Review: Delta One Business Class Airbus A350 (SCL-ATL)

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).

Delta’s A350 probably offers the best business class experience you’ll find on any US airline, on balance. The airline has comfortable suites with doors, extensive entertainment, and pretty solid food and amenities. Let’s get into the review…

How I booked my Delta business class ticket

As any points collector knows, it can be hard to get good value when trying to redeem Delta SkyMiles for business class flights. At least that’s the case if you’re originating or terminating your trip in the United States. However, it’s a different story if you’re simply connecting in the United States, when the price is much better.

For this trip, I booked the following in business class for 65,800 Delta SkyMiles plus $87.32 in taxes & fees:

9/19 DL146 Santiago to Atlanta departing 8:40PM arriving 5:15AM (+1 day)
9/20 DL602 Atlanta to Mexico City departing 12:21PM arriving 1:55PM

If I had terminated in Atlanta and just booked that first segment, the award would have cost roughly 5x as much. So I’d say this trip represented quite a good use of SkyMiles! 😉

Delta business class lounge & boarding

In previous installments, I reviewed the lounges that Delta business class passengers have access to in Santiago, including the LATAM Lounge and SkyTeam Lounge. The LATAM Lounge is definitely the better of the two options, by far.

My flight to Atlanta was departing from gate E9, located at the very end of the concourse. Boarding was scheduled for 7:45PM, 55 minutes ahead of the 8:40PM departure. Sure enough that’s exactly when boarding started, with business class passengers being invited to board first.

Delta A350 business class cabin & seats

I boarded through the second set of doors, where I was greeted by the crew, and then turned left into the business class cabin. I was flying on one of Delta’s “flagship” A350s (not one of the ex-LATAM ones, with inferior interiors), featuring a total of 32 business class seats, spread across nine rows.

The Delta One Suites on the A350 are a customized version of the popular Thompson Vantage XL product, which is one of the more spacious staggered business class layouts out there. In this configuration, there are seven sets of seats along the windows, and nine pairs of seats in the center.

Those traveling together may prefer one of the center sets of seats. However, be aware that unlike in some other staggered configurations, there are no “honeymoon” seats in every other row, but rather the seats are a consistent distance apart from one another, which perhaps isn’t ideal.

The good news is that if you’re traveling alone and end up in one of the center seats, there’s a full privacy shield that can be extended, so you won’t even know you have a seat mate.

Along the windows, seats alternate between being closer to the windows and closer to the aisle.

In even numbered rows, you’ll find seats closer to the aisle, and these would be my less preferred window seats. While they’re still perfectly nice, they’re further from the windows, which isn’t ideal.

In odd numbered rows, you’ll find seats closer to the windows, which would my favorite seats in this configuration. For example, I selected seat 7A, the last “true” window seat on the left side, in the back of the cabin.

These business class seats are 20.5″ wide, though there’s quite a large space next to that, with many of the seat’s features (in these staggered configurations, the footwell from seat behind is underneath the console to the side of the seat).

While most of the cabin finishes are pretty generic and sterile, I like the seat stitching that Delta uses, from the red Delta “widget,” to the widget-shaped stitching on the seat (though Delta is soon rebranding its cabins).

As far as seat features go, to the side of the seat was an open storage compartment where headphones could be placed, an AC and USB-A power outlet, and the headphone jack.

There was also a panel where all seat functions could be controlled. While this was easy to use, I found the placement to be kind of annoying, since it’s in the area where you may naturally rest your elbow during the flight, so I accidentally adjusted the position of the seat several times, without meaning to.

There was also an entertainment controller underneath a panel, though I find that to be kind of unnecessary, given that the entertainment monitor is touchscreen.

Speaking of entertainment, Delta has 18″ monitors in business class, which are a decent size, and pretty high definition. Since this isn’t really a cutting edge product anymore, the tech is otherwise lacking — there’s no bluetooth audio, wireless charging, or USB-A charging.

The tray table in this configuration folds out from underneath the side console, and is easy enough to use. It’s a single, large tray, so don’t expect you’ll be able to get up when it’s extended.

One of the challenges with many staggered configurations is that the footwells can be kind of small, and too restrictive to get comfortable. I didn’t find that to be an issue here, and found the footwell to be sufficiently large.

One of the cool features of Delta’s A350 business class is that seats have privacy doors. These are unlocked after takeoff (and then locked again before landing), and can be extended with the push of a button. Personally I’m a fan of these kinds of doors, though these aren’t particularly high, so think of them as more of a privacy partition than a door.

Furthermore, the door doesn’t actually close all the way, but rather there’s still a gap of a couple of inches, even when it’s “closed.”

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that Delta’s A350s do have overhead consoles with individual air nozzles, which is a feature that many of us appreciate.

All-in-all, Delta’s A350 business class product is solid. Now, I do think it’s probably time for some updates (especially with technology), but I imagine those changes are coming once Delta takes delivery of Airbus A350-1000s.

Delta business class amenities

Waiting at each seat upon boarding was a zipped pouch with the bedding, which included a plush pillow and substantial blanket. This bedding is comfortable — perhaps not to the same level of United Polaris business class, but otherwise quite competitive.

There was also an amenity kit at each seat, which was decent enough (though I was expecting a Missoni amenity kit). The kit was from Someone Somewhere, and included a dental kit, ear plugs, eyeshades, Delta-branded socks, and lip balm and lotion from Grown Alchemist.

There were also a pair of Delta-branded slippers at each seat, which were practical.

Next up, there were a pair of noise canceling headphones, which weren’t particularly good quality, but were still better than nothing.

The menu was also waiting at each seat upon boarding.

Once the boarding process was underway, pre-departure drinks were served, with the choice of sparkling wine, orange juice, or a mimosa. It’s nice how Delta serves pre-departure drinks in proper glassware, unlike American and United.

Delta A350 business class entertainment & Wi-Fi

The Delta Studio inflight entertainment system is phenomenal, among the best you’ll find on any airline. This includes a massive selection of movies, TV shows, and music, and it’s hard to imagine that one could ever run out of options.

I’m not really into movies, but I did enjoy watching House Hunters, Open Door (house tours from certain public figures, from Architectural Digest), and Lie Detector (who wouldn’t want to watch Shawn Mendes take a lie detector test?!).

Of course I also loved the map feature, and being able to track the progress of the flight. It’s just a shame that Delta chose not to offer a tail camera on its A350s through the inflight entertainment, since that’s an option.

Delta also offers Wi-Fi on its A350s, though that experience was a mixed back. Delta is in the process of rolling out free Wi-Fi for SkyMiles members worldwide, though it’s very much a work in progress. Not only was Wi-Fi not free on this flight, but it simply wasn’t available for much of the flight, due to the current satellite coverage.

On this flight, messaging was available for free, or otherwise you could buy a full flight pass for $15.

The only catch is that for a majority of the flight from Santiago to Atlanta, there’s not actually coverage at the moment. That should change in the near future. Fortunately this was an overnight flight, so that wasn’t a huge deal.

Delta A350 departure from Santiago

This was a pretty empty flight — there were around 135 empty seats, and before boarding started, only 10 seats were occupied in business class. The cabin then became nearly full, as that were around 20 non-revs, who were all cleared into business class.

It seemed that most people just spent a night in Santiago, as they mostly knew the crew, they discussed what they respectively did on their “layovers,” etc. It’s safe to say this flight was a goldmine for non-revs!

Boarding was efficient, and at 8:20PM the purser added his welcome onboard, announcing that boarding was complete, and that our flight time would be 8hr55min. At that point the safety video was screened.

Then at 8:35PM we began our pushback, and five minutes later we began our taxi. It was quite a long taxi to the departure runway, where we were cleared for takeoff at 9PM. We had a powerful takeoff roll, and gradual climb out.

Even though the climb out was perfectly smooth, the seatbelt sign stayed on for around 30 minutes.

Delta business class dinner

As you’d expect, dinner was served after takeoff on this flight, and you can find the menu below and drink list below.

Service was pretty quick to get started after takeoff, with warm towels being distributed around 15 minutes after takeoff.

After the warm towel service, drinks were served from a cart, around 35 minutes after takeoff. I had a sparkling water, along with the Ontanon Tempranillo Blanco (white wine) from Spain, which wasn’t listed on the menu. Those drinks were accompanied by warm mixed nuts.

Around an hour after takeoff, the first course was served from a cart. Delta deserves high marks for serving a salad, appetizer, and soup, as not many airlines serve all three in business class. These included:

• Mixed green salad with heart of palm, cherry tomato, parsley, and spicy lemon dressing
• Lemon and lime poached prawns with passion fruit ceviche dressing and red onion
• Creamy cauliflower soup with croutons

The only disappointing aspect of this was the bread roll, which was hard and room temperature. I’m not sure if that was an oversight on the part of the crew, or why Delta wouldn’t heat its bread.

While the service up until this point was performed off carts, the main courses were just brought around on trays a few minutes later. I ordered the seared salmon with lemon herb cream sauce, asparagus, and rice.

This was quite good, though I found the service to be a bit sloppy. When this was served, the soup bowl was cleared (so there would be room for the main course on the tray), but the empty salad bowl and appetizer plate were just left on the tray.

Then around 90 minutes after takeoff, the crew passed through the cabin with the dessert trolley, with the choice of caramel flan, an ice cream sundae, or a cheese plate. US airlines actually do a great job with ice cream sundaes, so I decided to order that, and had it with the whipped cream, cashew pralines, and berry compote. Yum.

Trays were cleared just under two hours after departure, and I’d say it was an excellent meal, all things considered, definitely a step up from American and United.

Delta A350 business class lavatories

Delta has two business class lavatories on the A350, located in front of the cabin, with one on each side. The lavatories are pretty average — they do the trick, but aren’t particularly spacious or luxurious.

I did like how the hand soap was from Grown Alchemist, which is at least a classy touch.

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, but it sure is nice when you fly an airline where the bathroom is spotless even before landing.

Delta A350 business class bed

Once back at my seat, it was time to get some rest. I turned my seat into a bed, and found it really easy to get comfortable. The temperature in the cabin was cool, and the bed was cozy, without being overly tight. The bed is also quite long, at 76.”

I ended up falling asleep with around seven hours remaining to Atlanta…

…and woke up around two hours from Atlanta.

As someone who is usually bad at sleeping on planes, that was a great night of sleep for me!

Delta business class breakfast

Breakfast was served before landing, with the cabin lights being gradually turned on around 70 minutes before landing in Atlanta. You can find the breakfast menu below.

Since I don’t eat pork, I decided to go with the cold breakfast option, comprised of greek yogurt with strawberry compote and granola, a fruit bowl, and a croissant. It was simple but tasty.

I also had a cup of coffee. Delta doesn’t offer espresso or cappuccino in business class, and I don’t find the carrier to have particularly good drip coffee either. Still, something is better than nothing!

Delta business class service

When it comes to US airlines, Delta is generally known for having above average employees. In that sense, I’ve gotta say that service on this flight was just okay. The crew went through the motions and wasn’t rude, but wasn’t the friendliest or most attentive crew I’ve had on Delta or another US airline.

This year, I’ve taken one long haul flight on each of the “big three” US carriers. Funny enough, Delta actually had the weakest service of those flights, as I had stellar service in American business class and United business class. It just comes to show you how service on US airlines is consistently inconsistent.

Delta A350 arrival in Atlanta

At around 4:25AM local time, the first officer announced that we’d be landing in around 30 minutes, well ahead of schedule. A few moments later we began our descent, and then around 10 minutes after that, the seatbelt sign was turned on.

During the descent, the crew passed through the cabin with little chocolates, which seems to be a standard parting gift in Delta One.

Our descent was smooth, and we touched down in Atlanta at 4:55AM.

We taxied for a few moments, and then came to a stop on the taxiway. At this point it was announced that the immigration facility in Atlanta doesn’t open until 5:30AM, so we’d have to wait some time until we’d be able to proceed to our gate.

Look, the airline industry is incredibly complex, though that also can’t help but make you scratch your head. Why schedule an international flight to arrive at 5:16AM, if the immigration facility only opens at 5:30AM?

Fortunately the wait didn’t end up being quite that long. At 5:15AM we were allowed to park at our gate. Everything then took a few minutes longer, but we were allowed off the plane soon enough. I breezed through immigration thanks to Global Entry, and then visited the Amex Centurion Lounge, prior to my flight to Mexico City.

Bottom line

I had a pleasant flight in Delta One on the Airbus A350-900. The seats were comfortable, the entertainment was extensive, the food was pretty good, and the amenities were solid. On balance, I’d say that this is about as good as business class with US airlines gets.

However, the flight wasn’t perfect. Service wasn’t anything special, and on top of that, due to Delta’s Wi-Fi transition, there wasn’t Wi-Fi for over half the flight (which didn’t bother me on this overnight flight, but would bother me more on a daytime flight).

I’d gladly fly Delta One again, assuming the price is right (which can be rare). Just keep in mind that this is by far Delta’s best business class, and it’ll be a vastly different experience on the carrier’s secondhand A350-900s, 767-300ERs, etc.

What’s your take on Delta’s A350 business class?