To kick off my trip to Romania and Bulgaria, I flew from Los Angeles to London on a Delta Air Lines A330-900neo, a 10-hour flight, in business class. This post will offer my impressions of that flight.
Delta A330-900neo Business Class: My First Impressions
Delta offers a daily flight to London Heathrow on its own metal from Los Angeles, along with two codeshares with Virgin Atlantic, a joint venture and SkyTeam partner. It had been a few years since I have flown longhaul on Delta and I have never flown on the A330-900neo on Delta, so I was excited to finally get the chance to try it.
The Delta One check-in experience on the lower level of LAX Terminal 3 is great and the Sky Club lounge (with taco bar!) is one of the best lounges at the airport.
I’ll detail this check-in experience in a separate post, as it is far better than the Flagship check-in for American Airlines in Terminal 4.
Onboard, in short, the cabin is beautiful, the staff were lovely, food was solid, but I do find both the American Airlines and United Airlines longhaul seats a bit more comfortable (in terms of padding), my only criticism of the flight.
Delta One business class has 29 seats arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration in a single cabin. I was seated in 3J and loved the mood lighting and bedding, but I do think the Thompson Aero Vantage seats are not quite as comfortable as others in the upright position (though by no means bad) because it feels like there is less padding at shoulder level.
The suite has a door that closes and there was plenty of personal storage in a side compartment.
Dinner was served after takeoff and I must give Delta great credit for the delicious salmon dish with braised fennel that I pre-ordered (it was not on the regular menu).
Before that, however, the meal began with warm mixed nuts and I loved that unlike United’s amond and broken cashew mix, this mix included pecans and pistachios…two of my favorites.
The appetizer was served as a separate course an included shrimp, French onion soup, and a spinach salad. All great, as was the focaccia bread with Banner butter.
For desert I had cheese followed by an ice cream sundae with a lotus Biscoff cookie crumble on top. Yum!
I then slept for about five hours. Delta’s bedding gets the job done.
Before landing, brunch was served…a choice between eggs or pizza. The eggs were nice and I appreciated the espresso with it, though I actually preferred Delta’s “regular” coffee.
Service onboard shined: there were some lovely flight attendants on this flight like Tony the purser, Kirk, or Michelle, who is pictured below. What a gracious and attentive group of flight attendants!
We landed an hour early in Heathrow, which meant my one-hour connection from T3 to T4 became much less stressful (more on that in another post).
CONCLUSION
I quite enjoyed my Delta flight, which could not have been smoother and competed well with the longhaul offers of its American and European counterparts. In my full review, I will share more details about my onboard experience, including the amenity kit, IFE, Wi-Fi, and more about the seat nad food.
I normally fly AA long haul. Was on a Delta A330-900 in Delta One last week from AMS to SLC. I found the seat to be horribly uncomfortable, especially for a morning flight where I did not plan on sleeping.
The seat looked little wider than United’s 21″ What was the seat width?
Horribly uncomfortable is a nice way to say it; the thing is: DL domestic first class causes pains on flights longer than 3 hours. Who designs these things: Office geeks? I do not want an office chair for my first class seat, damn it, I want a lounge chair to relax and be comfortable.
Horribly uncomfortable is a nice way to say it; the thing is: DL domestic first class causes pains on flights longer than 3 hours. Who designs these things: Office geeks? I do not want an office chair for my first class seat, damn it, I want a lounge chair to relax and be comfortable.
The DL One check-in at LAX is indeed amazing– went through a few weeks ago, and my first thought was, “AA could never pull something like this off”
Looks nice – when did you take the flight? As you (may) know, it’s going away soon. How full was it?
Late Feb. Will miss it. Lot of non-revs cleared into Delta One.
Kiss of death. Glad you had a good flight
Delta is just superior to AA and UA except for the bedding perhaps as you said. Too bad their loyalty programme sucks otherwise I’d fly DL/VS anytime over AA/BA or UA/AC to LHR.
Delta dropped LAX-LHR
United needs to step up its Polaris food game – separate course and quality
Wine is there or better
This review makes me turgid.
Shake it off!
You are fortunate that Lawrence B Russell Jr. was not flying the plane. He is the Delta pilot who was going to fly a plane from Scotland to the United States. He just pleaded guilty to having a blood alcohol level more than two times the legal limit and a half empty bottle of Jagermeister in his luggage. Just sentenced to ten months in prison. I would rather have a wheel fall off my commercial aircraft than this drunk flying a plane that I was sitting in. This guy is so Dunn.
I’m on this flight right now in the opposite direction (LHR-LAX) DL 187. Flight is empty up front currently. Writing this comment from the WiFi.
Carriers seem to be struggling with LHR lately. UA too. Premium demand has weakened.
America to London flights are insanely cheap as of late, I’m studying in London right now and it was cheaper to fly home to America and then fly back to London from continental Europe than to fly back to London from Continental Europe due to the lack of demand, insane
The food looks positively disgusting particularly that French Onion soup . And the shrimp, just 2 ? I guess I am too spoiled by the ME3!
The salmon was really delicious. Best fish dish I’ve had for years on a plane.
Their braised short ribs are a fantastic choice as well.
Agreed – that dinner looks awful! Slop in a bowl.
So overall Matthew how do you compare the US3 on longhaul routes?
Tough. I’ll do a post on it.
I think UA seat and bedding is best.
Delta service, at least based upon this flight, is best.
American has a really nice seat too.
I don’t know. I think I’ll do a post on it: depends upon the crew you get.
Blindly, I think I’d roll the dice on UA, despite the vastly inferior food to AA and DL.
Delta is axing LAX-LHR. Its flights will operate by VS going forward.
Delta offers a product superior to all US/EU carriers. It can only be matched by QR J, and EK F, but only on their best days. It’s Superior to CX, SQ, and the service and attentiveness is better than JL/NH.
Delta’s decision to eliminate service between LAX and LHR was one of the greatest business decisions of all time. Delta attracts so many premium passengers that they don’t even need this route. I heard a DL 360 personally thank Ed Bastian the other day for allowing him to connect in SLC on the way to London. He also commented how he’s really looking forward to getting to check out the Austin Sky Club when he goes to McAllen this summer.
@Jerry … JL/NH clearly have the Best service and attentiveness … part of their culture . Hello ?
“Delta offers a product superior to all US/EU carriers.”
This, one can arguably agree with.
“It can only be matched by QR J, and EK F, but only on their best days. It’s Superior to CX, SQ, and the service and attentiveness is better than JL/NH.”
This, not so much.
#satire
Where’s Tim Dunn when we need him?
I’m glad you got it. I thought it was obvious that I was kidding/poking fun at our favorite industry analyst.
LMFAO.
Tim Dunn, formerly known as atl100million and worldtraveler on a.net everyone.
On a ultra long haul flight from Atlanta to Seoul recently, Delta also provided padded seat cushions that attach to the headrest and cover the entire seat. They made a huge difference. But I think they are only provided on transpacific flights.
Delta One is always a joy to fly. I think more and more people are not just saying “good flight… for a US carrier”, but saying that DL is just good, period. The best? Nah, I don’t think DL is top 10 material, but with some more work they could get there.
DL definitely doesn’t need a little man of a CEO huffing about being the best, biggest, safest and most diverse in the world to validate itself, that’s for sure.
An intended 1 hour connection? International, changing terminals and airlines? Wow!
Thanks for the review. Booking details pls.
Are those regular eggs?!?!? I fly ATL-HND in D-1 several times a year. It’s always some form of frittata for breakfast and not some churched up dish. What I wouldn’t give for just eggs and sausage. I got the sea bass (special meal) and it was served so hot by the time it cooled it was fish jelly. I also made the mistake of getting a burger as a mid-flight snack. Don’t ever do that to yourself. I’ve already decided my next flight I’m going to load up at the noodle station in the lounge and maybe pick up a noodle bowl in terminal 3 to carry on. Other than my bad luck with the food the flights are great.
Matt, ever thought of taking B6 Trans-ATL for comparison? We lucked out scoring the Mint Studio on BOS-SEA leg and I thought that cabin would have blown away any US Big3 premium cabin.
Wow, this is an interesting and clearly legit review coming from such a strong UA apologist.
While DL does/did a great job on this route in terms of service and a great aircraft, Virgin Atlanta does an even better job.
You spell almond the same way it’s pronounced, amond 😀
That has been my experience when flying Delta One out of MSP to Europe. It has always been a solid experience.
I flew DL’s A359 DTW-HND and A339 HND-MSP earlier. The difference of cabin/fuselage width and seats are more than noticeable. Those D1 seats on A339 are narrow that your shoulder might frequently hit the “suite door” aka paper-thin wall. The same seats on A350, in comparison, are more spacious and comfortable. Doors are way over-rated for A330s
DL 1 seats are terribly cushioned, especially the A350. My 15 hrs DTW to ICN left me with DVT in my left leg. Now a take an inflatable camping mattress on every flight over 7-8 hours. It makes everything ok.
Just wonder how you paid for this flight. Cash or 3.2 trillion Delta miles? :0)
In this case, a rare Delta redemption via Flying Blue.
I just flew back from SYD LAX in business class on American. It was pretty solid. The Qantas First Class Lounge had dining and sweeping views of the tarmac with the Sydney skyline in the background. The FAs were great. You slept 5 hours straight ? Good man. If you remembered a dream when you woke up that means you got through all the sleep stages. I get dehydrated on the older 777s. Not so much on the 787 or a330neo (Virgin Atlantic).
Surprisingly good food for Delta´s business class.
In re: A330-900 SEA-PVG. Absolutely the worst business class hard product in the sky, Do you like having a large tv screen 12”-18” in front of your face no matter what seat position you are in? Delta One Suites are for you. Do you like having to contort yourself every time you get in and out of your “suite?” It’s for you. Do you like having no storage space in your “suite?” For you. The smallest business class suite possible? For you. Hardest seat in the sky? For you. From the starboard side having to squeeze your way through the smallest galley in the sky to get to the smallest business class bathroom in the sky? That’s you. How about the flimsiest tray you have ever seen, that you have to be in extreme upright position for it to fit around you? You’ll love it, How about that seatbelt that offers no slack where when in lie-flat position cannot be used. I love the insecurity of sleeping without a seatbelt loosely draped around me while I struggle to sleep in the worst seats in the sky, don’t you? There is absolutely nothing good to say about the hard product. It is so obvious the entire idea is to cram as many seats in as small a space as possible. Never fly long-haul on Delta unless you have no other choice. Also flew A350 PVG-DTW and there is a little more room in galley to get to bathroom but same cramped “suites.” Finally: food and movie selection is very poor. Now I am 6’1” and weigh 195 lbs, so I am not obese or hardly overweight. I saw some bigger people barely able to lie athwart in their lie flats. I would not recommend Delta One for international long-haul. Totally unimpressed. On-board service personnel excellent, and they work in very cramped spaces. Kudos to them for their beautiful attitude.