OrchardTravel

I know these sorts of threads pop up from time to time, and I'm not sure I've seen one comparing the transatlantic offerings of Delta and BA. This is perhaps more relevant given Delta's relatively recent upgrade to flat bed seating (not to mention the fact that it's a similar hard product to BA/BMI's new mid-haul seating.)

I'll try and keep it fairly succinct and to the point.

Check-In/Bag Drop: The Sky Team Priority Bag drop area was crowded on Sunday morning at 7am, we queued for 5 to 10 minutes to drop our bags. It was much better in Detroit, but still a frustrating process whereby you're not allowed to get a boarding card from a person, but you are forced (sent away from the desk!) to use the machines before coming back to drop bags.
Result: BA WIN Queuing in T5 for this is almost non-existant

Mobile App: I can only compare the iPhone apps. The Delta app lets you check in the whole party that you're travelling with as long as you have your SkyMiles number against your name, whilst the BA one doesn't. Seat selection is also much slicker and easier than the BA app. Keeping track of your points (Avios or SkyMiles) is much better on the BA App though as is flight search and booking.
Result: On balance, this one goes to Delta for ease of use and efficiency with the check-in

Lounges: Mixed bag here, the SkyTeam lounge at Heathrow T4 is excellent, plenty of space, modern and with a good selection of food. It is a J lounge, so I won't compare it to the F product in T5. Up against Galleries I'd say a score draw. They Delta lounge at DTW on the other hand is awful. Yes it's big and showy (it is in the States after all) but the soft product is DIRE. barely a selection of peanuts and some drinks. Diappointing before a 10pm flight when we wanted a "Dine in lounge" option before the red-eye.
Result: BA win. A lot.

On-board Service: Despite the overly familiar nature of the Delta crew, and the fact that they don't even check your boarding pass as you board, let alone direct you/show you to your seat they still win here. My jacket on both sectors was take and hung in the locker before I'd even got my bag in the overhead, as was everyone else's, food orders were taken before take-off consistently and the food was excellent, with very attentive service throughout the flights. This is in contrast to the fairly absent BA service "between feeds" where it's more usual to have to request something than be offered it.
Result: Delta win.

Hard Product: The most important element here, especially given the similarity in set up of the seating with the new BA/BMI mid-haul. Delta's middle seating was awful, utterly terrible. On boarding/take off/landing the seat is too upright, there is no comfortable position, and a quick straw poll of my non-FF colleagues revealed the same opinion. It only got worse as you converted it to a bed. Your feet are expected to "slot" into the armrest/table of the seats in front. My size 12 feet (13 for our US cousins) were 'too tall' for this and had to be at an uncomfortable angle, toes pressed into the roof of the alcove, and my legs were locked together, as I couldn't move my knees apart given the narrow slot, or raise them given the low roof. Naturally this rendered it impossible to get comfortable on my side for example. It's also very narrow at the shoulder to the point where I was touching both sides (and don't forget, unable to turn onto my side). The window seating was a lot better as you're not trapped betweem two seats which means there's a 'cut out' against the wall, but still not really big enough around the legs.
Result: BA win. Delta have provided a coffin to sleep in.

Overall, whilst the soft product is excellent, the hard product is always going to be the deciding factor and the Delta BusinessElite seating being almost universally uncomfortable in any position just can't be overcome by the other plus points here, not for an 8 hour flight. I hope the BA/BMI mid-haul hard product can avoid these space issues, especially if you find yourself in the lone single seat having to squeeze your lower body into the armrest of the seat in front.
Final Result: BA Win.

DTW seems likely to be a new regular route for me, and it's going to have to be Delta given the complete lack of anyone else flying direct from London, and the pricing of other J fare layover routes.

thundercat

Very useful, I am doing the LHR-JFK in this class via Delta next month. The only reason for doing so was the fact that BA put their pricing to my final destination up £900 (the day they announced a sale) more than Delta (on all 3 routes I looked at ), which working for a small business I can not justify the extra cost. So it will be interesting to see how I get on at 5'11 and size 9 feet.

Thanks

OrchardTravel

Some interesting feedback on the Other Side of the Pond

Joely

While I haven't flown delta, the one thing that really stood out for me (not in a good way) was that the delta cabin looks like a hospital. All bright white plastic and shinny blue seats, I thought it looked horrible.

flyclub

The BA lounges are amongst the best in the world IMHO. I always think what a treat it must be for Oneworld elite's (particularly AAdvantage members) when flying through London.

The Delta lounge at the new International Terminal in Atlanta is nice but again sadly you need deep pockets to get anywhere near the hospitality that BA offer. For example Delta charge a whopping $20+ tax + tip for a 187ml split of Moët.

orbitmic

For what it's worth, and acknowledging that different seats are more suitable to different builds and that we may well be different on those grounds (I'm certainly not a size 12 shoe size!) i really disagree with you here. I find the new DL seats far better than their BA equivalent. I wouldn't really like being in the DL middle seats, but equally I really wouldn't like being in the BA middle seats on a 777 or the lower deck of a 744. I do like the upper deck BA 744 seats (particularly windows) but I find the DL 764 windows even much better, they feel more private and I feel like I have far more space in them. Basically, that's no rocket science, we are comparing a 1-2-1 layout (DL) to a 2-4-2 layout (BA).

Also, I fully agree with you on the DL lounges being miserable. I would, however rate the LHR ST T4 lounge clearly below GF but clearly above GC (or clearly above LGW GF for that matter).

In a nutshell, I would say that BA has historically had an industry leading product in long haul J but to me it is now quite a bit behind AZ new J, LX new J, SN new J - soon OS new J - and even DL new J. All of them have now, in my view, better seats, better food and drink offering (on DL better food but not better drink) than CW, so I think that BA will need to up its game even more if it wants to remain a great alternative on transatlantic routes.

pbarnette

I don't think the middle DL seats are nearly as bad as the middle BA seats. They are great for couples traveling together and, if you are traveling alone, they still afford direct aisle access.

Depending upon the month, I'd place DL's drink above CW and rarely/never worse than even. I've had Paul Hobbs Pinot on DL and I don't think CW has ever had a wine of that caliber. For the hard stuff, I think DL is just as good (or better if you like bourbon).

TechnoOenology

I'm afraid Delta 764 seat wins every time for me now over CW. No one clambers over you in the middle of the night. And whilst I wouldn't want to speculate about other people's dimensions, I'm >1.85 m tall and can stretch out flat really comfortably, and lie front, side, back, anyway totally easily on the Delta seats. I also find their service extremely polite throughout the flight, and the food miles better - particularly the cold plate - I think what used to be the NW 'champagne supper'. The other 767 are not as good as CW, but the prices are better, the seats are better and the service is better IMHO on the 767-400 routes. Lounges though... there was a thread about how we might feel about paying for lounge access on BA; I'll just say Delta make you pay for drinks in some of their lounges
Techno

pbarnette

The others are being renovated with largely the same seats as the 764, though they won't be done until next year. For now, though, all flights to and from LHR feature the 764-style seat and, from next year, most of the flights to and from CDG will also feature it.

To be fair, they only make you pay for "premium" spirits. Well drinks are still free. The well offerings in the BA lounges are certainly better, though.

NYLON Boy

Couldn't agree more. I'm a big fan of the LX style seat when in J (and when seated singly - haven't tried any of the 2s).

To add to the sentiment that BA's J offering has now fallen behind: CX's new J seat is leagues better (IMO) than all of the above, and better than most airlines' F seats (obviously not better than CX F, SQ F, LH F on a 747 - but better than BA F, AA F, etc.).

NYLON Boy

BushwoodCountryClub

I've done this trip about 8 times this year. What annoys me the most is that the menu was identical........not much to look forward to after the 4th odd time.

I agree if you're larger in size (not necessarily height) these seats will be an issue in terms of width at the shoulders, and the general privacy is nowhere near as good as a window CW one. BUT, everyone has aisle access, and the lack of privacy in some ways actually leads to a more spacious feel in some ways compared to the kind of "battery hen" feeling on larger CW cabins. But I still prefer CW.......!

Oh, but for "feetroom" on the 764's it's row 1, row 1, row 1.....the bottom half of the coffin is much bigger as it's a hole cut in the bulkhead not the seat in front

RoseFPS

Funnily enough I had probably my best ever sleep on a plane in DL J from JFK -LHR. And I liked it for travelling on my own as I liked the 1-2-1 config (obviously I was in the 1 side).

It did feel a bit narrow perhaps - it's not like First even though it's the same config.

I think I;d give BA the edge too (especially with lounges, and especially if I was in a good seat like 64K) but I was very happy with the DL hard product (and of course it's a big step up IMO from their previous offering!)

pbarnette

I'm pretty sure that the new CX seat is the same seat used by several other carriers including AZ, US, and DL (on their 747).

darthlemsip

My father had to fly Delta in J last week as it was the easiest way for him to get to Fort Wayne. Sent him a text when he got home asking how it was - the one word reply I got was "Crap"

Will grill him more over a beer tomorrow

terminalfive

I love CW but Delta BusinessFirst has the better Hard product

I much prefer a 1 - 2 - 1 configuration for starters and (personally) I find the seat more comfortable

AZ is the best J at the moment seat wise (on the new A330 and riconfigured 777) - at least that I have flown on (would dearly like to try CX soon)