It is. That Bad. Especially if you are stuck in the old 767's, on which they have been recently losing insurance due to the aircraft poor maintenance history. I was stuck in Cape Town, South Africa for two extra nights as Delta kept losing insurance coverage on their 767's due to the poor maintenance history (the ground crew admitted it as it was their last work day - they were all fired - so they didn't care). In the end had to go out on South Africa Airlines via London, as DL couldn't get anyone out on an insured aircraft over 48+ hours. (And by the way, that SAA flight was better service and amenities in coach that in the new DL BusinessElite..)

Those 767's (some of them, not all of course) are really beat up. One I was in, some seats were in permanently reclined position (broken, will not stay locked upright), some tray tables were broken and upon slightest motion pop open and couldn't be secured, trim on the sides was peeling off... I mean, even inside it's obvious that the plane is really poorly maintained (and it's not just the DeltaTM crap asthetics and poor cabins), so no wonder that they lose insurance on it due to its maintenance history and age. And, of course, no AVOD (yes, DL believes that even 16 hour flights do not need that, as it's DL after all, "best of class", right?).

And, that is the aircraft they give for a gruelling 16 hour flight (one of the longest). One would think that is one of the best. So what would the worst be like?

If you can get in the newer 777's, those are fine. And any NW operated flight is good, esp. the NW WorldBusinessClass with lie flat sleeper seats (while DL even on 16 hours just has a really poor business class same as domestic for 2 hour flights!).