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Old Oct 31, 2017, 3:37 am
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zrs70
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Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: UA Plat 2MM. DL Plat, AS MVP
Posts: 12,745
UA 77W vs DL A350 in Business

I flew the inaugural Delta A350 DTW-NRT, then turned around on UA NRT-SFO on the 77W. Both in business. Rather than a trip report, I’m simply listing what I believe to be the pros of each.

Let me begin by saying it was great being on DL’s brand new plane. But overall, I like the hard product on UA’s 77W more. That said, both versions are pretty tight in Business. While they have lots of personal space, neither has great community space. This is to say the the aisles are narrow. If you aren’t by a window, it’s impossible to look outside. Older versions of wide-bodies had such a spacious feel.

DL pros:
Amenity kit. The TUMI kit is sturdy and well done.
Screen size. Very large!
Espresso. I like that they have the machines.
Privacy. The suites can be enclosed.
Announcements: Short and sweet. (Somehow, the UA announcements in Japanese seem to be five times as long as the English. This didn’t happen on DL).

UA pros:
Seat comfort for sleeping. I felt the DL one to be lumpy.
Ottoman for lounging. On UA, you can put your feet up without having to be in the sleep/ bed mode. DL doesn’t have this.
Arm rest. The DL one is at an uncomfortable height.
Luggage compartments. More plentiful on UA. DL’s 350 does NOT have compartments over the center.
Wifi. DL touted faster wifi that enabled streaming. But it didn’t work most of the flight, and when it did, it was at a snail’s pace.
Better variety of entertainment. This is a personal preference, but UA seems to have more good classic films.
Access to bathrooms. On DL, there is barely room to maneuver.

Tie:
Food
Service

Special for each flight:
Because the DL was an inaugural, there was some nice swag: a pin, a TUMI wallet, some lotions, and a few other things.
On United, we got the special 747 amenity kit.
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