TRIED AND TESTED FLIGHT
LONDON-BOSTON
Delta Air Lines B767-400ER economy and premium economy, London-Boston
BACKGROUND
Delta operates a daily nonstop service between London Heathrow T3 and Boston Logan, departing the UK in the morning and the US in the evening. In December the airline placed a refurbished B767-400ER on the route. There are four seat types: economy; Comfort Plus (economy with extra legroom); Premium Select (see opposite); and Delta One (reviewed at businesstraveller.com/tried-and-tested).
CHECK-IN
I stayed at the Aerotel London Heathrow at Terminal 3 the night before (see page 86). All the same, I was cutting it fine, arriving for my 0940 flight at 0820. I had checked in on the airline’s app. There were about a dozen Delta self-service bagdrop desks and the area was quite busy, but I was travelling hand luggage only. The security queue took about 20 minutes, and Gate 21 was about a ten-minute walk.
BOARDING
By the time I got to the gate my aircraft zone was boarding so I walked straight on and was in my seat by 0900. We were welcomed aboard and told that crew would be coming around with headphones and eye masks. The IFE screen has normal headphone jacks so you can use your own.
THE SEAT
Economy runs from rows 34 to 57 in a 2-3-2 layout (A-B, C-D-E, F-G).
The new blue leather seats looked clean and smart. They have 18.1 inches of width, 31 inches of pitch (an inch less than the former seats) and a four-inch recline. Comfort Plus (rows 30-33) gets you 34 inches of pitch. Each seat has a USB port, a universal plug point, a magazine pocket and a firm tray table. The IFE touchscreen looks quite small, at 10.1 inches, but is responsive.
I found the seat comfortable. The headrest has padded wings on either side
The food was tasty and on a par with what I’ve had in premium economy on other flights
that you can pull out to lean your head on, which helped me to take a nap.
BEST SEAT
The washrooms are next to rows 39 and 57, so avoid those. I was in 42C, an aisle seat in the middle section, which was fine on a day flight. Row 41 is an exit row with lots of legroom.
THE FLIGHT
We pushed back right on time at 0940 and took off at 0957. About 15 minutes later I was given a warm wet wipe and a bottle of water, followed by a menu with Delta’s new long-haul economy
meal service. The crew brought a welcome cocktail – a peach bellini with Mionetto sparkling wine and peach purée.
Food arrived at 1111. I had prosciutto and melon to start and gnocchi in basil cream sauce with tomatoes and pine nuts for my main, which were served together on a tray. Both were tasty and on a par with what I’ve had in premium economy on other flights. Dessert was salted caramel ice cream. The drinks menu featured Starbucks coffee, a couple of beers and spirits. Wine was a choice of chardonnay, Californian merlot or barbera. An hour before landing we were given folded pizza and a chocolate truffle mousse, then Toblerone chunks.
ARRIVAL
We landed ahead of schedule at 1218 local time and I was off the aircraft by 1235. It only took about five minutes to get through the immigration queue.
VERDICT
I’d struggle to fault this experience for a day flight in economy class. The seat was comfortable, the IFE worked well and I really enjoyed the meal service, both because of the quality of the food and the extra touches, such as the cocktail and menu.