The Old First Class
Jun 23, 2010, 10:36 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD/MDW/MKE
Programs: DL, UA
Posts: 786
The Old First Class
Hi FT community,
I was just curious if anyone has any pics/ memories of what the old DL international first class was back when there were three classes of service internationally? I never had the opportunity to fly in it so I was just curious if anyone remembered anything about it or had any pics of it.
Thanks!
I was just curious if anyone has any pics/ memories of what the old DL international first class was back when there were three classes of service internationally? I never had the opportunity to fly in it so I was just curious if anyone remembered anything about it or had any pics of it.
Thanks!
Jun 24, 2010, 12:21 am
#2
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Oregon (DL and Marr Lifetime plat. etc.)
Posts: 1,273
No pics, but I certainly remember the caviar accompanied by vodka (the bottle was in a cavity in a big block of ice) plus Dom Perignon, not to mention a selction of great food. For some time, when there were 3 classes, you couldn't get an upgrade or free ticket. The only way to do it was to pay full F fare. Even after that changed, we flew Bangkok-Taipei-PDX and IIRC there was nobody else in F, and the FA's were great.
Jun 24, 2010, 3:47 am
#4
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: DFW - DL MM/SM, AA 5MM/CK, MR LT Titanium
Posts: 827
I was fortunate enough to be able to fly DL FC three times in the 90's. As Pioneer notes it was not easy to get up there...you had to be a Royal Mediallion (the top tier of the day) to be able to claim a FC award ticket. I burned about 200,000 miles for my honeymoon in 1993 and scored two FC tix RT DFW-PDX-BKK (with stops in SEL and TPE).
IIRC the MD-11 cabins were laid out in three rows of 2-2-2. Back then you could smoke and Row 3 was smoking. Seats were comfy enough but nowhere near the comfort of today's flat bed seats. Perhaps 150 degree recline, seat width of 22-24 inches, adjustable headrests and legrests. Large center console between seats in each pair, removable
As noted by Pioneer, very attentive service. Mrs. DL and I were the only pax from SEL to BKK with two FAs and the Purser to look after our needs. Caviar, vodka, canapes/appetizers, soup, salad, entrees, cheese, dessert, all washed down by a very nice Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 1985 (we left the aircraft in BKK with three full bottles).
Return trip was equally nice although I had to deal with the unpleasant transpac reality of two Monday mornings in a day.
A few years later, as they were rolling out BE, I got a courtesy upgrade to FC on an L1011. The caviar was gone by then...I'm pretty sure that the only thing that was still FC was the seat. Pretty much the same layout and seat setup as the MD-11, but the equipment was ~10 years older and showed its age.
It's interesting that although the equipment (seats, AVOD, safety, fuel efficiency) has gotten so much better since then, the service has gotten so much worse. FC FAs in the old days were proud of what they had accomplished to make it where they were, and it showed in the level of customer service one received. Nowadays most airline staff (moreso onother airlines than on DL) are "survivors" who view the customer as an incovenience.
IIRC the MD-11 cabins were laid out in three rows of 2-2-2. Back then you could smoke and Row 3 was smoking. Seats were comfy enough but nowhere near the comfort of today's flat bed seats. Perhaps 150 degree recline, seat width of 22-24 inches, adjustable headrests and legrests. Large center console between seats in each pair, removable
As noted by Pioneer, very attentive service. Mrs. DL and I were the only pax from SEL to BKK with two FAs and the Purser to look after our needs. Caviar, vodka, canapes/appetizers, soup, salad, entrees, cheese, dessert, all washed down by a very nice Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 1985 (we left the aircraft in BKK with three full bottles).
Return trip was equally nice although I had to deal with the unpleasant transpac reality of two Monday mornings in a day.
A few years later, as they were rolling out BE, I got a courtesy upgrade to FC on an L1011. The caviar was gone by then...I'm pretty sure that the only thing that was still FC was the seat. Pretty much the same layout and seat setup as the MD-11, but the equipment was ~10 years older and showed its age.
It's interesting that although the equipment (seats, AVOD, safety, fuel efficiency) has gotten so much better since then, the service has gotten so much worse. FC FAs in the old days were proud of what they had accomplished to make it where they were, and it showed in the level of customer service one received. Nowadays most airline staff (moreso onother airlines than on DL) are "survivors" who view the customer as an incovenience.
Jun 24, 2010, 5:06 am
#5
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: IND
Programs: DL Diamond 4 MM, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 180
MUC-ATL with wife and three kids all in business on award tickets. We are all in our seats and redcoat comes up to me and says Mr. IndyDave would you please come with me. (oh oh). We walk into the first class cabin and he says that business is oversold and would like to invite me into first class.
I went back to offer my seat to wife. It was father's day and she said take the seat and happy father's day. We still have the Tiffany candy dish that they offered from the "First Class Gift Selections" booklet. Great memories.
I went back to offer my seat to wife. It was father's day and she said take the seat and happy father's day. We still have the Tiffany candy dish that they offered from the "First Class Gift Selections" booklet. Great memories.
Jun 24, 2010, 8:37 am
#6
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 248
I remember seeing a F/C pax fully reclined and asleep (the only one up there) during the takeoff on an L-1011.......Not a word was said.
Pic of Delta First
Pic of Delta First
Jun 24, 2010, 8:47 am
#7
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SDF
Programs: DL:360/DM/6 MMer; Bonvoy: Lifetime Titanium 10+M pts, 3100+ nights;
Posts: 1,441
I remember flying ATL to LGW and back in the early nineties in DL First. While the seats were nice, they didn't recline as much as the BE (747/777) seats do today. They were; however, wider. The food was very nice especially the caviar. I also remember a silver serving tureen with the soup rolling around on a nice cart in First. Not only were the flights nice but on the return leg, Pete Sampras and his girl friend were in the seats next to us returning from Wimbleton.
Jun 24, 2010, 8:59 am
#8
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New Orleans (for now)
Programs: DL PM, WN, SC, various other programs of lowly status
Posts: 1,673
At the risk of "outing" myself as an old broad, my first TATL trip was as a teenager in the 60's, travelling alone, in coach. I met a French gentleman in the pre-boarding lounge and he invited me up to F for a cocktail during the flight. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. There was a small bar with banquette seating. The FA made me go back to steerage after a while, but those few minutes were memorable. Don't remember what airline that was but I'll never forget the blue eyes on that Frenchman. Sigh.
Flash forward to about 1982, my next TATL was on DL but sadly, still in steerage. IIRC, the boarding door was between F & Business and I looked into the F cabin. It looked palatial compared to coach. 2x2 huge seats (huge at least to my eyes. FA's hovering with champagne bottles. People relaxing in their reclining seats. That was the day I became a mileage hoarder.
Flash forward to about 1982, my next TATL was on DL but sadly, still in steerage. IIRC, the boarding door was between F & Business and I looked into the F cabin. It looked palatial compared to coach. 2x2 huge seats (huge at least to my eyes. FA's hovering with champagne bottles. People relaxing in their reclining seats. That was the day I became a mileage hoarder.
Jun 24, 2010, 9:38 am
#9
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: DL DM; SPG Gold
Posts: 1,733
I met a French gentleman in the pre-boarding lounge and he invited me up to F for a cocktail during the flight. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. There was a small bar with banquette seating. The FA made me go back to steerage after a while, but those few minutes were memorable. Don't remember what airline that was but I'll never forget the blue eyes on that Frenchman.
Jun 24, 2010, 10:05 am
#10
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 248
Pictures of old DL seats:
A-310 First Class Early 90's
MD-11 First Class Late 90's
767 Business Class Late 90's
A-310 First Class Early 90's
MD-11 First Class Late 90's
767 Business Class Late 90's
Last edited by Jet Doctor; Jun 24, 2010 at 10:15 am
Jun 24, 2010, 10:31 am
#11
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Mem
Programs: Delta GM, AA, UA, CO, AC Hilton HH Dia, SPG Gold, Hertz Prez Club
Posts: 1
I was on DL flight in the late 90's from PTY to ATL. As I approached the gate the FA noticed that I had on a FSU golf shirt and she spoke up and stated that she was from Tallahassee. got on board in my crappy middle seat in Y stuck between two rather large people. Long story short, just after take off the FA found me and asked me to gather my things and follow her. BAM! first class for the next 5 hours. Granted it was not a tatl or tpac it still was sweet. the meal was fantatic, the champagne (don't remember brand but was a vitage bottle) and of course the service. Man I miss way things used to be.
Jun 24, 2010, 10:56 am
#12
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Anywhere but home
Programs: UA 1K/MM, DL GM/MM, HH Dia, PC Plat, MR Gold, ALL Sil,
Posts: 4,552
Pictures of old DL seats:
A-310 First Class Early 90's
MD-11 First Class Late 90's
767 Business Class Late 90's
A-310 First Class Early 90's
MD-11 First Class Late 90's
767 Business Class Late 90's
Agree with DFW DL, the hard product has definitely improved while the service, for the most part, has gone downhill.
Jun 24, 2010, 10:59 am
#13
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: West of CLE
Programs: Delta DM/3 MM; Hertz PC; National EE; Amtrak GR; Bonvoy Silver; Via Rail Préférence
Posts: 5,384
DL F Shortly after DL-PA Merger
I never flew internationally on DL on a three class plane in F. However, I did get to sample their F service on a three class plane once.
I needed to go from BWI to LAS on relatively short notice (I think the year was 1992) where I was actually doing some work on a case, rather than attending a craps table; I was short on money at the time but long on DL miles, and I was able to walk up to the counter at BWI, pay $60 and cash in the required number of miles (50k possibly) to obtain a RT F ticket. My outbound routing was BWI-JFK-LAX-LAS. The first leg was a DASH-8 commuter plane (possibly Business Express, DL's commuter partner in the northeast at the time). The next leg was an ex-PA A310; I think the plane originated at TXL, flew nonstop to JFK, and then continued on to LAX. The final leg to LAS was on an ex-Western 727.
The plane was configured with 3 classes; F had 2-1-2 seating, J had 2-2-2 seating, and I think Y was 2-3-2 (possibly 2-4-2). I remember sitting in the single seat in the first row of F. F was full (I can't remember whether it was 10 or 15 seats total); J was close to empty; and Y was close to full.
My recollection of the flight was that they had a premium champagne up front (possibly Taittinger's) and drinkable reds and whites; they had a large selection of European beers in cans; dinner service with at least three entree choices and several courses taking a couple of hours to complete; and, after the ice cream sundaes were cleared away, chocolate covered strawberries and cappuccino were offered. The F seats were unremarkable--they were like the F seats on the domestic L-1011s (which were wide by today's standards and overall pretty good BTW).
One nice touch on the flight was, during the stopover at JFK, a VHS of that evening's ABC Evening News with Peter Jennings was delivered to the FAs who played it immediately after takeoff.
I remember telling one of the FAs how great the service was, and her rejoinder was--"It should be, you paid for it". If she only knew.
I remember that DL had tried to emulate the TATL service on the transcontinental portion of the flight.
Happy memories.
I needed to go from BWI to LAS on relatively short notice (I think the year was 1992) where I was actually doing some work on a case, rather than attending a craps table; I was short on money at the time but long on DL miles, and I was able to walk up to the counter at BWI, pay $60 and cash in the required number of miles (50k possibly) to obtain a RT F ticket. My outbound routing was BWI-JFK-LAX-LAS. The first leg was a DASH-8 commuter plane (possibly Business Express, DL's commuter partner in the northeast at the time). The next leg was an ex-PA A310; I think the plane originated at TXL, flew nonstop to JFK, and then continued on to LAX. The final leg to LAS was on an ex-Western 727.
The plane was configured with 3 classes; F had 2-1-2 seating, J had 2-2-2 seating, and I think Y was 2-3-2 (possibly 2-4-2). I remember sitting in the single seat in the first row of F. F was full (I can't remember whether it was 10 or 15 seats total); J was close to empty; and Y was close to full.
My recollection of the flight was that they had a premium champagne up front (possibly Taittinger's) and drinkable reds and whites; they had a large selection of European beers in cans; dinner service with at least three entree choices and several courses taking a couple of hours to complete; and, after the ice cream sundaes were cleared away, chocolate covered strawberries and cappuccino were offered. The F seats were unremarkable--they were like the F seats on the domestic L-1011s (which were wide by today's standards and overall pretty good BTW).
One nice touch on the flight was, during the stopover at JFK, a VHS of that evening's ABC Evening News with Peter Jennings was delivered to the FAs who played it immediately after takeoff.
I remember telling one of the FAs how great the service was, and her rejoinder was--"It should be, you paid for it". If she only knew.
I remember that DL had tried to emulate the TATL service on the transcontinental portion of the flight.
Happy memories.
Jun 24, 2010, 11:32 am
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD/MDW/MKE
Programs: DL, UA
Posts: 786
Jet Doctor, thanks for the pics; I've been wondering what those looked like for years now.
It sounds like it was really quite an amazing place to be! I only wish I had had the opportunity to try it at some point while it was still around.
It sounds like it was really quite an amazing place to be! I only wish I had had the opportunity to try it at some point while it was still around.
Jun 24, 2010, 11:53 am
#15
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: ATL
Programs: DL SkyMiles, MR, HH, ICH/PC, Avis Pref., Hertz Gold
Posts: 2,897
In the late 90's I was flying from FRA-ATL in J that had been upgraded from Y using a PMU. I had coordinated schedules with a friend of mine to be on the same flight. He had a full J ticket. We were both surprised when they upgraded us both (a double upgrade for me) to F.
I remember the vodka and caviar, and getting an extra tin to take with me. Since it was a daylight flight, I didn't care that much about sleeping so I didn't test that capability of the seats. The PTVs back then just showed several channels of movies in rotation (no on-demand) but the screens in F were much larger. The service was, of course, great.
While it is a shame that DL doesn't offer international F anymore, it was hard to justify it economically. No business would buy a F seat for employee travel and the price difference for F made it hard to justify even for the high-rollers. And of course, they aren't making any money on the upgraders and award pax.
I remember the vodka and caviar, and getting an extra tin to take with me. Since it was a daylight flight, I didn't care that much about sleeping so I didn't test that capability of the seats. The PTVs back then just showed several channels of movies in rotation (no on-demand) but the screens in F were much larger. The service was, of course, great.
While it is a shame that DL doesn't offer international F anymore, it was hard to justify it economically. No business would buy a F seat for employee travel and the price difference for F made it hard to justify even for the high-rollers. And of course, they aren't making any money on the upgraders and award pax.