DL VS AA int'l comparison
Feb 27, 2015, 12:18 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 1,879
DL VS AA int'l comparison
I travel to and from London for work frequently. Being Atlanta-based, Delta is my airline of choice, and by extension, Virgin Atlantic for routes to/from London. However, I had to fly on American from LHR to ORD today since it was the latest non-stop out (not to mention that DL and VS cancelled their announced winter route between LHR and ORD). I thought I would compare my experiences flying DL, VS, and AA operated TATL flights.
Boarding
Of course there isn’t much to note here, but I was taken aback by the FAs comment when I showed her my mobile boarding pass when boarding the plane, “wow, aren’t you high-tech!” This struck me as odd because mobile boarding passes are commonplace on every DL flight I’ve been on. It made me wonder if AA pax use mobile boarding passes far less frequently since the AA app is so poor (I noticed it has a 1 star rating in the app store). Despite VS having an almost non-functional app (way more so than AA), it’s actually still quite easy to get a Passbook mobile boarding pass after having checked in online.
Lounge
This isn’t quite a fair comparison. Flying out of ATL on DL or VS, I’ve had the misfortune of experiencing the SkyClub in Terminal F. The chairs are uncomfortable, the snack and beverage selections are paltry, the lounge isn’t particular well-kept, and worst of all, the SkyClub is teaming with people (including families and apparently infrequent leisure travelers). I can’t provide a direct comparison since I haven’t been in the Admiral’s Club domestically.
Flying out of LHR today, the AA lounge was clean and spacious. The F&B was self-serve with a number of decent options. I especially appreciated the convenient high-tops with UK and US power ports embedded. However, the lounge was sparser than the SkyTeam lounge in terminal 4, which offers a buffet of hot food, more comfortable seating, and better amenities and décor. I noticed that AA operates a separate lounge than their codeshare partner, BA, and there is even a third lounge operated by a OneWorld partner in T3. I’m curious how these lounges compare.
If you are a DL elite (platinum or diamond) flying out of T3, you are in for a real treat with access to the Virgin Club House. The Virgin Club House makes the AA and SkyTeam LHR lounges look modest and the domestic SkyClubs third-world in comparison. The VS lounge offers a bag check, a deli bar, a fully stocked bar and food menu, all complimentary. The leather lounge chairs are comfortable and luxurious. The wait staff are friendly and attentive. Plus the lounge offers a host of other amenities which I’ve never utilized: such as spa and tailoring and repair services.
Cabin configuration
I know aircraft vary by route and even by day, so admittedly this isn’t the most fair or scientific comparison. But I was stuck by how antiquated the AA plane seemed. The AA Business cabin was in the disappearing 2-2-2 configuration. I have seen this on DL flights as well, though even then the plane felt much newer. For this trip I was seated in Main Cabin Extra, which is segregated from the rest of coach by lavatories. Only a bulkhead divider and curtain separated Main Cabin Extra from coach, which leads me to think that Main Cabin Extra replaced a portion of a now downsized Business cabin. AA’s MCE is a mild step-up from Delta’s apathetic Economy Comfort (soon to be Comfort+) offering. Once again, Virgin’s Premium Economy offering blows AA and DL out of the water, though admittedly this is not an apples-to-apples to comparison since it is a separate fare class of service. Even Virgin’s standard economy cabin is on-par with the quality of Delta’s EC. I also liked that MCE had a coat rack with hangers at the back of the cabin. The lack of power ports or USB ports on the AA plane was annoying – many of the Int’l Delta flights I’ve been on have USB charging ports at a minimum, if not power ports.
Cabin service
AA’s MCE seemed to have dedicated FAs, in comparison to Delta’s EC product which share FAs with the rest of Y. I couldn’t help but notice that AA had a FA walking through the cabin throughout the entire dinner service to top-up customer’s wine classes. Overall, the cabin service in AA’s MCE was better than the cabin service in DL’s EC. I was surprised that AA didn’t offer hot towels before the food service as I’m accustomed to in Y on DL and VS flights.
Food and beverage
On the AA flight, I ordered a cocktail, to which the FA responded, “we normally charge for that, but I won’t charge you this time.” I appreciated the generosity, though I was surprised to hear they typically charge for cocktails, especially with their premium economy product. Alcohol (beer, wine, and spirits) has always been complimentary on my DL int’l flights without mention from the flight attended whether or not that’s the actual policy or not (come to think of it, I’m not sure what the actual policy is).
The food was nearly a dead tie between DL and AA, except that AA only had two meal choices instead of the three I’m familiar with on DL and VS flights. What can you expect from airplane food? VS provides a menu, which is nice.
Seat
The back support of the MCE seats was lacking, though perhaps this was due to the older seats with more wear and tear. The headrest was very comfortable and the seat was side enough with plenty of legroom. Definitely nice than DL’s EC and VS’s standard economy seats. I’m sure this is a feature of other 767s, though I hadn’t seen it before: the tray table folded out in halves. I liked this because it allowed me to get up easily while I had a drink out.
In-flight Entertainment
The AA flight still had overhead entertainment, which surprised me! Perhaps I’ve become too accustom to DL’s standard of seat back IFE on every long-haul flight. On the long westbound day flight, this was a big ding against AA. I was interested to see that AA had IFE boxes obstructing part of the legroom under the seat in front of me given that there was no seat back IFE. This puzzled me as I would have assumed the IFE electronics would have been part of the overhead unit. In addition, the volume and channel buttons were analog dials. On the one hand, this looked antique. On the other hand, the digital armrest buttons and displays seemed to deteriorate very quickly with use.
Lavatory
The AA lavatory seemed less cramped than I’m used to on DL/VS flights. I was shocked, however, to see a dispenser of disposable cups in the lavatory. Given that the gray water used in airplane lavatories is minimally safe to touch, much less drink, I could not believe the airline would be encouraging this.
I’m sure this was TL;DR for most of you, but I thought some people would find my observations interesting.
Boarding
Of course there isn’t much to note here, but I was taken aback by the FAs comment when I showed her my mobile boarding pass when boarding the plane, “wow, aren’t you high-tech!” This struck me as odd because mobile boarding passes are commonplace on every DL flight I’ve been on. It made me wonder if AA pax use mobile boarding passes far less frequently since the AA app is so poor (I noticed it has a 1 star rating in the app store). Despite VS having an almost non-functional app (way more so than AA), it’s actually still quite easy to get a Passbook mobile boarding pass after having checked in online.
Lounge
This isn’t quite a fair comparison. Flying out of ATL on DL or VS, I’ve had the misfortune of experiencing the SkyClub in Terminal F. The chairs are uncomfortable, the snack and beverage selections are paltry, the lounge isn’t particular well-kept, and worst of all, the SkyClub is teaming with people (including families and apparently infrequent leisure travelers). I can’t provide a direct comparison since I haven’t been in the Admiral’s Club domestically.
Flying out of LHR today, the AA lounge was clean and spacious. The F&B was self-serve with a number of decent options. I especially appreciated the convenient high-tops with UK and US power ports embedded. However, the lounge was sparser than the SkyTeam lounge in terminal 4, which offers a buffet of hot food, more comfortable seating, and better amenities and décor. I noticed that AA operates a separate lounge than their codeshare partner, BA, and there is even a third lounge operated by a OneWorld partner in T3. I’m curious how these lounges compare.
If you are a DL elite (platinum or diamond) flying out of T3, you are in for a real treat with access to the Virgin Club House. The Virgin Club House makes the AA and SkyTeam LHR lounges look modest and the domestic SkyClubs third-world in comparison. The VS lounge offers a bag check, a deli bar, a fully stocked bar and food menu, all complimentary. The leather lounge chairs are comfortable and luxurious. The wait staff are friendly and attentive. Plus the lounge offers a host of other amenities which I’ve never utilized: such as spa and tailoring and repair services.
Cabin configuration
I know aircraft vary by route and even by day, so admittedly this isn’t the most fair or scientific comparison. But I was stuck by how antiquated the AA plane seemed. The AA Business cabin was in the disappearing 2-2-2 configuration. I have seen this on DL flights as well, though even then the plane felt much newer. For this trip I was seated in Main Cabin Extra, which is segregated from the rest of coach by lavatories. Only a bulkhead divider and curtain separated Main Cabin Extra from coach, which leads me to think that Main Cabin Extra replaced a portion of a now downsized Business cabin. AA’s MCE is a mild step-up from Delta’s apathetic Economy Comfort (soon to be Comfort+) offering. Once again, Virgin’s Premium Economy offering blows AA and DL out of the water, though admittedly this is not an apples-to-apples to comparison since it is a separate fare class of service. Even Virgin’s standard economy cabin is on-par with the quality of Delta’s EC. I also liked that MCE had a coat rack with hangers at the back of the cabin. The lack of power ports or USB ports on the AA plane was annoying – many of the Int’l Delta flights I’ve been on have USB charging ports at a minimum, if not power ports.
Cabin service
AA’s MCE seemed to have dedicated FAs, in comparison to Delta’s EC product which share FAs with the rest of Y. I couldn’t help but notice that AA had a FA walking through the cabin throughout the entire dinner service to top-up customer’s wine classes. Overall, the cabin service in AA’s MCE was better than the cabin service in DL’s EC. I was surprised that AA didn’t offer hot towels before the food service as I’m accustomed to in Y on DL and VS flights.
Food and beverage
On the AA flight, I ordered a cocktail, to which the FA responded, “we normally charge for that, but I won’t charge you this time.” I appreciated the generosity, though I was surprised to hear they typically charge for cocktails, especially with their premium economy product. Alcohol (beer, wine, and spirits) has always been complimentary on my DL int’l flights without mention from the flight attended whether or not that’s the actual policy or not (come to think of it, I’m not sure what the actual policy is).
The food was nearly a dead tie between DL and AA, except that AA only had two meal choices instead of the three I’m familiar with on DL and VS flights. What can you expect from airplane food? VS provides a menu, which is nice.
Seat
The back support of the MCE seats was lacking, though perhaps this was due to the older seats with more wear and tear. The headrest was very comfortable and the seat was side enough with plenty of legroom. Definitely nice than DL’s EC and VS’s standard economy seats. I’m sure this is a feature of other 767s, though I hadn’t seen it before: the tray table folded out in halves. I liked this because it allowed me to get up easily while I had a drink out.
In-flight Entertainment
The AA flight still had overhead entertainment, which surprised me! Perhaps I’ve become too accustom to DL’s standard of seat back IFE on every long-haul flight. On the long westbound day flight, this was a big ding against AA. I was interested to see that AA had IFE boxes obstructing part of the legroom under the seat in front of me given that there was no seat back IFE. This puzzled me as I would have assumed the IFE electronics would have been part of the overhead unit. In addition, the volume and channel buttons were analog dials. On the one hand, this looked antique. On the other hand, the digital armrest buttons and displays seemed to deteriorate very quickly with use.
Lavatory
The AA lavatory seemed less cramped than I’m used to on DL/VS flights. I was shocked, however, to see a dispenser of disposable cups in the lavatory. Given that the gray water used in airplane lavatories is minimally safe to touch, much less drink, I could not believe the airline would be encouraging this.
I’m sure this was TL;DR for most of you, but I thought some people would find my observations interesting.
Feb 27, 2015, 6:14 pm
#2
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: Delta PM, Delta Reserve, Amex Plat, Bonvoy Gold, Hilton Diamond, Starbucks Gold ;)
Posts: 1,775
This is an interesting comparison. Thanks for sharing.
Unless I'm wrong, I don't think Delta has any 2-2-2 Business flights across the Atlantic anymore. I think they are all 1-2-1 lie flats. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong)
I wish DL would add a true W class product like AF and BA. I'd feel better about paying a bit more for that product instead of thousands more for Business.
I left AA back around 2008 and switched to DL. Overall I've been pleased with the switch.
Unless I'm wrong, I don't think Delta has any 2-2-2 Business flights across the Atlantic anymore. I think they are all 1-2-1 lie flats. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong)
I wish DL would add a true W class product like AF and BA. I'd feel better about paying a bit more for that product instead of thousands more for Business.
I left AA back around 2008 and switched to DL. Overall I've been pleased with the switch.
Feb 28, 2015, 12:42 am
#4
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Charlotte, NC, USA | CLT, formerly LHR & AMS (with just a bit of PSP)
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton Diamond, BonVoy Titanium, (soon former) Caesars7*, (former) Wynn Black, HR "Icon"
Posts: 8,172
I appreciated the generosity, though I was surprised to hear they typically charge for cocktails, especially with their premium economy product. Alcohol (beer, wine, and spirits) has always been complimentary on my DL int’l flights without mention from the flight attended whether or not that’s the actual policy or not (come to think of it, I’m not sure what the actual policy is).
You are correct, basically since sometime in early 2014 the entire Delta wide-body international fleet is 1-2-1, no exceptions. (well, except the upper deck of the 747, which is 1-1) Personally, this is a huge advantage to flying Delta. I do believe that by 2016; the entire fleet will also have international wifi capabilities.
Feb 28, 2015, 2:58 am
#5
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,151
On the plus side, they seem to usually have bigger IFE screens, and get better food and service.
But a crappy seat is a crappy seat. And when I'm stuck in it for 8 hours TATL that is probably the most important for me.
Feb 28, 2015, 3:26 am
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: LHR
Programs: DL DM 2MM, BA Bronze, Various Hotels
Posts: 10,187
Just a couple of additional points...
- At LHR, many OW elites, including myself, use the BA Galleries lounge or the CX lounge. Although the wifi tends to work better in the AC.
- MCE on AA is similar to Comfort + on DL. It is not a premium economy product.
- AA is slowly refurbishing J cabins with lie flat seats and direct aisle access. 2-3-2 and non lie flat seats on the old 772s always baffled me a bit.
- AA MCE seats are fine but the 3-4-3 sections of the 77W is narrow and miserable.
- DL's international fleet is miles ahead for IFE. Exception is the AA 77W and refurbished 772.
- At LHR, many OW elites, including myself, use the BA Galleries lounge or the CX lounge. Although the wifi tends to work better in the AC.
- MCE on AA is similar to Comfort + on DL. It is not a premium economy product.
- AA is slowly refurbishing J cabins with lie flat seats and direct aisle access. 2-3-2 and non lie flat seats on the old 772s always baffled me a bit.
- AA MCE seats are fine but the 3-4-3 sections of the 77W is narrow and miserable.
- DL's international fleet is miles ahead for IFE. Exception is the AA 77W and refurbished 772.