New Delta experience

[Ashland]

Just flew home (ATL-LAX)on the new (to us) DL 777-200...amazing first class pod seating !!

 

Also the prior connecting flight (FLL-ATL) amazing captain that actually personally came into the first class 

seating area and introduced himself and proceeded to tell us about our flight times, weather etc. and asked if anyone

had any questions...some did and he was so engaging ... Have never experienced this before !!!

Great P.R. by this particular DL captain.

[*Miss G*]

5 hours ago, Ashland said:

Just flew home (ATL-LAX)on the new (to us) DL 777-200...amazing first class pod seating !!

 

Also the prior connecting flight (FLL-ATL) amazing captain that actually personally came into the first class 

seating area and introduced himself and proceeded to tell us about our flight times, weather etc. and asked if anyone

had any questions...some did and he was so engaging ... Have never experienced this before !!!

Great P.R. by this particular DL captain.

 

I wonder if I’ve had the same Captain?  He did the same... came in to chat and to acknowledge a particular celebrity who was traveling with us.  Very nice man.  Glad you had a great experience!

[FlyerTalker]

5 hours ago, Ashland said:

Just flew home (ATL-LAX)on the new (to us) DL 777-200...amazing first class pod seating !!

 

If you were on an aircraft with seats arranged in a herringbone, with your feet to the aisle, you were on their old configuration for Delta One.  DL is retrofitting their 777s into their "Delta Suite" configuration, which has private seating with all aisle access and doors, so you might have had that kind of "pod".

 

Either way....DL uses that run between ATL and LAX for both maxing aircraft utilization  (adding on to trans-Pac routes) and to rotate the aircraft into the ATL maintenance base.  And BTW, that flight was probably part of a "direct" flight from ATL to Sydney.  But we won't get into "direct" in this post.

[Zach1213]

19 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

And BTW, that flight was probably part of a "direct" flight from ATL to Sydney.  But we won't get into "direct" in this post.

 

Actually, it isn't a direct ATL-SYD. DL41 is purely LAX-SYD...the aircraft comes in to LAX as DL283 from ATL. Reverse is too true - LAX-ATL as DL284 comes in as DL40 SYD-LAX. 

[fbgd]

If you know where to look and what to look for you can often find longhaul internationally configured aircraft flying around the US. Makes a big difference in the premium cabins.

 

In a couple of weeks I am flying AA between CLT and MCO, both ways it's an Airbus A330 with flat beds. I'm also travelling on AA LAX-DFW where the flight is operated by a 787-9 with fully flat beds...the price and timing for these flights was the same FC fare as shorthaul, narrowbody Airbus leaving within an hour.  I'm then connecting onto a 757 DFW-JFK with paired flatbeds in F. Whilst there are non-stops LAX-JFK on that day the price was $2000pp oneway whereas I was able to score seats for the wife and I for less than that for both of us.

 

I am rather spoiled as a primary AA flyer out of JFK. The transcon First and Business Class products are consistent and really rather good, plus there's other longhaul aircraft rotating through the system with longhaul configured aircraft running to other domestic hubs (though sadly not much to CLT where I normally connect!) on a very regular basis. Are flat beds needed on a 3hrs domestic flight? Not really, but for the sake of an hour either side timing wise and for the same price I'll take it.

Edited October 25, 2019 by fbgd

[FlyerTalker]

3 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

Actually, it isn't a direct ATL-SYD. DL41 is purely LAX-SYD...the aircraft comes in to LAX as DL283 from ATL. Reverse is too true - LAX-ATL as DL284 comes in as DL40 SYD-LAX. 

 

Thanks Zach.  I didn't look it up.  In the past, it was a tag - perhaps they got too much flak and redid the flight numbers.

 

I would suspect that the aircraft did continue onwards into Asia/SoPac.

 

[Ashland]

6 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

I wonder if I’ve had the same Captain?  He did the same... came in to chat and to acknowledge a particular celebrity who was traveling with us.  Very nice man.  Glad you had a great experience!

Hard to think there are many of this type...he was impressive!

[Ashland]

6 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

If you were on an aircraft with seats arranged in a herringbone, with your feet to the aisle, you were on their old configuration for Delta One.  DL is retrofitting their 777s into their "Delta Suite" configuration, which has private seating with all aisle access and doors, so you might have had that kind of "pod".

 

Either way....DL uses that run between ATL and LAX for both maxing aircraft utilization  (adding on to trans-Pac routes) and to rotate the aircraft into the ATL maintenance base.  And BTW, that flight was probably part of a "direct" flight from ATL to Sydney.  But we won't get into "direct" in this post.

No they were not the herringbone (have done that also)...this was the new Delta Suite...we as a couple had middle aisle seating and the partition between us slid open and we both had aisle access with a sliding privacy door on the aisle that gave for total privacy...Very nice !!!!

 

BTW I don't believe this flight was going on to Sydney since as we looked at the gate as we disembarked it said JFK would be the destination for the plane we just exited.

[Zach1213]

8 minutes ago, Ashland said:

No they were not the herringbone (have done that also)...this was the new Delta Suite...we as a couple had middle aisle seating and the partition between us slid open and we both had aisle access with a sliding privacy door on the aisle that gave for total privacy...Very nice !!!!

 

BTW I don't believe this flight was going on to Sydney since as we looked at the gate as we disembarked it said JFK would be the destination for the plane we just exited.

That is interested, I’m not familiar with DL flying anything larger than 763/764/330 LAX-JFK. At least not on any consistent schedule. 

[slidergirl]

I've been on several DL flights in the past 5 months where the Captain goes through the front cabin and has a little chat with those passengers.  Some were short flights, 2  were 4 hour flights.

 

One thing that has piqued my interest for next year is that DL has (through KLM) 787s on their schedule for some of the flights out of SLC - that would be a welcome change from the tired 767s we usually get.  

Edited October 25, 2019 by slidergirl

[waterbug123]

21 hours ago, fbgd said:

If you know where to look and what to look for you can often find longhaul internationally configured aircraft flying around the US. Makes a big difference in the premium cabins.

 

 

Indeed!  On a recent Delta trip our SEA-ATL leg was on an internationally configured aircraft.  When I noticed that, I booked first class for that leg due to the the biz style seating.  And while the meal service was typical domestic first class, they did provide the biz class pillows, duvets and headsets, rather than the usual first class cheapo blankets/pillows and earbuds.

[fbgd]

20 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

That is interested, I’m not familiar with DL flying anything larger than 763/764/330 LAX-JFK. At least not on any consistent schedule. 

 

Same here. There's always a possibility it was towed off stand for maintenance and replaced by another aircraft to operate LAX-JFK.

 

Flightaware only goes back to the Thursday overnight LAX-JFK but nothing shows as being operated by a 777.

[rkacruiser]

9 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

Indeed!  On a recent Delta trip our SEA-ATL leg was on an internationally configured aircraft.  When I noticed that, I booked first class for that leg due to the the biz style seating.  And while the meal service was typical domestic first class, they did provide the biz class pillows, duvets and headsets, rather than the usual first class cheapo blankets/pillows and earbuds.

 

Don't recall the itinerary, but I have also had this experience.  A very nice surprise!