This is a tale of two very different experiences on one Delta flight, taking place on two sides of the same Delta One cabin.
I had one primary objective on my redeye flight from Los Angeles to New York on Delta: sleep before a busy day of meetings. So did my business partner. But we ended up experiencing a very different flight thanks to the service onboard.
Delta One LAX Check-In
We arrived at Terminal 2 about 90 minutes before our flight took off. Evening traffic is unpredictable at LAX so we gave ourselves plenty of time. There’s also ongoing terminal construction at LAX.
Delta offers a special Delta One (business class) check-in cubicle, which is separate from domestic first class / elite check-in. We had checked in online, though, and proceeded straight to security.
Delta One passengers on transcontinental flights to New York are offered lounge access at LAX, though we could have entered with our American Express Platinum cards even if flying in economy class.
I’ve reviewed the lounge in detail before, which you can check out here. I will say that I enjoyed a taco before my flight.
> Read More: Delta Sky Club Los Angeles (LAX) Review
> Read More: Delta Vs. United: The LAX Taco Wars
Boarding was delayed by five minutes, but began by 11:15PM.
Delta 1362
Los Angeles (LAX) – New York (JFK)
Monday, November 11, 2019
Depart: 11:55 PM
Arrive: 8:19 AM+1
Duration: 5hr, 24min
Aircraft: 767-300
Seat: 1K (Business Class, aka Delta One)
We boarded through Door 1L. Onboard, I was welcomed by a flight attendant and directed through the galley to my seat in 1K.
Delta 767-300 Business Class Seat
Delta’s 767-300 business class cabin features 26 lie-flat seats in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration. I chose a bulkhead seat on this flight with no one in front of me, though all seats are “hard shell” in the sense that no one can recline on you. Cutouts for your feet are rather narrow, but did not prohibit me from sleeping.
Seats are controlled by push buttons located next to your tray table and a power port and plug for headphones is easily reachable.
Delta has partnered with Westin to offer “heavenly bedding” onboard. I would not use heavenly to describe it, but it was comfortable and certainly aided in my slumber. It was, however, a bit thin: I woke up cold in the middle of the flight, though rolled over and went back to sleep.
Delta 767-300 Business Class IFE
On-demand IFE is offered at each seat, with a range of movies, TV shows, audio, and games.
I started to watch a documentary on Mikhail Gorbachev during dinner, but decided just to go to sleep.
Although Delta’s fancy noise-cancelling headphones from LSTN look very nice, they do not work great.
Delta 767-300 Business Class Lavatory
I changed into my (Thai Airways) pajamas before sleeping and noted the small but clean lavatory. Delta uses Malin & Goetz soap.
Delta 767-300 Business Class Food + Drink
Menus were offered before takeoff. A full pre-departure beverage service was also offered, though I just stuck with the bottle of water placed in everyone’s seat.
While Alaska, American, and United only offer a snack on late-night transcon flights, Delta offers a heartier meal. I would not call it a full meal because there was no bread, soup, or dessert (all staples of Delta One), but the menu included a salad, appetizer, and three entree choices.
I had pre-ordered fish, but was informed by a flight attendant that it was not loaded.
> Read More: My Odd Experience Pre-Selecting A Meal On Delta Air Lines
Looking over the menu, I chose meatballs…always a favorite and a very safe beef dish.
Meal service began with a Delta Sunrise cocktail and candied mixed nuts.
I skipped the salami and cheese appetizer: it was too heavy (not that the meatballs weren’t) after midnight but it still hit the spot.
Before landing, there was no scone or coffee (like United offers), though I was just trying to maximize my rest.
Delta 767-300 Business Class Amenity Kit
Delta offers a very practical TUMI-branded amenity kit.
The kit included:
- Toothbrush
- Crest whitening toothpaste
- Bombas socks (two pairs)
- Le Labo skin creme and lip balm
- Hand sanitizer
- Pen
- Eyeshade
More details on the amenity kit here.
> Read More: Delta’s Outstanding TUMI Amenity Kit
Delta 767-300 Business Class Service
So far, so good right? What’s the problem? Let’s talk about service.
I wasn’t the only one who thought the blanket was a bit too thin and a bit too small. In fact, my business partner woke up cold in the middle of the flight, got up, walked to the forward galley, and asked a flight attendant if he could have another blanket.
She responded, “You don’t need another one.”
Really? My partner asked why not and she said, “If you are cold, I can get your your jacket.”
What a condescending and rude answer. I get that only one blanket may be provisioned for each passenger. But just say that instead of dismissing the request. He would not have gotten up if he wasn’t cold…
Meanwhile, the service on my side of the aisle was lovely. Flight attendants were gregarious and also prompt to serve a light snack very quickly after takeoff.
Talk about two different service experiences…
CONCLUSION
I personally had a perfectly nice flight…it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad. I accomplished my primary objective of sleeping and enjoyed the meatballs and friendly service. My business partner, on the other hand, experienced objectively bad service that was simply unnecessarily combative.
I’ll absolutely give Delta another try in the future, but even on my side of the plane I didn’t see what makes Delta supposedly so much better than American and United.
“Delta offers a heartier.”
I think there is a word missing from that sentence…
“Onboard, I welcomed by a flight attendant and directed through the galley to my seat in 1K.”
missing a verb!
How many additional (separate) postings will you be making about this single LAXJFK flight?
-One for the amenity kit
-One for the meal and pre-select snafu
-One for your first impressions of Delta One transcon service
-One for a review of Delta 767-300 Business Class review
Can we have additional ones for the following:
-The freshness of your nuts
-The “blanket” wars
-The PDB
Just seems like you are dragging this one out for the sake of creating multiple postings on the exact same thing rehashed
I appreciate you reading all of them, each with its own unique content. You’ll be pleased to know this is the last installment. But if you’d like me to compare blankets on AA, UA, and DL I am more than happy to.
Matthew I think it’s a good sign if the worst thing someone can say about your blog is you are too thorough!
Matthew, nice review and excellent photos. Thank you for what you do…for free.
Please ignore the haters and the English teachers.
Thanks Mike!
I feel like we could get a lot of mileage out of talking about the freshness of one’s nuts, both pre- and post-flight.
Couldn’t agree more with your conclusion. There really isn’t anything that sets DL apart, good or bad. It’s not this Emirates-level experience people claim, but it’s certainly a good average product. Connecting in Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Kalamazoo, Minneapolis, Santa Fe, and Salt Lake to get from Houston to Dallas however may give a larger sample size of flying hours for assessment though compared to every other airline.
What’s sets DL apart is their operations, their customer service which is generally known to be a lot more pleasant than the other 2 airlines. While their hard product is hit or miss depending on what plane type you fly, their soft product is generally better than the other 2. For the most part, the service is friendly and the food is decent. You that a lot more from DL over the other 2 because it’s true. Whenever I fly AA or UA, the FAs tend to be dry, robotic or seem to just want to do the bare bones minimum that qualifies as they did their job and that’s it. DL FAs are usually pleasant, except for the off person who’s having that bad that like what your business partner experienced. But that goes for anything in life. Are they Emirates, NO. No US airlines is. Are they typically a little better than the other 2, without a doubt.
“… even on my side of the plane I didn’t see what makes Delta supposedly so much better than American and United.”
Fully agreed. I don’t see why people are so enamored by the quality of service offered by Delta. Although it seems like their agents of good service are a little more empowered to continue to provide good service, their average is just as bad as UA/AA. I left FF status with Delta in favor of United because, if the legacy carriers are all equally mediocre, I might as well pick the one with international partners I like.
Also, I almost always observed the one good FA, one bad FA phenomenon that you had while in Delta One. I wonder where it stems from. Perhaps they pair up an apprentice with a more experienced FA?
The US empire unfortunately did not have politeness culture and that is readily apparent on a daily basis. Hustlers, hucksters, rude employees seething with pain for an vacuous “life” devoid of meaning, culture, and ontologic intelligence.
Delta shits all over their frequent fliers in a way UAL does not. That’s all the reason you need to not patronize them.