DL95
Barcelona (BCN)-New York (JFK)
Wednesday June 8, 2011
Depart: 11:20 AM
Arrive: 2:00 PM
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Seat: 24B (Economy)

We were backed up on the jet bridge for several minutes before we were onboard the aircraft. Although I usually prefer window seats, I deferred to one of my sisters and settled into 24B. Boarding finished up a few minutes ahead of scheduled. During pushback, we were treated to session of Deltalina. There was no queue for the active runway and we took off quickly. Unfortunately, it was overcast so there were no views after take off.

Our aircraft featured the standard run of the mill Delta economy seats, covered in blue leather. As usual, the seat was decently comfortable with standard seat pitch.



Delta’s excellent IFE system, dubbed Delta on Demand, was turned on after we climbed above 10,000 feet.



The flight attendants began preparing for the first meal service about 30 minutes into flight. Soon after, the meal service began. As the cart reached my row, the flight attendant presented me with time honored question of chicken or pasta. After inquiring further, I was told the chicken was served with mushroom risotto and vegetables and the pasta was lasagna. I chose the chicken, while my sister who I was sitting with chose lasagna.



The chicken was hot, juicy, and flavorful, as was the risotto. Both the cooked vegetables and the salad were fresh. Chunks of mozzarella cheese on the salad were delicious and a nice touch. A prepackaged roll, crackers and processed cheese, and some sort of packaged dessert were also included with the meal. All three of my sisters went with the lasagna and enjoyed it. The meal service exceeded my expectations, which admittedly were very low due to reviews I have read beforehand. Trays were collected fairly quickly. Another drink run was made soon after. One major annoyance during the flight was the flight attendant call button, one of which was located on the IFE remote. The remote is stored on the side of the armrest, leading to constant dings throughout the flight. Understandably, this frustrated the entire cabin crew.

After my tray was cleared, I watched the Black Swan, Natalie Portman can make anything great, and Hall Pass, which was horrible albeit with an intriguing idea. Anyways, I stayed awake during the majority of the flight in order to adjust for the time change. Midflight, a snack service was performed. The service consisted of drinks and a choice of pretzels and peanuts. Unfortunately, my favored Biscoffs weren’t available. The flight passed uneventfully, and the start of the second meal service signaled our impending arrival.





The pizza was edible, although a bit undercooked. And you can’t go wrong with ice cream. After trash was cleared, we were feet dry over Massachusetts and descending. Our descent became a little more eventful when a lady sitting a few rows behind me insisted on gabbing with her friend who sat across the aisle from me. She ignored repeated requests from a flight attendant to return to her seat as the seatbelt sign was on. Finally, the purser came back and threatened to have a welcoming party waiting for the said lady at JFK. Only then did she return to her seat



Touchdown was smooth and we arrived at the gate after a 15 minute taxi. The flight generally exceeded my expectations. The cabin crew was just did their job and nothing more; although, they were a bit snippy with passengers at times. If the price and schedule were right, I wouldn’t hesitate to fly Delta again internationally in economy.

As were the only international flight arriving at that time, immigration was pretty quick. However, it was another 30 minutes after we cleared immigration before bags finally began hitting the carousel. Due to award availability, we had an 8 hour layover until our flight to Houston. So we ended up taking the train into Manhattan to spend a few hours there. I slept most of way on the flight back. The only item noteworthy to report is that we arrived one hour early due to favorable winds. Bags came out pretty quickly due to the light load. We waited for a short time for the Super Shuttle and made it home at midnight, about 1.5 hours after deplaning. Reality hit the next morning when I woke up at about 7 and made the drive back to Dallas to get back to work.

It was a great trip. My parents enjoyed the trip so much; they decided to make a cruise an annual thing. We shall see how long that lasts. As for me, I had a blast. I finally made it back into an international premium cabin. Business class was nice and all, but I want more. As of right now, it appears as if I will get more at end of this year. Stay tuned for that TR.

Thank you so much for reading!