TRIED AND TESTED FLIGHT

Delta Air Lines B767-400ER business class, London-New York

BACKGROUND

Delta Air Lines launched its new Delta One business class in 2017 on the A350. The retrofitting of several aircraft types has meant there are significant differences between the new seats depending on which model you are on. It has taken a while for the aircraft operating routes such as London Heathrow to be fitted, but this is now happening, including on the B767-400ER.

CHECK-IN

I was on flight DL2, leaving Heathrow on a Sunday at 1030 and arriving in New York JFK at 1330, a flight of some eight hours. Delta, like its partner Virgin Atlantic, departs from Terminal 3, Zone

A. I collected my boarding pass and took the lift up to the dedicated security, where there was no queue.

THE LOUNGE

The Virgin Clubhouse was fairly busy but I had no issue finding a seat. Flights are called in the lounge but I left with time to spare so I could get settled early.

BOARDING

There was no queue at the Sky Priority line at Gate 17, and priority boarding commenced a few minutes later.

THE SEAT

This Delta One seat differs from that on the A350 by not having a sliding door, but it does have higher sides and a privacy divider between the middle seats. It is a hybrid of the Vantage XL and an earlier Vantage model by Thompson Aero (read about seat types at businesstraveller. com/features/business-class-seat-guide).

There are 34 seats in a 1-2-1 (A, B-C, D) configuration, with direct aisle access. They are staggered so that seats 1A and 1D are close to the aisle, while 2A and 2D are nearer the window with the side table protecting them from the aisle.

At the seat was a Tumi amenity pack and good noise-cancelling headphones. Userfriendly seat controls are located in the side table. For a seat with limited personal space, there’s quite a bit of storage, but none can be used for take-off or landing. Once airborne there is the side table plus two areas where you can store items.

The seat is narrow. Before take-off I was typing with my laptop positioned on my lap, and my elbows were jammed against my sides to be able to do so. That said, it is very private. My seat, 1C, had a large panel between it and the adjacent seat. I would have had to sit up very straight to talk to my neighbour, and could move the barrier if we were travelling together.

While the seat does not have a sliding door like the A350, it has higher sides and a privacy divider between middle seats

BEST SEAT

If alone, pick a seat near the window (in even rows – 2A and 2D and so on). If you are with someone, go for the centre seats in odd rows (1B and 1C, etc). Service is from the front so if you want to sleep, sit in the back half as you are less likely to be disturbed. On a day flight, pick the front as you get served first.

THE FLIGHT

Once on board we were offered water, champagne, orange juice or a mimosa, and coats were hung. We took off on time but, as with some previous Delta flights, the seatbelt sign took an age to be turned off. Since there was no turbulence, passengers ignored it.

The meal began with a trio of starters (you got all three) – poached ginger lemongrass shrimp with lobster mayonnaise, fennel salad and pomegranate seeds; little gem salad with parmesan crostini and Caesar dressing; and tomato basil soup with dill crème fraîche.

The mains (which I had already been invited to choose from via email) were grilled beef tenderloin with potato gratin, onions, port wine sauce and blanched radishes, with béarnaise sauce; spinach and cheese-stuffed chicken breast with baby carrots, duck fat potatoes, oyster mushrooms and port wine sauce; fried salmon with Vizcaina sauce, leek cake, cherry tomato and broccolini; or fresh mozzarella and spinach panciotti with roasted romanesco and zucchini. I’d opted for the pasta, which was tepid. A choice of desserts and fine cheeses was offered and, mid-flight, warm chocolate chip cookies.

The wines were Canard-Duchêne Brut Cuvée Léonie Champagne; Chateau Ste.

Michelle “Mimi” Chardonnay, Washington State; Banfi Principessa Gavia Gavi DOCG, Piedmont, Italy; Broken Earth Estate Merlot, Paso Robles, California, 2014; and Pertinace Barbera d’Alba DOC, Piedmont, Italy, 2017. To begin with, attendants offered passengers a cranberry bourbon cocktail made with Woodford Reserve.

The B767-400ER has been refitted across all cabins and has a new IFE system called Delta Studio (with an 18-inch touchscreen in business) and wifi. Many people had problems with it so Delta had to reset the entire aircraft system, which meant an interruption of about five to seven minutes. In addition, my handset didn’t work, and wifi coverage was spotty – the airline says you can watch hundreds of movies for free on Delta Studio but this didn’t work. The wifi price for the whole flight was US$28.95, with one- and three-hour options.

Service was good, and when I asked for earplugs so I could sleep (there were none in my kit) the attendant offered me the ones from her pack as the spares were at the rear of the aircraft. I had no problem sleeping for a couple of hours. On the return night flight, the seat was comfortable as a bed but there was no mattress cover, and it is tight around the shoulders – if you are well built, you may be uncomfortable.

ARRIVAL

When I awoke, there was an announcement that there would be some moderate turbulence going into New York so all service would be suspended. Safety is paramount, of course, but it did mean a slightly anticlimactic end to the flight – the seatbelt sign was on for the last 90 minutes and we sat waiting for turbulence that never came. We arrived into JFK 15 minutes early and then had a 15-minute wait for the airbridge to be fixed. Unlike my most recent Terminal 4 experience, when immigration took two hours, I was through within two minutes.

VERDICT

This is a very recognisable business class seat (you will see versions of it on airlines as diverse as Aer Lingus, Malaysia Airlines and Swiss) and provides a fully-flat bed, direct aisle access and privacy. Service was a little interrupted but very friendly and helpful, and the new IFE system and wifi will be a definite improvement once the glitches have been ironed out.

The IFE system and wifi will be a definite improvement once the glitches have been ironed out