ziqch

Looking to get award ticket, business class from either DTW or JFK to LHR in June. Have option of going with VS or DL, wanted to know if any delta flight on these routes have business class suites? if not which one is better, delta or VS on this route?
Thanks

hi55us

Take a look at the seat maps and the aircraft type. You will find the new delta suites will have a special flag for "new flagship". As far as I know Delta is currently only operating the suites TATL on the DTW-AMS run. VS doesn't operate any suites and generally is considered a worse J product.

CarmenOM

ajeleonard

Only transatlantic routes with Delta One Suites are

ATL-CDG
MSP-CDG
DTW-AMS

bubbashow

While the seat is decent, the "suite" is more of a gimmick than anything. I wouldn't go out of my way for it

FlyBitcoin

The hard product on the DL 330's beats the VS hard product, but I prefer the soft product on VS. Both food and service.
I tend to take DL heading to Europe, since I will mostly be sleeping, and VS back to North America since I will be awake and can enjoy the service more.

The "suites" are really not much better than the existing 332 and 333 hard product on DL. And the A350 suites, with no air vents in the non-window seats, is a big negative.

Duke787

Believe DTW is still the 763 on this route while JFK and ATL are both A330s which are significantly better. The downside IMO is JFKLHR is way too short if you are looking for an experience and a decent sleep though you get Clubhouse access which is nice.

If having the experience onboard is the goal I'd route via ATL for maximum A330 time.

That said if doing award tickets I would take the cheapest D1 option since it's a relatively short flight over spending additional miles for a specific routing (unless you have unlimited miles).

3Cforme

I checked a week in June and found both a 767 and 332 on DTW-LHR.

ziqch

Thanks you all for help. Based on IND, I will probably go with Delta direct from DTW since VS from JFK does not seem to be better.

MSPeconomist

inthecloud

Unfortunately this is only partially true. "New Flagship" only applies to the A359..the refurbed 777ER/LR have suites but are not marked as flagship. The tool will show "Delta One Suites" in the D1 column, though.

Will be interesting to see what happens to that flagship designation when most of the widebody fleet is Suites/Premium Select. 777, 764, 359, 339....especially given the ridiculous premium they were charging for the suites when they first rolled out.

troyintn

If you are trying to use an award ticket avoid the hubs, DL has several direct LHR flights from east coast cities.

ND76

I've been on both Delta One and VS Upper Class within the past 12 months. Here's some comparisons:

Seat: On DL, I was on both the 767-300 (9 rows of D1) and 330-300. On VS, I was on the 330-300 with 1-1-1 seating. The seat on Delta is easier to operate and is a bit more comfortable overall, although on VS there is a mattress pad in addition to a covering. DL involves placing your lower legs and feet into a "footwell"; on VS, the seat is at roughly a 45 degree angle to the window, and your feet are open.

AVOD: DL generally has a better system with more programming choices than the "Vera" system on VS, although on our trip which involved ATL-MUC-ATL, the video touchscreens didn't work properly (and we were on different aircraft for each direction).

Food: DL's food was not very good; my wife was disgusted with what she was served in both directions on the MUC trip. My filet of beef on the return was as tender as a block of wood. On my VS trip LHR-JFK, my filet of beef was quite tender and delicious.

Beverages: Delta had both Woodford Reserve bourbon and Grey Goose vodka in miniatures. VS serves hard liquor in J from full bottles; its American whiskey was Gentleman Jack. It too serves Grey Goose. Delta's wines are supposedly hand picked by the Queen of Cuvees, the Princess of Plonk, the Master Sommelier herself, Andrea Robinson. VS claims to get its wine selections from London wine merchants Berry Bros. & Rudd (the firm on the label of Cutty Sark). I think both airlines were serving Lanson champagne. The best beverage I put in my mouth on either airline was the Port that Delta served eastbound ATL-MUC. Delta was also serving Bitburger beer westbound MUC-ATL. VS has London Pride in addition to Heineken and Tiger (Singaporean beer brewed by Heineken).

Bar: VS has a three seater bar at the rear of the J cabin, which I happen to enjoy. DL does not have this feature on its planes.

Flight Attendants: We were lucky enough to be served by great crews on both Delta and VS, so this was a wash.

Pre-flight lounges: The LHR Clubhouse is the best airline lounge to which I can get admitted; VS's clubhouses in JFK and IAD are nice, although not as expansive as LHR. DL is renovating the JFK T4 SkyClub, and the Sky Deck is closed to the public at the present time. As much as we like the ATL Concourse F SkyClub with Skydeck (which is open), the bar is basic and the food turns me off.

Post-flight lounge: Landside at LHR T3 there is the "Revivals" lounge which features English breakfasts and hot showers. I was there last month, and I really enjoyed it. There are showers in JFK Skyclubs in both T2 and T4.

Hope this helps.

CarmenOM

ijgordon

Yes, although I disagree on DL's food, I've had a handful of J flights in the last couple years and it's almost always been quite good catering. Also, the wine selection to LHR (and CDG) is better than other routes. E.g., the bubbly was Charles Heidesieck recently, IIRC.
I have upcoming VS flights (though on a 346 ) and I haven't flown them in about 10 years, so looking forward to refreshing my own comparative views.