Now that I have recently flown both Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in business class on the 757-200, I thought it would be helpful to compare the two products.
Comparing 757-200 Business Class On Delta Air Lines Versus United Airlines
I flew from Washington National (DCA) to Los Angeles (LAX) on Delta in “Delta One” business class and from Newark (EWR) to Los Angeles on United in business class:
Check-In
I checked in on the app for both airlines…no problems with either. I find United’s app slightly better overall due to the layout of flight information, but the Delta app has greatly improved and is also very efficient.
Lounge Access
Both Delta and United grant their business class passengers lounge access on premium transcontinental flights. The DCA-LAX flight is considered premium on Delta so access to the SkyClub is granted.
United considers its EWR-LAX premium and also grants business class passengers lounge access.
I prefer United’s lounge in Newark because of the barista coffee service available, but Delta’s food options are often superior.
Boarding
Delta and United both board passengers with disabilities, members of the military, and top-tier Delta 360 and Diamond members or United Global Services and 1K passengers before boarding business class passengers.
Cabin
Although both 757-200s were about the same age, Delta has retrofitted its cabins with mood lighting which give the aging cabin a very modern and sleek appearance.
Meanwhile, the stale fluorescent light on United’s 757-200 gives the cabin a rather dull appearance.
However, the Delta cabin was not clean:
But the United cabin was really showing signs of a lack of upkeep including in the console below my monitor and the window shade, which was broken.
I felt like the United cabin was cleaner, but I loved the mood lighting on Delta.
Seat
Both Delta and United use the exact same seat in their business class cabin, the B/E Diamond seat. The cabin includes 16 seats in a 2-2 configuration between doors 1 and 2. Each seat reclines into a full lie-flat bed (76 inches) and offers a width of 20.5 inches.
The only difference in seating is that United has adjustable headrests while Delta does not.
Delta:
United:
Each seat also has a storage shelf with a universal a/c (110V) plug and a USB-A socket.
Seats are controlled by electronic controls in the center console.
Delta:
United:
This is widely considered an “old” seat today and window seat passengers do not have direct aisle access, but I did not mind it (and chose a window seat on both flights).
Bedding
Both Delta and United offered premium bedding with a duvet and pillow. United’s satin-like material was a bit more comfortable and United also offered a second pillow (cooling gel foam).
Delta:
United:
Wi-Fi
Delta and United both have wireless internet available for purchase. On Delta, a flight pass cost $39.99 while on United a flight pass was only $10 (reduced to $8 for MileagePlus members regardless of status). Both offered complimentary wi-fi for T-Mobile customers on a single mobile device.
Internet worked well on both carriers. In fact, on Delta I even streamed video without issue while on United I was simply working on my accounting during the flight.
IFE
Both Delta and United offer a comprehensive library of TV shows, movies, games, and music via a 16-inch touchscreen display. Both offer a wired passenger service unit (remote) as well to toggle between options.
Delta:
United:
While Delta prides itself on offering seatback screens on all mainline flights, United does not and therefore also offers streaming IFE via intranet with a similar selection. On this aircraft, however, all passengers had their own IFE screens.
Delta’s noise-cancelling headphones slightly edged out United’s, though both are inferior to what American Airlines and JetBlue offer.
The Delta library was more diverse and included more music options, but both offered plenty of options for a five-hour flight.
Food
Sadly, my Delta flight was delayed 18 hours (more on that below) so my dinner flight became a breakfast flight. I wanted to compare dinner to dinner and try Delta’s short ribs, but wound up with a quiche instead, served with yogurt, a fresh fruit bowl, and a warm croissant.
During the flight, snacks and drinks were available on-demand and I loved that the snack basket had pistachios.
Meanwhile, dinner was served on United with a choice between a chicken breast or cheese ravioli, both served with a side salad and bread. I ordered ravioli which was perfectly fine, though I will lament here that United has not really rotated the meal choices on this route in over two years.
United offered a choice of ice cream sundae, cake, or cheese (or all three) for dessert via cart. It is my understanding that Delta does not offer a full dessert service on its transcon flights.
Prior to arrival, United offered a choice of a light snack:
- Hummus, tabouli salad, Kalamata olives, lemon wedge, grapes
- Strawberries, grapes, Swiss cheese, Cheddar cheese, sliced roasted turkey breast, Genoa salami
Both are served with crackers. I enjoyed the hummus and thought it was a fitting pre-arrival meal.
Both carriers offer pre-orders on their premium transcontinental 757 flights.
I preferred the United meal service, but feel like it was comparing apples and oranges considering breakfast was served on Delta.
Lavatories
Lavatories, located in the front of the aircraft, were clean on both carriers.
Delta:
United:
Delta offers hand soap and creme from Grown Alchemist while United featured Sunday Riley (and now uses Therabody) hand soap and creme.
Amenities
Both carriers offer an amenity kit to business-class passengers, though Delta offers a much better reusable bag with the following contents:
- Toothbrush + toothpaste from The Thumble Co.
- Lip balm + hand creme from Grown Alchemist
- Delta-branded pen
- Eyeshade
- Earplugs
The United kit only contained:
- lip balm
- dental kit
- ear plugs
- eye shade
Both carriers also offer slippers, though Delta offered them proactively and United was via request.
Service
Service was lovely on both flights and this is hard category to say who was better.
Michael served the business class on Delta and was simply fabulous. Attentive and with a great sense of humor, he hustled throughout the flight to keep everyone comfortable. He was great.
On United, Alycia and Nicole took excellent care of the business class cabin and were also very attentive throughout the flight, checking the cabin often for beverage refills.
I don’t fly Delta enough to know whether Michael is the norm or was extraordinary, but he was great…on United, the service was better than I am used to.
Operational Reliability
I cannot avoid mentioning that my Delta flight experienced an 18-hour mechanical delay. The 757-200 is an aging aircraft and one of our engines would not start (comforting, isn’t it?).
Of course I could have just as easily ran into a mechanical delay on United, but I must point out that the extended delay on Delta certainly dampened my experience overall.
CONCLUSION
Objectively, I have to say my United flight was better because it arrived on-time instead of 18 hours late.
However, if we put the delay aside I think both products were quite similar…and quite good. Service was great on both flights. Wi-fi worked well. Bedding was comfortable. Food was satisfactory.
I’ve staked my loyalty in United, but even with the specter of another mechanical delay, I would not hesitate to fly either product in the future.
Matthew- with regards to IFE, Delta has at least 15 Live TV channels through DirectTV in addition to the library of movies and shows you mentioned. This is a point of difference between United and Delta on the 757 aircraft.
Interestingly, my aircraft did not have that option – there were many TV programs, but I did not see live TV.
Did Delta offer a hotel and meals and/or compensation for the delay?
It did. I’ll do a separate story on this. Delta did a great job of sending out vouchers (hotel and meal) to email addresses on file. These were virtual QR codes that I had no trouble using at DCA. I ended up not using the Delta hotel because it was too far away (almost over to Dulles). Instead, I just booked the Hyatt Regency DCA and submitted an expense claim to Delta.
Also, Delta offers FREE wifi for its Medallion members.
On this flight, it definitely was not free.
Does Delta fly the same plane out of New York to LA?
They typically use the 767-300 for the JFK-LAX service.
I could do a UA vs. DL 767 comparison as well, but the Delta flight is a few years old so I don’t think it would be as helpful.
Aaron – Delta typically flies the 767=300 from NYC to LA, with occasional 767-400 or even occasional Airbus 330 or 350. They fly this 757 between JFK and SFO
Bob – Delta only offers free wifi on certain plans right now, like some of of the mainline Airbuses and Boeings. Most of the transcons don’t have free wifi yet.
John – No live TV on most of the transcon fleet yet. More likely to see it on the A320 for example.
Is tim Dunn in the room here with us?
Odd that he disappeared.
Very interesting comparison Matthew. I have been juggling mid to top level status with both Delta and United’s elite programs for a few years (Delta’s due to being hub captive and MQM rollovers; UA by choice).
A few comments about my experience with Delta although I never fly any airline transcontinental so just normal domestic first class.
Boarding: You mentioned that Delta boarded top-tier Delta 360 and Diamond members before business class. That is not the case on domestic flights with Delta domestic first class. Domestic first class boards before Diamonds.
Wi-Fi and IFE: All domestic flights I take with Delta offers Live TV with several channels. It is awesome to watch sports, news, etc… if you don’t want to watch a movie. As for Wi-Fi, not all but most Delta planes now offer free wifi to all Delta medallion members. Yes, no need to be Diamond but anyone with a Delta account get free wifi access. That has been the case on maybe 80% of my flights this year.
Amenity kit: Delta’s amenity kit is a joke. They decided to go from quality to BS and are now offering this horrible cloth bag that is made by some sustainable community in Central America. They used to offer nice Tumi ones but now you can see that most Delta One passengers don’t even take these with them from the flight and they are left on the seats. Although I like that Delta offers slippers, I miss their socks. I like to remove my socks and wear more comfortable ones on the plane but now Delta does not offer socks anymore.
Great idea for a post, and well done! Kinda surprised by how well United stacks up tbh.
Oh by the way, it’s “could have run”, not “could have ran”. 🙂
I wish you would comment a bit more on the bathrooms. I have flown over a dozen flights on United over the past few months, and using the bathroom on each was a challenge. I am not overweight, nor handicapped. But I am 6’4″ and was unable to come close to standing up in any bathroom on any flight. It was actually dangerous and I won’t go through what position I had to contort my body in order to take a leak. And sitting is also a challenge as my femur bone hits the door . It is remarkably shocking how United gets away with this. I have no idea what a handicapped person or overweight or athlete does. The planes have been a combo of 757’s, 737’s, A320, A319, etc. and flights were all w/in the USA.
When I can and have the option, I pick my flights based on the plane size now more than the seat size.
The lavatories were identical inside and a bit on the small side, but both were clean. The United lavs had more amenities.
“Delta and United both board passengers with disabilities, members of the military, and top-tier Delta 360 and Diamond members or United Global Services and 1K passengers before boarding business class passengers.”
This is not true. Delta does NOT officially board diamonds before Delta One or first-class.
I will mention that United has an adjustable headrest on their seat while Delta does not. Personally, I don’t really care (as both seats are lie-flat, I won’t be sleeping seated) but I know some people who do have a preference. Great article otherwise
Thank you for pointing this out!