Delta offers a daily 767 widebody service between Los Angeles and Honolulu, featuring fully lie-flat beds in business class. This was the primary reason I chose this particular flight to travel home from Honolulu to LA.
I outline the interesting circumstances under which I was able to obtain this ticket here. My initial thoughts on the flight here.
After taking Uber to the airport, we found long check-in lines for economy class, but just a short line for business class. I like to print paper boarding passes for posterity reasons, but already had checked in on my mobile phone. My 90-year-old Uncle Bill was with me on this trip.
After clearing security, we proceeded to the Delta Sky Club in Honolulu at the former home of the Continental President’s Club. While our premium cabins seats did not give us access, our American Express Platinum cards did.
We proceeded to the boarding gates about 45 minutes prior to scheduled departures and boarded soon thereafter.
Delta 1284
Honolulu (HNL) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Wednesday, November 08, 2017
Depart: 12:00 PM
Arrive: 6:26 PM
Duration: 5hr, 26min
Aircraft: 767-300
Seat: 7B (Business Class, aka Delta One)
Onboard, the smiling LAX-based purser welcomed us onboard and showed us to our seats.
Delta 767-300 Business Class (Delta One) Seats
Business Class seating onboard this aircraft featured a staggered product that transformed into lie-flat beds.
While these are not my favorite business class seats (because of the deep footwell that constrains legroom), my uncle loved these seats. Even if they were not the best, they are perfect for a daytime flight and I even managed a nap for about an hour prior to landing. If you’re traveling alone, choose a solo seat by the window.
Delta 767-300 Business Class Bedding
Delta uses Westin-branded bedding in business class. Although this flight was technically sold as “first class” and merely a domestic flight in terms of service levels, we did receive a tremendously plush Westin Heavenly Bed duvet as well as a soft oversized pillow.
Delta gives United a run for the money with its Westin-branded bedding, a bit ironic since it was not that long ago that United itself offered Westin bedding in business class.
Delta 767-300 Business Class Service
Service was tremendous on this flight. The LA-based in-flight crew was very different than the crews I usually encounter on United (with many native Hawaiians), but very attentive and friendly. Although I was never addressed by name, several members of the crew regularly checked on me and my uncle. Drinks glasses rarely were left empty for more than a few minutes.
The Delta uniforms, though…it was a warm day in Honolulu and many of the crew members were wearing turtle necks. I don’t get that.
Delta 767-300 Business Class Food
I know Hawaii is a low-yield leisure market, but I was surprised by the relative simplicity of the meal on Delta. No warmed mixed nuts or any sort of appetizer was offered. Instead, FAs offered choice of beverage followed by a selection from the snack basket. The snack basket contained biscoff cookies, almonds, pretzels, and granola bars.
Taking a step back, bottles of water were present on each seat when boarding, though FAs still offered a choice of pre-departure beverage. A thin hot towel was offered after takeoff.
Mai Tais were loaded and I enjoyed one after takeoff. Unfortunately, the pre-mixed cocktails are far too sweet.
Lunch choices included beef hoison and salmon, both served with salad. My uncle and I chose salmon. Lunch was delivered all on one tray, including a green salad with balsamic vinaigrette, white bread (no choice), and a small tub of Cherry Garcia ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s. The salmon was not great, but not bad…an acceptable domestic airline meal.
Throughout the remainder of flight, the snack basket made several additional passes. I enjoyed cookies and milk prior to landing.
Delta 767-300 Business Class IFE
Delta’s built-in IFE system contained several movies, TV shows, music libraries, and games. Because Delta’s wi-fi system is ground-based on this aircraft, there was no wi-fi during the flight.
I watched Bride Wars…chick flight, I know.
Although Delta’s fancy noise-cancelling headphones from LSTN look very nice, they don’t work all that well. I just switched to my own Bose headphones.
Delta 767-300 Business Class Lavatories
Business Class lavatories were clean and oversized. But what I loved most was the Malin & Goetz soap, which has a very nice smell. This is the best “airline” soap I’ve ever used.
CONCLUSION
We landed 30 minutes early in Los Angeles and did not have to wait long for a gate. There was nothing amazing about this flight, yet it was a very good one. I appreciated the friendly service, bedding, and especially the lie-flat bed on a midday domestic flight. I look forward to flying Delta again.
This is why I’m a loyal Delta domestic flyer. This is similar to my experiences with them the vast majority of the time. A good (sometimes great) crew, pretty extensive IFE, edible food, and lounge access from a credit card that’s been in my wallet for years. The SkyClubs are also improving at a reasonable rate, although I wish they’d step on it big time at LAX.
LAX is under construction now. It will be great (never thought I’d say that about LAX) after the renovation is done.
The wood grain on those headphones is absurd.
Thats the worst catering of all he domestic airlines. Looks like a trashy meal for a 5 hour flight. American and United aren’t nearly as cheap. DL has a FAKE AS HE** identity of a premium carrier but I look at them as budget+.
*Plastic trays in 1st class suck
*Food quality is pretty poor.. usually barely edible
*Look at the bread… it looks bad. Whats worse is unlike UA/AA –Delta does not serve the bread warm
*Dessert is not plated and they are the only airline in the world that I know of that serves a 3 oz tub of ice cream with your meal and not after
*Too cheap for chocolate chip cookies… not baked or warmed on board like UA/AA respectively. Biscoffs and milk? Biscoffs are over-rated . How can anyone not be bored of those.
So Garrett.. being loyal to Delta is paying TOP dollar for a BOTTOM product. AA and UA also have lie flats to Hawaii, and more than DL. I simply don’t get the fascination with this crappy airline.
I agree that it’s fairly silly how U.S. airlines treat Biscoff (speculoos) cookies as something “special” or “fancy”. In Europe, they are just a normal, cheapo cookie. McDonald’s makes a speculoos McFlurry in Europe. It would be like a European airline giving passengers a packet of Oreo cookies.
Ok, so your wrong about half of these things. 1. It’s not a “plastic tray”, its a magnetitic material that connects to the silverware so it doesn’t move in flight. Delta’s just being nice. 2. It was just because it was a “short domestic” meal, that’s why the ice cream is in a tub and served with a meal. From ATL,DTW, or MSP, they do a three part meal. 3. They have lots of types of bread, that’s just one 4. They have a warm cookie service on many delta flight, just this short flight didn’t. Delta is better then AA and much, much, much, much, much, much, much, better then UA. (Also, Delta offers more then UA to Hawaii, just so you know.)
The reason Delta serves the ice cream with the meal is that it comes rock hard frozen and it takes the time you eat the entree to defrost a little. For a domestic flight, the international bedding and lie flight seat option are amazing. From Atlanta they use A330s for an even better experience.
Not anymore. They use a 767-400 begining aug 1st.
Unless you’re in the fancy cabin, 767s are stupefyingly noisy. Those old garbage scows need to go to the scrapper. sooner the better.
But, once the 2 – 3 – 2 configuration is gone, it’s not coming back.
Bottom line is those seats kinda suck. I mean better than any coach seat by far, but they aren’t really particularly comfortable.
The Delta One seats (no matter whether the flight is Delta One) on the 757 are significantly nicer though obviously the inside person lacks direct aisle access.
Ok, people need to get OVER themselves with the IFE screen size. That’s the ONLY better thing (maybe besides mood lighting) in that whole plane. It tight, no privacy, 1 aisle, and you will be getting a domestic experience on more of the 757s then the 767s.
I really, really wish Delta had these planes on the red-eye flights. While nice, to me, daytime flights to/from Hawaii and Los Angeles, Atlanta and Minneapolis in lie-flat seats is pointless. The 757 recliner seats are just fine for daytime.
I don’t think so at all! It’s a ten hour flight, which is longer than many international flights! It helps with jetlag, and sometimes, (me for example) I have to get up early to catch a flight to ATL, and then to Hawaii. It is very useful and I couldn’t do it in a 757. I also don’t think a 757 would be “ETOPS” approved from ATL.
Not after April 1st of this year…