alcatholic

Here is what I hope is a quick and interesting question for the Delta forum.

My wife and daughter (6 yrs old) are going to fly to LAX-SVO this August on Delta, Coach class. For the past 5 years we've been happy flying Coach on the non-stop LAX-SVO Aeroflot route using 767-300ER metal. But this year we are switching due to a $7000 Delta voucher courtesy of Citibank's ThankYou Network.

The immediate concern is convenience and comfort for my wife and daughter. They are not experienced travelers, outside of the nonstop LAX-SVO flights on SU.

I have found two itineraries for 8/17:

LAX-ATL-SVO
1:00 layover
777 and 767-300ER, respectively

and

LAX-JFK-SVO
1:20 layover
757 and 767-400ER, respectively

From a friend and searching on FlyerTalk it seems that ATL is preferable to JFK, with JFK being somewhat notorious for delays.

And from the Flyertalk thread on Delta's seat configurations, I know that all Delta 764ERs have inseat screens, while none of the 763ERs have the inseat screens. So, the 764ER seems to win.

Given the options, what would you choose? Should I look around to find an itinerary with a 764ER flying ATL-SVO on 8/17 +/-?

mersk862

I'd go with the 767-400 over the 767-300 out of sheer comfort - on a flight that long, the IFE does make a noticeable difference. Plus, it breaks up the trip a little bit more, which is something I look forward to on real long flights, especially in coach.

DLATL777

First, thanks for a well informed, well researched (well searched!) first thread. A big ^ to you sir.

Second, you seem to have hit the nail on the head. In coach, the 764 is preferable to a 763, internationally because, as you said, the 764 has in-seat screens.

Looking at your routing, the 777LR from LAX-ATL is going to be great, in-seat screens, etc. The 763 from ATL however, is the low point of these 2 itineraries. Being based in ATL, I don't think you guys really need to worry about delays being a DECIDING factor in your itinerary, unless of course the connection in JFK or ATL were to be much tighter then the other.

If it were me, I would chose the JFK option for no other reason then the equipment being used; the 764.

AndyTLe

I would take the 764 (for the reasons already mentioned) and a bit longer connection in JFK. There's always a chance of summer storms in ATL that could delay your arrival and make for a tight/missed conenction.

aeolos

I agree with taking the 764ER as well. Having PTVs in coach is always a big plus and its a newer plane with the 777-style interior. The 764 is my favorite trans-Atlantic plane because it has a nice cabin interior (sidewalls, ceiling, bins, etc) and the 2-3-2 seating in coach.

alcatholic

Thank you all for the advice and pointers.

It looks like everyone agrees that the 767-400ER is significantly better than the 767-300ER for tatl. Searching Delta.com for the weekend of 8/15 it looks like Delta only flies 763s on ATL-SVO, and only flies 764s on JFK-SVO. So JFK it is.

That decided the layover at JFK on either 8/15 or 8/17 is 1 hour 20 minutes. Is JFK easy enough to navigate or should my wife be prepared to deal with some stress and fast walking to make her connection?

Any pointers on dealing with JFK would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm reading up on the below thread, to get some pointers on how to deal with missed flights.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ied-teens.html

So, far I think I will try to the below. Hmm, what would a concierge do?

Sign up for SkyMiles in case that helps
moniter delta flight status to confirm gate information and relay to my wife
print out maps of JFK gates
print out Delta customer service numbers
print out Taxi and Hotel contact information
possibly reserve Hotel room beforehand, just in case
Repeat all of the above for return flight dates as well

But if anyone has Delta/JFK specific advice in case of missed TATL connection and they don't think I might dig up, I'd be much obliged.

Thank you!

DLATL777

Assuming your flights are relatively on-time, 1 hour and 20 minutes is more then enough time.