with celery and pistachio salad
- Arugula salad with Fuji apple, carrots, candied walnuts, and sweet orange vinaigrette
- Wild mushroom soup with parmesan croutons
All three were very good, and there was a rather boring bread selection to go along with it.
Delta business class dinner service — appetizer, soup, and salad
The main course was served about 75 minutes after takeoff, and I ordered the king salmon with lemon butter sauce, tomato rice pilaf, asparagus, roasted red onions, yellow peppers, and cherry tomatoes. While there may have been a bit too much sauce, otherwise it was an excellent dish.
Delta business class dinner service — main course
A dessert cart made it to my seat about 1hr45min after takeoff, with a selection of cheese, a chocolate pistachio tart, or an ice cream sundae. I selected the traditional ice cream sundae.
Delta business class dinner service — dessert
My tray was cleared just about two hours after takeoff, with about six hours remaining to Seattle. Overall I thought the food was good, and the service was excellent.
Map enroute to Seattle
Before I headed to bed I checked out one of the lavatories, located right behind my seat. The lavatory was on the tight side, and had the standard Malin+Goetz amenities.
Delta lavatory A330-900neo
Delta Malin+Goetz toiletries
At that point I reclined my seat into bed mode and closed the suite door.
Delta One suite bed A330-900neo
Delta One suite doors
Delta One suite doors
How was Delta One Suite on the A330-900neo?
- As is the case on the A350-900, the “door” is pretty low, so don’t expect you’ll have full privacy (though that’s the case with all business class seats with doors)
- In bed mode the seat felt narrow, especially when I closed the door, since it limited the extent to which I could bend my knees
This definitely isn’t my favorite business class seat out there. At the same time, for an A330-900neo I’d say it’s an all around very good seat. I managed to get a solid four hours of sleep, and woke up with just under two hours remaining to Seattle.
Map enroute to Seattle
A little while after waking up I was treated to a gorgeous sunrise.
Sunrise over the Pacific
I enjoyed the previous sitcom I watched, so figured I’d push my luck one more time, and this time around watched “Casual,” which I enjoyed as well.
Delta entertainment selection
About 90 minutes before landing the pre-arrival service started. Drinks were offered first, and I ordered a cup of coffee. I should also note the nice way I was approached — “good morning sir, did you get some rest? May I get you a beverage?”
Delta One pre-landing service
There were three choices for the pre-landing meal — Spanish style frittata, granola cereal, or chicken hot pot. The last one sounded most interesting to me, so I ordered that. It came with shrimp, shimeji mushroom, Chinese cabbage, yuzu kosho, leeks, and steamed rice.
Unfortunately I didn’t particularly enjoy it, especially the chicken…
Delta One pre-landing service
About 30 minutes before landing the purser passed through the cabin to thank each passenger for flying Delta, and to distribute Lindt chocolates.
Delta One pre-landing chocolates
Around the same time the captain announced that we’d be descending momentarily, and would be landing in 30 minutes.
Seeing Seattle from above made me mildly nostalgic, but also not really, because I don’t miss Seattle weather in January.
View approaching Seattle
View approaching Seattle
We ended up touching down at 9AM, though shortly thereafter the captain announced that our gate wouldn’t be ready for another 15 minutes. We pulled to the side, and I watched a Singapore Airlines A350-900 pushing back — what a beauty!
Singapore Airlines A350 Seattle
Sure enough, just 15 minutes later our gate was available, so we arrived at 9:15AM, over 15 minutes ahead of schedule (and early enough so that I made my 42 minute connection on a separate ticket).
Delta A330-900neo Seattle
Delta One Business Class Bottom Line
I had a solid flight in Delta’s A330-900neo business class. For an A330 this is an excellent product, though these seats are on the narrow side, especially with the door closed.
All around this was a solid experience — the crew was friendly, the entertainment and Wi-Fi were excellent, the amenities were solid, and the food was quite good (at least the main meal).
What I appreciate most about Delta is how consistent they are. While there’s some variance in terms of the quality of crews, they’re by far the most consistently customer focused of the “big three,” and that makes it a joy to fly with Delta.
Delta business class will never be the best in the world, but it will consistently be above average, and that’s worth something.
If you’ve flown Delta’s A330-900neo and/or the Delta One Suite, what was your experience like?
I am so thankful you posted this detailed trip. My husband and I will be traveling SLC-LHR. I was curious about what to expect and you eased my mind and gave me a bit of anticipation for this trip. I will look into preordering if it’s offered.
I bring a travel pillow and that may alleviate some harder portions of the bed.
We are in the middle section of the suites a row...
I am so thankful you posted this detailed trip. My husband and I will be traveling SLC-LHR. I was curious about what to expect and you eased my mind and gave me a bit of anticipation for this trip. I will look into preordering if it’s offered.
I bring a travel pillow and that may alleviate some harder portions of the bed.
We are in the middle section of the suites a row 4 so I think according to your observations it was a wise choice.
I am going to catalog my trip much like you did. I will post on my blog. It’s not a travel blog but as an author I will try to make it interesting for everyone.
Again, thank you for this blog!
Italy- It's a go!! I've had 6 trips cancelled since October 2019 due to covid and was just informed the fall northern Italy 2021 trip has been approved and with years of saving I'll be flying 1st class/business on Delta's airbus 330-990neo! Thank you for providing the pictures as I was anxious to see what I was getting. I cannot wait!!
Looks like a decent flight with Delta in Delta One. My wife and I flew to Paris in November from Minneapolis in Delta One on an old 767-300. While the service and food was great, the hard product was dated, and I wished we had these type of suites available to us. Love the look of the cabin!
For those who complain about the quality of the bubbles… please keep in mind when the plane is still on the ground, pre-departure sparkling wine is the cheap crap that is the same as domestic beverage carts. Once in the air, they open the good stuff. It all has to do with serving duty-free alcohol.
#Fleiger. Are you on the heavy side? The seats are just fine in my opinion.
@Lucky said: I’m still undecided as to whether the cabin looks snazzy from the back, or like an airborne office.
Looks like they used the same Ikea designer used for the BA lounge at JFK
The A330-900neo and the A350-900 in Business Class on both aircraft. Just awesome. The A330-900neo is hands down the sexier of the two.
I have flown all AA, DL and UA as well as a number of European and Asian airlines in multiple classes over just the past 2 years.
The A330NEO suite is solid - but I have been happy with the D1 suite on the A330CEO.
I am not a fan of fan of suites; in a couple million miles of flying over multiple decades, I have never had anyone in business or first class intrude...
I have flown all AA, DL and UA as well as a number of European and Asian airlines in multiple classes over just the past 2 years.
The A330NEO suite is solid - but I have been happy with the D1 suite on the A330CEO.
I am not a fan of fan of suites; in a couple million miles of flying over multiple decades, I have never had anyone in business or first class intrude on my space nor did I feel I need to "hide" from anyone else.
The A330 is simply a narrower aircraft than other widebodies so the business class seats are going to be narrower unless they use less than a 4 abreast business class.
I would argue that the vast majority of Delta's business class passengers fly either as a result of loyalty in one of their hubs or because of a corporate contract; the difference in hard product compared to other carriers with wider/larger business class cabins likely doesn't result in higher revenues.
As far as premium economy and economy cabins, Delta is as good as or better than any other airline out there - with the possible exception of economy meals. I have never starved on any flight or any carrier nor have I walked away feeling hungry. YMMV but I choose premium cabins far more for the space and abililty to sleep than for the food. If food is the goal, Air France is a better choice.
Delta's entire international fleet in coach is far more comfortable than the 9 abreast 787s or 10 abreast 777s that AA and UA or many of DL's competitors - and many of its closest alliance partners.
Delta's greatest asset is the consistency of its service which is warmly American; Delta is a US airline so doesn't have the deferential culture of some Asian airlines but is easily as good as its European competitors.
YMMV but as long as AA and UA continue to be a notch or two behind DL in service levels, DL will have more than enough passengers that will view Delta favorably. When you factor in the reach DL has into corporate travel departments, plenty of companies will choose DL over airlines that have snazzier business class seats but little else that is competitively better.
“ She was all smiles, and thanked each passenger with status for their loyalty.”
The difference between being given a share of a $1.6 billion bonus and being asked to work extra for free... i mean, “volunteer.” ;)
The seats look like they're cheap plastic (or leather dipped in plastic) that don't breath. For such a long flight it's a very bad choice. Reminds me of Sri Lankan, where I woke up with your body stuck to the seat (never again). Did you have a problem with them?
Also, why the center bins in business class? Makes it look small with wasted space
I will take the old Delta One on the A330 over this. These Delta One "Suites" aren't wide enough. And on the 350, the aisles are narrow, the wear-and-tear is pretty significant after less than 2 years, and, most importantly, there AREN'T ENOUGH LAVATORIES. And of those reduced lavatories, they are small. I don't understand why Delta couldn't have installed an oversized lavatory to allow Delta One passengers to comfortably change clothes.
Does the A330 have bins in the center section of business? The lack of these on the A350 is my only complaint.
@lucky - what is your position on individual air nozzles at each seat? Is that something you value?
Despite the fact this being a US airline it ticks more or all the boxes for me:
- wide body instead of narrow body
- Airbus instead of Boeing
- SkyTeam or *A instead of OW
- flat instead of angled
Food, IFE and crew are not terribly important as I prefer to sleep.
I guess i would be willing to fly this one.
A group of 4 of us were pleasantly surprised to discover that the A330-900neo came into service earlier tnan scheduled on the Seoul - Seattle route last September. We were given a 'how to' card for the suite, but everything was so new that even the Flight Attendants were unfamilar with some of the suite features and I didn't get my door to close until we had almost arrived. Our only real complaint was that...
A group of 4 of us were pleasantly surprised to discover that the A330-900neo came into service earlier tnan scheduled on the Seoul - Seattle route last September. We were given a 'how to' card for the suite, but everything was so new that even the Flight Attendants were unfamilar with some of the suite features and I didn't get my door to close until we had almost arrived. Our only real complaint was that there seemed to be a lot more noise than usual from the galley - which kept some of us awake! (We were center section rows 5 and 6) But all in all it was a great experience and really nice change from the aging 767's that had been on the Asian roures forever!
I've flown the new A330neo and I've had similarly great service experiences. The SEA crews are solid.
I've had really inconsistent experiences with MSP and DTW lately. On my last DTW-ICN, the flight attendant had no idea how to serve the Korean meal (bibimbap) and seemed annoyed when asked about missing service items (e.g., sujeo, gochujang, sesame oil, seaweed paper, rice). Not only were the lights on during meal service, they turned them on during...
I've flown the new A330neo and I've had similarly great service experiences. The SEA crews are solid.
I've had really inconsistent experiences with MSP and DTW lately. On my last DTW-ICN, the flight attendant had no idea how to serve the Korean meal (bibimbap) and seemed annoyed when asked about missing service items (e.g., sujeo, gochujang, sesame oil, seaweed paper, rice). Not only were the lights on during meal service, they turned them on during the mid-flight snack. On my last ICN-DTW flight, everything was incredible. The crew was great. The cabin was kept dim and quiet for the whole flight. I slept great.
The IFE system on these new A330neos is incredible. It's in every way superior to the A350's. While it's not as massive as the new ANA IFE, the selection is incredible. I've never seen so much foreign content on a Delta flight.
I wonder if Delta could have gotten away going with a reverse herringbone suite on the A330neo (similar to the BA A350). While dated, I still find their seat on the A330ceo comfortable.
Many people criticized the decor of the new cabin. It's definitely not in the league of Qatar, ANA, China Airlines, or Singapore. I kind of think it looks better than the A350 finish. It looks nice when the cabin is dimmed.
If only they could just slightly improve the catering and offer better wine. Wine aside, I quite like the beverage service in Delta One. Perhaps it's because they're American, but they understand how to serve liquor / cocktails in a way many foreign carriers do not.
Delta is becoming a pleasant and reliable option for long-haul.
@LM I'm not Lucky, but confidently say DL has the best economy cabin. Their IFE is solid (as you see in the review), and the planes have favorable seating configurations. 2-3-2 on the 767, 2-4-2 on the A330, and 3-3-3 on the 777. So two planes with pair seating, and one of only a few airlines that didn't cram 10-across into their 777s.
The cabin design and layout definitely remind me of office cubicles. The color choices Really don’t help the situation.
@FNT Delta Diamond I know and can definitely tell the difference. Personally I prefer, in order, Cava, Prosecco, then all other sparklings.
My curiosity comes from these reviews of not only OMAAT, but, also other b/vloggers. To say that something is "...good enough," or "Dom/Krug is my favourite," leads one to wonder what they drink at home? Do they really have such discriminating palates or is it exciting because of the "wow" factor of...
@FNT Delta Diamond I know and can definitely tell the difference. Personally I prefer, in order, Cava, Prosecco, then all other sparklings.
My curiosity comes from these reviews of not only OMAAT, but, also other b/vloggers. To say that something is "...good enough," or "Dom/Krug is my favourite," leads one to wonder what they drink at home? Do they really have such discriminating palates or is it exciting because of the "wow" factor of being served a glass of bubbly that is expensive? Could they differentiate if it was a blind taste test? If they do drink the Dom at home then the critical remarks are valid. If they keep André dry in the fridge at home then just mention the name no criticism necessary.
Example, I live just outside the Sonoma & Napa Valley wine countries and used to think they were the biz. Now I only keep the French, Spanish, & Portuguese wines, cognacs, gins, Ports, and bubbly in my home.
The one person who mentioned that european business class seat is better than D1 is dreaming. I flew AF, KLM, LH and BA business class many time. First, their narrow body doesn’t even have biz seats despite still serving mediocre cold food during short haul flights. The long haul, its like a roullete with AF and KLM... their herringbone seats deployment is terrible and don’t talk to me about LH or BA.
For whatever...
The one person who mentioned that european business class seat is better than D1 is dreaming. I flew AF, KLM, LH and BA business class many time. First, their narrow body doesn’t even have biz seats despite still serving mediocre cold food during short haul flights. The long haul, its like a roullete with AF and KLM... their herringbone seats deployment is terrible and don’t talk to me about LH or BA.
For whatever it’s worth, D1 is way better than most of biz class in europe in 2020 including soft products with exception of Virgin.
@Airfarer
Unless the person sitting near me is a young unmarried attractive women I’m not interested in seeing people’s sometimes disgusting habits especially while I am eating. It’s the same reason why I don’t get seats near the bathroom.
The space between door 1 and 2 on the A330-900 is actually exactly the same as on the A330-300 (as are all the other dimensions of the plane, besides the engine). Likewise the -200 and -800. No change in size at all.
@LM:
Definitely Delta, followed by United and American, in that order
The pain of the Vantage seat is that the width is 2-4-2 equivalent, so on an A330 that's the same as Economy (albeit with the long leg space). Fine on a 787 or wider, nightmare on a 767. Add those doors and you can't stick your arms out.
I also see you still haven't taken a liking to chicken thighs yet and keep ordering those dishes ex-Japan because reasons. They're the most flavourful part!
I recently flew with delta and had the exact same meal. I wasn't impressed. I personally don't care for the so called " suite" . It makes me feel like I'm in a coffin. I prefer la premier with the curtain.
Another point: You still have to be careful with pre-departure beverages because Delta is still often serving an even cheaper cava or prosecco on the ground, even on Delta One international flights that have real champagne. In the last year or two, most flight attendants have gotten good about being honest as to what's being poured and whether it is in fact champagne. Gary Leff has blogged about Delta even using $4 Andre sparkling wine...
Another point: You still have to be careful with pre-departure beverages because Delta is still often serving an even cheaper cava or prosecco on the ground, even on Delta One international flights that have real champagne. In the last year or two, most flight attendants have gotten good about being honest as to what's being poured and whether it is in fact champagne. Gary Leff has blogged about Delta even using $4 Andre sparkling wine in Boston. Three or four years ago, Delta poured a $5-7 bottle of Spanish sparkling wine, cava, for pre-departure. Then they switched to Mionetto prosecco. Now Mionetto has been replaced with a Delta-branded prosecco that is still made by Mionetto.
@Hey_It's_That_Guy: You can absolutely tell the difference between champagne or a champagne-style sparkling wine (aka made from the traditional method) and prosecco. There are some up-market Italian sparkling wines made from the champagne method, but the method of prosecco and champagne is completely different. This is quite noticeable in the bubbles and where ther is a bread/yeast/brioche flavor or note to the wine. Cava, as Spanish sparkling wine is called, is more difficult to tell...
@Hey_It's_That_Guy: You can absolutely tell the difference between champagne or a champagne-style sparkling wine (aka made from the traditional method) and prosecco. There are some up-market Italian sparkling wines made from the champagne method, but the method of prosecco and champagne is completely different. This is quite noticeable in the bubbles and where ther is a bread/yeast/brioche flavor or note to the wine. Cava, as Spanish sparkling wine is called, is more difficult to tell apart from champagne, unless you are quite the wine snob, because it is made from the same method. Of course, Spanish cava uses different grapes than champagne. Delta is quite cheap and serves $7 prosecco on domestic Delta One flights, including the super premium LAX-JFK flights. It is absurd. I'd much rather have the non-champagne French sparkling wine that Delta serves in the Sky Club lounges than the prosecco Delta serves in domestic Delta One. Flying home to the US from Paris you generally get a better champagne than Delta normally carries because that's what catering in Paris stocks. Lately, it's been Perrier-Jouët. From London-Heathrow it has often been Lanson, which is perfectly drinkable, though truth be told I prefer the excellent English sparkling wine in the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse lounge.
Fly these A330 350 777 Delta 1 all the time, also United. US to Asia.
Trust me Delta is worst on food!!! Everything else is good.
When flying Delta One window seats, you will find that on 777 (updated) and A330 neo the even numbered seats (closer to the window) have a few more inches of legroom. On 767's and A350 it is the other way round with odd numbered seats closer to the window having more room. Could be important if you are more than 6 feet tall.
I appreciated your review, however, when I read these reviews I notice that comments regarding the bubbly served. Your remark, "Delta serves Canard-Duchene Brut Cuvee Leonie, which is good enough."
My question to you and perhaps others; could you honestly discern between brands? Is your palate such that you notice the difference between Cava, Champagne, Methode Champanoise, Prosecco, and Sparkling Wine? It's merely out of curiosity since so often comments such as XYZ brand...
I appreciated your review, however, when I read these reviews I notice that comments regarding the bubbly served. Your remark, "Delta serves Canard-Duchene Brut Cuvee Leonie, which is good enough."
My question to you and perhaps others; could you honestly discern between brands? Is your palate such that you notice the difference between Cava, Champagne, Methode Champanoise, Prosecco, and Sparkling Wine? It's merely out of curiosity since so often comments such as XYZ brand is my favourite. Is it your favourite because you can truly differentiate or because it's an expensive marque?
If so, then yes your remark of "...good enough" is warranted. If not, then I personally feel a mention of the brand is good enough.
I am shocked by how good your service experience was. I need to open a credit card with Delta and consider flying them sometime soon.
Ben: Delta has a Tokyo base until March. All of Delta's Japanese flight attendants are losing their jobs with the closure of NRT as a Delta hub. They won't be retained for Haneda. Some supposedly were offered jobs as reservation agents but most will be gone, which is horrible because the Tokyo FAs were among the best.
777x be like 'I hear you like big engines'
Gotta agree that the same salmon on American would've come off as very greasy and tasted no better than it looked. No defense of American, but this isn't a very appetizing fish lol
Looks nice but awfully tight. I have flown a lot on SK’s A330s with (doorless) Vantage XL and with the exception of the bulkhead seats, I find them too tight. Adding a huge privacy screen w/ door must make the seats very snug in the a330s.
"Delta business class will never be the best in the world, but.. it will always beat AA and UA by miles." Seriously, if you have no option but to fly international business class on a US airline it has to be on Delta. UA and AA are just way below average. As far as "they will never be the best in the world" I think there are lots of reasons why they won't. First, the...
"Delta business class will never be the best in the world, but.. it will always beat AA and UA by miles." Seriously, if you have no option but to fly international business class on a US airline it has to be on Delta. UA and AA are just way below average. As far as "they will never be the best in the world" I think there are lots of reasons why they won't. First, the US airline industry is not about quality. Most European and ME airlines have quality in their DNA and that is brought into their service. Delta is efficient. The other reason is they run their company on an efficient and frugal way that still deliver an above average service but allows them to pay the type of bonuses they pay their employees. If they tried to bring quality a bit higher that would not be possible. For example, their wine list is very poor when compared to top airlines. And they don't care.
@Lucky there is no SkyClub at Haneda. Delta use the TIAT Lounge along with China and Garuda
Air France and Korean use Japan Airlines’ Sakura Lounge
The food looks rather beige.
Can you do internet speed tests in your reviews please? Fast.com is super easy for a test. Thanks!
Like you said, Delta is by far the most consistent of the big three US carriers. They will get you to where you’re going safely, on-time, and with your luggage. That said, this appears to have been a very routine DL One flight. Great service, average food, and a tight seat. DL likes to cram all of their business class seats between doors one and two; regardless of the aircraft type. Other carriers, like Qatar,...
Like you said, Delta is by far the most consistent of the big three US carriers. They will get you to where you’re going safely, on-time, and with your luggage. That said, this appears to have been a very routine DL One flight. Great service, average food, and a tight seat. DL likes to cram all of their business class seats between doors one and two; regardless of the aircraft type. Other carriers, like Qatar, are much more roomy. But for a US carrier, DL is pretty much on top of their game.
@LM Delta gets the nod from me. They're the only ones who kept their 777s 3-3-3 in coach
Seems Delta One hard and soft product is several notches above Polaris. UA can learn a thing or two, while still making it profitable for them!
If this seat is narrower than the D1 Suites on the A350, oof!
Ben, this has been an excellent series of reports on your trip. I particularly enjoyed the ones on the new ANA products and I'll definitely give both a try in the course of this year.
For interest and because I might have to make a choice between them in the not too distant future, which would you rate more highly, Delta One or United Polaris?
@James I dunno that Salmon looks good. My recent experience on Delta was much better than American.
Luckys fixation with American only started when he moved to Miami.
I really haven't yet caught on to the fascination with doors. Perhaps I'm just too old and have flown for too long to worry whether someone looks at what I'm watching, reading or, maybe, sleeping.
If it constricted my nap time, it would definitely be open.
The tacky-looking blue upholstery on those seats has me humming Grace Jones' 'Warm Leatherette'...
Hey Lucky, since you booked with virgin miles, presumably your virgin awards # would be tied to your res. How did you get your delta # tied to it instead so that they knew you were silver?
Damn that’s quite a drink selection! They’ve got The Macallan and Woodford’s, as well as many other things? That’s impressive!
There is no such thing as "Delta business class" as the experience differs wildly depending on the plane you´re on. Try squeezing yourself into the business class of one of the 767´s if you can even call that a business class and repeat with me "Delta business class will never be the best in the world, but it will consistently be above average, and that’s worth something."
What proportion of Delta’s longhaul flights now operate with this seat?
I don’t particularly like playing “seat roulette” when an airline has one good product operating alongside a horrible one. But if the odds are good enough...
The breakfast is hot pot, not hot pie. (Not clear if you misread it it’s a typo.). Which is pretty much what you got. :)
The Malin-Goetz is a very nice touch. Seats look tight but love the door option. What I dislike the most about Delta aesthetics is that horrible shade of blue they use...it looks cheap on that upholstery. It looks even worse on their livery. They need an artist with a great eye for color to start over with that scheme. I agree that the larger engines look great on that plane.
I think it’s Lindt chocolate, not Godiva :)
Great read, as always.
How does the Delta One Suite compare to United Polaris seats?
@lucky - Just wondering (and you are probably a terrible person to ask this), Do you think American, United, or Delta has the best long haul economy cabin. I doubt you have flown in any of them but do you have any thoughts on that (or anyone else).
If American had served that exact same dinner, you would have complained about how bad it was.
Their finishes always seem cheap to me. Why don't they invest in some Premium materials. The aesthetics otherwise are pretty good with their colors.
I think that’s a Lindor truffle instead of Godiva?