I had a wonderful flight from Detroit to Amsterdam onboard Delta’s A350-900 in Delta One suites (business class). Delta does so many of the little things right and I appreciated warm service and truly delicious food onboard.
Delta A350 Delta One Suites – Great First Flight!
What really impressed me from the very start was that moments after booking I was offered the choice to choose from a number of meals on my flight. As a regular United flyer, meal service has been the most frustrating part of that carrier during the pandemic.
The selection was tremendous:
I chose lamb shank. More on that in a moment.
In Detroit, I was welcomed onboard and found the cabin layout quite attractive. All suites have closed-doors and plenty of room for your feet.
I chose 6D, which is not a true window seat but didn’t matter much because the entire flight was in darkness. In fact, I loved how easy it was to navigate in and out of this seat.
I will say that door is a bit clunky…more on that in the full review.
Dinner was served after takeoff and the purser confirmed, when taking meal orders, that my lamb shank had been loaded.
Oh. My. Goodness. The soup and salad were great…I loved both…but the lamb shank was so tender and delicious I could not believe I was on an airplane. I don’t think the picture does this meal justice, because it truly was one of the best meals I’ve ever had in the skies (Delta uses Do & Co catering in Detroit).
The only problem was that I finished the lamb shank and the delicious au gratin potatoes and wanted a second (and third course).
But I went to sleep instead. Delta has new bedding it claims is made out of recycled plastic bottles. I view that as virtue signaling, but thought the bedding was actually great and I managed a very nice five hour nap as we crossed the Atlantic.
Prior to landing, a delicious omelet with feta cheese was served along with a warm croissant and fruit. Perfect breakfast to start the day.
Finally, a word about the service: it was fabulous. Donna (the purser) and John (who took care of me for most of the flight) were both tremendous. Gracious and attentive.
CONCLUSION
My first longhaul flight on Delta in many years was an excellent one. The suite was comfortable, service great, but perhaps most surprisingly, the food was really, really good.
I’ll have a lot more details about this flight in my full trip report, including info on IFE, amenity kit, and other aspects of the food and beverage service (deficiencies, actually). Overall, though, it was so lovely to fly Delta.
Once they get back to proper meal service, Delta will be an option.
Was this recent? The one tray meal is gone? If so yippee!
Yes, earlier this month.
Hi food Delta first class in Atlanta to Boston in October. I pay an additional $1,500 to get great service. We were boarded, and unlike prior flights where I was offered a drink right away. We’re not offered drinks until well in the air. Then I was lucky enough to get a tomato and cheese sandwich for a meal. The stewards pretty much ignored us for the entire trip. It was completely different than any other first class experience I had ever had. I suspect you may have been treated a little better because they knew you were writing about them
There is a big difference between service on a domestic first class flight between Atlanta and Boston and a transatlantic delta one flight. How come you paid 1500 dollars extra? That seems quite steep for a domestic first class ticket.
No one tray is not gone like with many others…
One tray gone effective February 1st I was told. Menus back, along with broader drink menu. As you said, still no choice for appetizer or bread.
One tray is not gone. I just returned JNB-ATL six days ago (2/7). The level of service and quality of the soft product on DL flights is not quite abysmal, but truly sub-par.
I can only present my datapoint, but FA said single try service ended on 02/01/22.
Don’t give them too much credit for their meals Matthew. A year ago I flew from LAX to JFK in Delta One and they gave me a bag of goldfish and didn’t even have soda.
They are still behind AA and UA in terms of meal offerings on most flights. I hope you don’t start switching your loyalty over to Delta!
What a foolish statement on so many levels. Last year is a world away from where airlines were prior to the pandemic as today is from where they are today.
As for the author’s loyalty, one would hope it is directed to his readers in unbiased reporting.
Oh yes, their A359 Suites is a joy to fly, though like you there were some… quirkiness with the doors… not that it matters much. But still no pre-boarding bubbly?
That said DL is still ridiculous with their Delta One pricing. They must have had a glitch in the system once because I had. PS seat -> D1 upgrade offer on TATL for $375; just couldn’t refuse.
Why Why Why doesn’t EVERY carrier use Do&Co?? The quality is incredible and they clearly should win any contract from the other horror show of caterers. Even BA has vastly improved under Do&Co offerings.
Agreed – BA catering is so much better with Do & Co.
The two reasons I dropped out of UA 1K status in 2018 were UA’s high prices and the Do&Co catering on BA.
Preparing airline meals may be more complex than running a regular restaurant, but it is hardly rocket science. The only logical explanation for Do&Co being associated with high quality catering is that they do not seek to compete for contracts where they believe that the airline’s catering budget is insufficient for them to provide an acceptable product.
What you say is true…but you think that by now, given all the accolades of Do&Co, that airlines would start to see the light. I am not sure that anything Do&Co is doing is so out of the box. They are just focused on inventive dishes that work well in an airline catering function and that are slightly unique and tasty. Translation, they actually care what’s on the plate. While I imagine that the cost is slightly higher, it’s a huge component of the customer experience and will drive loyalty. And why I often choose Austrian as an example. It’s just fun with Do&Co catering.
In the end AA gives us Turkey Pastrami sandwiches. Clearly envisioned by those who think a flight should be fast food in a premium cabin, or even less. Or they imagine the American consumer would never know the difference. Well, we do.
Further, offering unique dishes in economy, especially domestic and for pay, will drive sales and easily make up for the extra cost. I would gladly pay in economy to have a nicely prepared catered dish from Do&Co.
I also preordered the Lamb Shank on this same route last month, one of the best business class meals I’ve ever had, especially paired with that hot tomato soup and the burrata-avocado-tomato salad!
Their mango-passion-fruit parfait for breakfast was the most beautiful dish I’ve been served in business class, too
I flew Delta One with my family to Brazil during last holidays and had a fantastic experience. My wife and kids mentioned their meals were one of the best they had in a US airline. I have been loyal to Delta for many years and would not fly other US airline internationally.
Good to see some Delta content. I’ve flown a lot of Delta One configurations, but not this one yet, looking forward to it
From the pictures, I couldn’t tell how the lie flat bed fit in and if you felt it was long enough. As someone mentioned, the pricing is high and I’m just wondering if the Suite is that much better than a usual lie flat bed in a herringbone format. Thanks!
It’s really not much better than a reverse herringbone seat, but I found it more spacious than the traditional staggered seat.
You stated “I chose 6D, which is not a true window seat”. Yet your pictures show you had 2 windows?
Right, but this would be considered technically an aisle seat because in the even-numbered rows the console is against the window and the seat against the aisle while in the odd-numbered rows the seat is actually against the window and the console against the aisle.
Try riding in the back with the rest of the regular folks. Lets see if your option would be the same.
Delta will still be more comfortable for the wider folks in the back as the A359’a 3-3-3 layout is wider than 777’s 3-4-3 and 787’s 3-3-3.
US Carriers are funny. Their domestic product really is just like a different airline compared to their premium international product. I abandoned a Delta status match because I hated their domestic offering. If it even remotely resembled what you had in Delta One, that wouldn’t have happened.
The branding is also pretty confusing and, to me at least, annoying.
Why on Earth would you have a ‘First Class’ product that it is inferior to your business class? It’s not even just ‘domestic versus international’ because they have premium domestic routes, they fly their odd F product to places like Ecuador which aren’t exactly around the corner from the USA, they have different densities and service standards for Hawaii flights etc.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, they then dream up all these silly names for their cabins. Comfort Economy, Economy Extra, Premium Economy, Super Legroom Main Cabin, Businessfirsteliteone, Flagship Business etc, and they change them whenever they refresh their cabins. The vast majority of global airlines seem to do just fine with having 3 or 4 classes of service using industry standard nomenclature, and any differentiation within a class can just be restricted to fare types (e.g. Business Light, Economy Flex).
Looking at things from a distance, it looks like they are focusing on the wrong things most of the time. I suppose that clarity and user friendliness might not matter so much when you’re running a company that can count on the backing of the world’s biggest magic money tree.
My husband and I flew Delta One last October from Atlanta to Munich. The experience was wonderful and the food impressive. However after dinner we would have enjoyed another glass or two of wine but the flight attendant disappeared until breakfast. We had flown Delta One two years before to Paris and the entire service was outstanding. In April we’re flying back to Paris but in comfort select. Should be interesting.
I’ve read on some of the BLOGS about DL considering having DLOne Lounges, similar to UAs Polaris Lounge. If DL does bring this online, UA will have some serious competition. The exclusivity of the Polaris Lounge (only ticketed Polaris, intl first, or intl business class) is what sets Polaris apart. I have always concluded though that DL can get it right by adding a DLOne Lounge to the experience; let’s hope DL is moving in the right direction. One of the minuses though is that there are no overhead bins in the middle of the A350 cabin which is so inconvenient. I would often opt for their 772s as a result (alas they’ve since been retired). Also, I enjoy the Sauternes DL offers. Did you notice if any were available?
DL One lounges could be a game-changer. I would welcome them. Had a glass of red wine with my lamb, but will post full wine list with comprehensive review.
Curious – how full was your flight, Matthew? Really enjoy these shorter reviews, tho others like the in-depth reviews.
Thanks! Flight was almost full in business. Four open seats.
Delta is offering a status match from UA. Time to switch to DL Matthew! Then we can read about your equally glowing reviews of Sky team partner Air France, too!
Of all the US airlines Delta is my favorite.
As a DL diamond here are the hars truths. Delta domestic product is far better than other legacies but OMG, their intl meals are a joke. If you have to fly Skyteam AF and KLM meals are far superior. DL cafeteria one plate is bland and uninspiring. I just flew Qatar to Doha and back on Turkish and they blow DL and other US airlines away. Chefs on board, 4 courses, etc.
Fact. DL is over priced and the Skypeso program is a joke. I got a 15 hr IAH-Doha OW inba a business Q-suite for 70k. Delta One to Europe-360,000. What person would do that. Be more honest matt. DL is domestic leader but that’s it.
Keep in mind I paid 50,000 Virgin Atlantic points for this redemption, which I consider truly a steal. Certainly I would stipulate SkyMiles is the weakest (by far) of the U.S. legacy airline loyalty programs, but I did not find the international meals a joke–I found the lamb shank very delicious, and also the soup and salad. If anything, Delta has cut back so much on domestic catering during the pandemic – wouldn’t that be the joke?
And it has to be said that the Flying Blue programme isn’t much better either. Earning rates for its home airlines are pathetic (revenue based- if there’s a sale on, you may not even get 5k miles for a business class ticket from Europe to BKK and back) and the [dynamic] award costs are astronomical (you don’t see that reported very often because most blogs etc focus on the sweet spot of business class between Europe and the US starting from 55k). I started collecting FB miles through my Accor stays just before the pandemic (you can double dip and get both miles and points for the same stay) and the only thing that my participation in the programme has achieved was to reinforce my loyalty to *A.
I keep all my DL miles on FB precisely because of those 55K AF and KLM awards for TATL business. I have two booked in summer.
Maybe things have changed since summer 2018, but I honestly wasn’t all that impressed doing this route in reverse. Service was uninspired, a tasty breakfast was marred by a horrible attempt at a cheeseburger for the second meal, and service just wasn’t very good, with the FAs rushing through meal and drink services before disappearing for most of the flight. And the seat was nice enough but…I came away feeling like it was the 767 seat with a door. And let’s not get started on the mediocre lounge situation at DTW. All in all, it was OK but nothing particularly special.
My full review will reveal some shortcomings, but the service onboard was very well-intentioned and polite (and this was DTW, not ATL!). Plus, I thought the seat had plenty of foot room and had no trouble falling asleep. I visited all five Sky Clubs in Detroit (long layover) and found them fairly underwhelming, though the new one is pretty nice (had a nice a la carte dish there).
I couldn’t disagree more.
I have flown Delta One+10 times in the last couple of month for business.
Their suite is really nice. Their hard product much better than many others.
Their meal choices upfront a good idea, but the quality average. Their meal service still on one tray (still covid as excuse, where all others e.g. Austrian Lufthansa, KLM Air France) I flew recently had full service. No choice for starter or soup or dessert, why? Just because I have 7 choices for the main dish jusifies to have zero for all the others? Dessert is always ice cream, by the time ones finishes everything else the ice is already melted.
No port wine or any other dessert wine, I know first world problems but still…
Their service is sometimes good but in general not comparable to other airlines I mentioned earlier.
One purser really did it… my suit door was closed and when he passed by I asked politely for a beer, his response was in a very rude tone, I needed to open the suit door in order to recieve service and be “allowed” to talk to purser and why I did not know that, then he left. I opened my door, the next time he passed by I asked again and he served me a beer. Hilarious, isn’t it?
Still using covid as excuse for improper service is just lame.
We did this carrier/plane/cabin ATL-CDG return in September, I’m jealous of your food, but I take solace knowing my ground itinerary ruled, and that was just the golf part.
Damn, I do love to eat and drink well in the air.
The cabin door is clunky, but I suspect most have been manhandled by entitled American travelers forcing them rather than taking the time to see how they work. This cabin is about as good as well ever see in a US carrier, so enjoy it if you can get a seat.
Love the A350, I won’t say how we stole our tickets, I’ve been doing this too long to give away my best secrets to you johnny-come-latelys killing the points game.
Now getoffamylawn.
Your comment has intrigued me…
Sneaking into the business class cabin?
Lol. Is there a deal better than the 50K Virgin miles I paid?
Awww, come on. We need a true travel warrior who only travels by 3rd class/coach/economy/steerage. Reports on how steerage class is being treated. No using points to upgrade to 2nd class. Give us the good news that steerage is now allocated 2 extra pretzel portions instead of only 1.
It appears from your photos that when reclined, one’s feet and lower legs slide under the seat in front. I recently experienced this on Swiss Air and it made me quite claustrophobic- like I was sliding into a trash compactor. I couldn’t sleep at all. Is this design becoming more common? I’m often surprised when this is not mentioned in reviews, but maybe others don’t find it a problem. It’s much different than Lufthansa.
You are indeed underneath the seat in front, but I found there to be plenty of legroom (more than the Polaris seat on United, bulkhead excepted).
from the photos it look like a paid advertisement.
I’ll consider that a compliment.
Matt,
Enjoy your report as always. I know this is only one flight in Delta One suite and I am really impressed by what you described in the review.
Even if you fly less on Delta and more in United’s Polaris, I would appreciate if you could do an objective review comparing the two. I am so invested in United and often I overlooked AA and DL’s fine international premium cabin offerings and experience. Now, I will consider venture out a bit more, so I hope you could do a side-by-side review of the UA and DL business cabin review (if you have experience on AA, that will be great), it will be helpful to many of your readers.
It is excellent that you had a fantastic experience flying the Delta suite; especially when it’s a business expense. Good for you!
Hi Matthew. I’ll be flying to Anaheim on June 1 with my grandson and his mom to Disneyland. Hoping to be able to see your mom and dad and Janet and anyone else. I enjoyed reading some of your blogs; happened across them quite by accident and thought “I know that kid”! Safe travels.
It is excellent that you had a fantastic experience flying the Delta suite; especially when it’s a business expense. Good for you!
Nice to know that traveling in first class internationally is comfortable.
Matthew, can we get more selfies in future posts?
I agree: the doors are very clunky. They have an emergency escape feature where you can just push on the closed door to break a hinge and get it to open into the aisle instead of sliding to open. But mine opened with the lightest of touch and I kept having to wrangle it back into place. It also didn’t close all the way so you could still see into the aisle Qatar’s is light years ahead.
Also, the lamb was the best main course I’ve had on a plane.