QueerEyeForDelta

According to Delta Corporate Speak Reps, the AVOD monitors are not "certified" to tilt.

What Delta hasn't answered is why.

Most likely it has something to do with Delta's race to the bottom in every aspect of service while trying to maximize revenue in every square centimeter of the aircraft.

The AVOD monitor can tilt. However it does not because Delta chose to put in a super tight 37" seat pitch... the person in front of you reclines, you tilt the screen, and that monitor is now hovering over your meal tray or open laptop... then the person in the window seat gets up, tries to get to the aisle, bumps his hip on the monitor, trips over your feet, spills the drink on the center console and lands on the passenger across the aisle.

In this case DOVEP, or "Delta Onboard Value Engineering Program," has failed because the customer has noticed.

brocklee9000

There had to be an engineer or two that at least thought there might be an issue with reclining seats/non-tilting monitors, before their concerns were quickly and quietly dismissed. Someone high up probably just read the Panasonic boxes which said "Viewable at up to 60 degrees" and thought that was good enough.
While I have yet to sit on this plane, the opinions of others as well as photographs of the interiors lend credence to the sentiment upthread of the likelihood that no one from DL corporate has actually set foot on this plane, much less had to fly on it. Sure, domestic F on DL is nothing special, and only affords a few extra inches of space over seating in Y. But what I think is absolutely atrocious is row 1, as well as 10DEF on these planes. Talk about sardines...

QueerEyeForDelta

It is quickly becoming Delta's most loathed aircraft among frequent flyers and will be talked about in this forum for years.

FitTraveler

This is an interesting video.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P4HOMQq14l8

It is painfully obvious Delta does not apply the same rigor in designing it's premium cabins. If it did, the combination of the product and Delta's crews would be a knockout.

Instead the project team discussion goes something like this:

"Hey y'all we got a new aircraft comin on."
"Oh that's right. Can someone call Thelma Louise Jennings down in the Seats Department"
"Shore thang. You reckon she got the latest seat catalog?"
"Yeh, pert near sure she do. Word has it Richard done told her to order nuttin but the base model. Ya know, that's good enuff since most passengers don't know what aircraft they're on anyhow."
"Oh and we need to call Marketin. They have a special way with makin new aircraft announcements sound really good even if it ain't all that special and all."
"I'll take them follow ups and get on it. Y'all have uh goot one."
"Thanks. I need to call caterin. Apparently our Mexican translator made a mistake on the printed menus. "Seared Filet" somehow became "Filete del Mar Rojo" or "Sea Red Filet" in American. Sheesh. What uh week."

brocklee9000

"Where do they go to eat?"
McDonald's, obviously
"What hotels do they stay in?"
Super 8 and Motel 6
"What kind of cars do they drive?"
Hamsammichmobiles
"What kind of environment do they enjoy to be in?"
Sardine tins.

And the saddest part? Probably that this plane will, in fact, probably be loathed for its lifetime with DL. And unfortunately, the masses are largely uninformed and just pick seats on planes/routes that fit in their pricepoints. Sure, us FFers don't like the changes. But what will the lay person know? When I was a kid, I knew the difference between all the aircraft models. But I didn't know that some would have AVOD or power or a bulkhead exit row with more legroom or a higher F:Y ratio. HVCs will buy F, kettles will buy X fares, and all the rest of us in the middle will be fleeced.

DiverDave

It was amusing to watch nearly every customer in FC attempt to tilt their monitors out to a more comfortable viewing angle. I didn't try because I had read this thread.

I'd still like to know if 5C/5D have limited recline. I was in 5C and it sure seemed that way.

David

n7371f

The inability of the monitors to tilt is probably due to how narrow the seats are that Delta used. There's hardly in depth to the seat back on these new seats and you need some to create space for the monitor to tilt. This is essentially the same seat that's on the MD-fleet and the CR7's after all.

All that said...how Delta could invest the money on monitors knowing they wouldn't tilt is a real head scratcher. People want monitors flush with them, regardless if they claim to have 60 degree viewing. You'd think this was focus grouped but then how could a focus group, a large percentage of, think tilt-less screens were great? It just doesn't make sense. Sounds like a major fail.

rylan

You are assuming there was a focus group... and that they actually got to sit in the seats while reclined. Much more likely, the 'focus group' was lead by marketing and revenue management and they put the maximum amount of seats in the plane.

Delta 764

Actually, the inability of the monitors to tilt is due to them being integral into the design of the seat; it has nothing to do with the thinness of the seats.

Unlike conventional PTVs, the Panasonic Eco 9i Integrated Smart Monitors have to be certified for a specific model of seat, and cannot simply be retrofitted into any seat that can fit a PTV. Because of its integration into the design of the seat, they cannot tilt. This isn't much of a problem for Y seats such as the Weber/Zodiac 5751 or B/E Aerospace Pinnacle (the latter being the model of Y seat on the 739ER), but apparently Panasonic and Zodiac/Weber must have rushed to get them certified on the Weber/Zodiac 6810 (the model of F seat on the 739ER) without demoing it enough to determine if the viewing angle would be adequate for the amount of recline in a typical domestic F layout. It looks like Panasonic and Weber/Zodiac need to go back to the drawing board to introduce a better solution for domestic F seats.

FitTraveler

The "focus group" was Thelma Louise Jennings down in the Seats Department flipping through a catalog. Ms Jennings raises chickens and pigs in her back yard, drives a Chevy Malibu with roll down windows and an AM radio "over to Atlanta" to work and rarely flies.

sky303

I'm glad you think so highly of the people who make up the airline you choose to be loyal to. Comedy has its place, but I don't get why you're always riding someone's...nvm.

lamont2718

This sounds like a description taken straight out of Experian Mosaic.

Crazyhotelguy

Just sat in 1B on this plane.

The lighting is cool. AVOD is great in the bulkhead with no recliner in front of you.

The legroom in 1 is about the same as other 737's. The little/narrow cutout in 1A/B makes just enough room to slide your feet under. No love in 1 C/D.

The first two OH bins are smaller. No issue with the ones over 2.

No Wi-Fi.

The lav is rediculously tight IMO.

I will probably avoid this config. Give me the dinosaur 757's anyday...

DL-Don

I went to use some soon to expire SWUs for a trip to SFO in January. Guess what, the ONLY flights on which I could confirm the upgrades were 737-900s.

Coincidence? I think not.

Tom Williams

I just finished my first ride on the 737-900, N806DN/3806, flight 201 ATL-DTW. I sat in 3C.

For the most part, the plane seemed fine to me. Nice job on the AVOD, power & audio sockets, etc. Pretty cool that the lights around the sockets below the screen seem to sense your hand approaching, and light up.

But everything said above about the seat back when reclined is true. I don't know whether the seat just reclines too far, or if the angle is different, but when the passenger in front has his seat reclined, this is anything but a "First Class" experience. The screen is indeed at an uncomfortable angle, viewable or not, and I found it impossible to put my laptop screen in the preferred position. Note that my laptop is on the small-ish side, 8-1/2 x 11 inches when the lid is closed. A larger laptop would be impossible to use with the seat in front reclined.

Something should be done to fix this - either increase the pitch, or redesign the seat back to reduce the impact on the passenger behind.