Hello from Florida, as I’ve just completed the return portion of our winter ski trip to Niseko. After flying All Nippon Airways’ A380 first class and Hawaiian Airlines’ 787 first class, I finished off my trip by flying Delta Air Lines’ A321neo first class on the 4hr10min flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL).
I’ll be publishing a full review of this flight soon (it was an eventful redeye flight, with an extended medical emergency and a near diversion to El Paso — Vasu Raja would’ve been proud), but in this post I want to focus on one specific thing — Delta’s new domestic first class seat.
In 2022, Delta launched a new domestic first class seat, which is available on all A321neo aircraft. I hadn’t flown in this seat up until now, and had heard mixed reviews, so wanted to experience it for myself.
I’m impressed by Delta’s A321neo first class seat
Ultimately we haven’t seen all that much innovation in “standard” domestic first class, given that airlines aren’t willing to increase the footprint of seats. That being said, Delta’s A321neo first class delivers some noticeable incremental improvements.
For one, I have to say that the cabin looks super snazzy, which is a combination of the general features of the A321neo Airspace cabin, plus Delta’s interiors having more interesting finishes than on most other airlines. The seats also look modern and futuristic. It certainly gives a different impression than you’d get if flying American’s A321neo, for example.
So, what’s actually better about Delta’s A321neo first class seats? A few things stand out…
The seats have a small partition of sorts between them, in addition to “wings” along the sides of the fixed headrest. Not only does this offer some privacy, but it’s also nice to be able to rest your head against this, if you’re looking to sleep. Admittedly if you’re traveling with someone, it might get in the way of your direct line of sight if you’re not leaning forward, but I don’t think that’s a huge deal.
Seats also have a little more storage than you’ll typically find in domestic first class. Underneath the center armrest there’s a bit of storage, including a bottle holder.
There’s also a large storage area at the front of seats and in the center. Now, I’m not sure I fully understand the practical use for this, as the space isn’t that deep or wide, but it goes quite high. What exactly is one supposed to be able to put here?
While minor, I also like where the power ports are located. They’re not hidden underneath some panel or under the center console, but rather they’re at the back corner of the seat, and are easy to access. Each seat has two USB-A outlets, plus an AC power outlet. It’s disappointing that there are no USB-C outlets, and there aren’t wireless chargers either (though I find those to be a gimmick anyway).
Each seat also has a 10″ personal television with bluetooth audio. The screen quality is excellent, and the entertainment selection huge. While I’m not as TV-obsessed as some others (and I actually don’t value it much if there’s functional Wi-Fi), there’s no denying a cabin just looks nicer when it has new and shiny TVs.
Delta also claims that the tray tables at these seats are 25% larger than on older aircraft, and are sturdier. While I’m not sure I would’ve noticed the larger size without it specifically being promoted, I did notice how sturdy the tray tables were.
The challenge with Delta’s new first class seat
At least for domestic first class, the “big three” US carriers aren’t actually willing to increase the footprint of seats. Unlike lie flat seats with footwells, you can only get so creative with increasing seat comfort, without using more space.
Just about everyone agrees that Delta’s new first class seats look nice, and that the added features are cool, in theory. But I’ve also heard a lot of people say that these seats feel tight, and that they’re unnecessarily bulky and almost feel cluttered.
You have so many extra things — the “wings,” the partition between seats, the huge storage compartment in the center, etc. — and ultimately that all takes up quite a bit of space. Delta doesn’t exactly have industry leading seat pitch in first class, and on top of that, Delta first class seats recline quite a bit.
So when you add up all those factors, you might feel a little stuck or claustrophobic between all the new gadgets. For example, when you try to get up from the window seat (especially if the seat in front is reclined), you have a really tight space to navigate through, and it’s easy to bump into that center storage area, and more.
Personally, I think the new seat has some nice incremental improvements, and I prefer it to Delta’s previous generation first class seats. However, I’d consider the improvements to be minor incremental ones, rather than revolutionary.
Bottom line
I finally had the chance to fly Delta’s new A321neo first class, and it includes some cool updates. We haven’t seen much of an evolution with domestic first class seats over the years, though this definitely has some cool new features we haven’t seen before. The challenge is that without seat pitch increasing, these bells and whistles almost take away from the sense of spaciousness, and make the seats feel tighter.
What’s your take on Delta’s A321neo first class seats?
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