audidudi

DTW>ICN flights on the A350 begin on 11/16/17.
DTW>NRT flights on the A350 begin on 10/31/17.
DTW>PEK flights on the A350 begin on 01/17/18.
ATL>ICN flights on the A350 begin on 03/24/18.

FlyinStone

I'll be flying that LAX-SYD DL41 on a 'W' fare shortly. It was marketed as 'Delta Comfort+ (W)', and to locate the fare I had to play around a bit to find the SkyTeam flights with my connections upgraded to W as well, rather than just the DL41 leg. DL41 is flown on a Boeing 777-200LR link here:
https://www.seatguru.com/airlines/De..._777-200ER.php
From the Overview section 'features up to four inches of extra legroom and 50% more recline. The Delta Comfort+ offering also includes early boarding and complimentary beer, wine and spirits'. Guess I'll see if it was worth flying the DL branded flight for this leg instead of opting for the codeshare VA flight... Any advice on upgrade/change/stay?

ty97

Yep, while it is definitely misleading, it's not Delta's doings. Delta.com very clearly differentiates between the offerings. Google Flights (and perhaps other external sites) do not.

Often1

Rather than getting into petty arguments about what does and does not qualify as PE, it is always best to compare fares, hard product, and soft product.

Many people board intra-EU flights having purchased Business Class, only to find that all it means is the middle seat of a 3-3 row blocked with perhaps a larger salad or additional entree choice.

Rather than berating people for daring to think that international C+ is PE, the point is simply that C+ does not compare to many non-US carriers' PE product and that DL's soon to be product may do so.

bennos

It doesn't help that DL selected W as the Y+ fare class, when W is used by pretty much everyone else as PE. Sure, they're not violating any IATA rules, but it is confusing.

Grogs

I'm booked C+ on the same flight in November. I ended up flying in C+ from NRT-DTW in April due to an opup and I thought it was pretty decent. Still basically the same seat, but the extra legroom meant enough space to actually use the laptop. I thought the cabin was a little quieter than main coach and the FAs seemed to come through the cabin a bit more passing out water bottles and stuff than I remembered flying out in regular Y. I think alcohol is free for all cabins on international, so no improvement there. You might just be able to get a refill more often. You can decide if that's worth it to you. For me, it was about a $500 difference and I thought it was. If the difference becomes something like $2k when DL moves to true PE on international flights, then I'll probably have to move back to regular coach.

One thing I've noted on Google Flights is that although it will show this fare as 'premium economy', it lists the legroom as something like 35" (below average). I assume the average is referring to real premium economy. I'm flying on AF from ATL-CDG in true W in a couple of months. The pitch is listed as 38" on that one, although it doesn't seem like many people on SeatGuru have good things to say about those seats. It was actually cheaper that the lowest available Y fare which is the only reason my company agreed to let me book it.

BenA

Unfortunately, you'll get a much worse experience onboard the Delta flight than the Virgin Australia version.

Delta Comfort+, which is what they offer on the 777 right now, is merely ordinary economy with a few extra inches of legroom and a bit more recline - it's otherwise exactly the same seats. (The complimentary beer/wine/spirits doesn't matter internationally, as they are complimentary for everyone. You'll be served exactly the same drink options as other economy passengers.)

A Premium Economy fare on Virgin Australia gives you a totally different cabin of seating. You can expect 41" of legroom (8-9" more than on Delta), much wider seats, even more recline, and upgraded food. It's a way, way, way better experience.

If you are booked in W and have any way to change your booking from the DL to the VA flight, you absolutely should.

Keep in mind, though, that Delta often charges dramatically less for Comfort+ seating than they would for a true Premium Economy on a partner or on the A350 - even though both may book into "W" class. So before you panic, double check what the alternative on a VA flight would cost - it may be a totally different price that is much higher than what you paid for the lower quality, but cheaper, Delta option.

gooselee

Unless they have dramatically improved their hard product in the last couple years, I detect AF's W product design, which is basically a thin sliding cushion on top of hard plastic. It was bad enough that on the last leg of my trip with them, I asked to move back to a regular Y seat and the FA begrudgingly let me find one in the way back with only one other pax in the row.

That was the last time I flew AF W.

FlyinStone

Well, I even cleared an upgrade to Delta One, and the seats were sub-par. At this point everything about the trans-pacific flights on the DL 777 jets seems like a losing prospect... Totally flying the VA2 or similar next hop! Anyone else have similar experiences? Any recommendations?

bennos

Pretty much everything about the VA J experience is superior to the DL J experience, now that they've finished the refurbs.

Well, except where they made me move stuff between carry on bags at LAX check-in so they'd both be under the weight limit. (One was over by 0.5kg.) But I think that was just a new employee, since she also asked me for my visa to transit Australia.

And no Pre-√ if originating in LAX.

JSprague24

Saw the A350 seat map for the first time yesterday and I noticed Premium Economy has a 2-4-2 configuration instead of 3-3-3.

The two seats on the outside would be tempting.

fliesdelta

The two inner in the "4" column would not be, however. Unless maybe for a group/family of four traveling together.