Originally Posted by
Eruma
JFK > ZRH - is my experience normal?
Coach: no per-seat in-flight entertainment, bland, tasteless food, and old ratty seats.
On top of that: 1 checked bag per person, 5 dollar beers, rancid air the entire flight, and 80-dollar upgrades to reserved emergency exit seats
Aside from that, their customer service was fantastic before boarding and the attendants were humane for the most part. I'm just wondering if this experience is typical of Delta, or if I got a bad flight?
I've flown several airlines to Europe with layovers, and I've never seen such a low quality flight. I felt sorry for my other passengers that they would pay top-dollar here.
My experiences with Air Canada, Swiss Air, and British Airways were like first-class seats compared to Delta, blowing it out of the water in every way. However, I liked their prices and was reading about features like in-seat and USB power, no layovers, and I got an American Express in preparation for flying with them frequently.
Should I cut it in half, or will they be upgrading their fleet in the next weeks?
Welcome to FT!
As others have mentioned, DL's 763ER are getting an upgrade--seatback AVOD, new bins, new seats, etc. and will look much better.
Delta 764 posted some great photos of the new interior yesterday--search for "New Delta Interior Leaked" or something along the lines of that (again, great job
Delta 764!
With regards to food, it's hit or miss. I've had some good entrees and I've had some terrible entrees. It's usually the luck of the draw.
Checked Bags: It's an industry standard--first checked bag is free on international flights.
Beer/Wine: Again, beer/wine is free on all DL international flights--AFAIK, they're the only US Carrier who provides beer/wine for free (though UA does on its TransPacs). Additionally, all liquor is free in Economy Comfort.
Rancid Air: Sorry to hear. Can't see how that's DL's fault though
Exit Row: It's part of Economy Comfort, DL's new premium economy product. It has more legroom, recline, etc. than regular econ so it comes with a price premium. It's free for DM/PM and is discounted for GM/FO. For non-medallions, DL does not charge for regular (non economy comfort) exit row seats/bulkheads/etc. on any flight but I've heard that that is going to change.
Customer Service: I agree with
bennos. On average, you'll find that DL has better CS than the other legacies, especially United. DL's customer service rating is dragged down (IMO) by it's ground staff, but I've been noticing improvement.
So no, I wouldn't say this was a typical DL economy experience. It seems more on par for UA/AA
.
DL757ATL