humanoid94

I flew DL ORF-ATL-SFO RT in F. I was left with mixed feelings regarding the differences from NW and DL. On the ORF-ATL flight I enjoyed the fact that DL had unique drinks (i.e. the Mile High Mojito or whatever they called it), but I thought their snack basket left something to be desired relative to NW. (in fact, I am not sure their short hall snack basket is any different than what they serve in Y). My ATL-SFO flight, though, was pretty nice in that although it left after normal meal hours (around 9 pm, I believe), their snack service consisted of an actual sandwhich, salad, and brownie. Had I been on NW all they would have offered was the expanded snack basket.

(Coming back I was so sick that I was basically passed out the whole way)

orlandodlplat

Let me get this straight.

It's CO/NW policy not to upgrade DL passengers, and vice versa.

The gate agent was nice enough to honor your ST Elite Plus status and give you an upgrade.

And you're COMPLAINING? I'm sure you would have been much happier back in coach.

Delta serves meals in flights longer than 1500 miles. On all flights, first class passengers get a reasonably extensive snack basket and, of course, all the bloody marys you can drink.

ed1

That BWI-MEM just missed having a meal, by the following guidelines:

I'll skip the extra pitch on DL's M80s, M90s and 738s in F (NW's are at least 34"), and settle for higher % of F seats on NW which range from 10.7% on the 753 to 16.0% on the 9-30, especially as a SE (DL's 738 is 10.7%, M80 is 9.9% and M90 is 8.0%).

ed1

That was just an OP UP, given to a ST E+, rather than a DL non-elite.

Both DL and NW have their advantages and disadvantages in F (and Y, for that matter). I've only flown in F on DL on one ATL-TPA (part of the reward for taking a VDB) in a 763. Aircraft was newer than most of the NW aircraft I've flown and it had a nicer interior. I also liked the bottle of water and headset in the seat pocket (nice touch, even though I didn't use either) and the preflight drink in a glass. That said, especially as a SE, the % of F seats is more important to me, and I have a decent UG % on NW. Service in F has been great on both. Snack basket on NW (even on very short flights) was much better than the nuts/pretzels on my DL flight (no extensive snack basket on this flight).

clarence5ybr

There is a huge difference--in F you can take as much as you want, in Y, you get one item. The F basket also contains additional items--it used to be an identical selection until a few months ago, when DL started BOB meals in Y. At that time, Y snack basket choices were dropped from 5 to 3 (including the Sun Chips).

With regard to the OPs post, I was NW Elite for four years, and have been DL Medallion for about two years. I really don't see that big a difference overall between the average F service and comfort on the two airlines.

jacksafar

I just purchased an F ticket on DL to fly SEA-SLC-LAS-SLC-SEA in a few weekends. I usally fly on AS SEA-LAS-SEA but I decided I'd get like an extra 1k miles doing the SLC connection on DL.

I'm on 3- different 757 flights and one is an MD90. I have looked at SeatGuru and it seems much less helpful than the NW SeatGuru pages. I'm 6'6" and if it helps I usually pick 1 A/B on a NW 753, 2 C/D on a NW 752, and 1 ABCD on anything else domestic because I like the legroom with no seat reclining on my long legs. I'm thinking I'm still better off in row one on DL, any tips?

I'm interested in seeing the difference on DL. I'm solely usually an NW/AS guy. So I'm anxious to check it out. PM me if you have any tips.

If any of you fly DL

ed1

All of the DL 757s have at least the same pitch in F (usually about an inch more) as NW's 753s, 755s, and 756s and the M90 has the same pitch as the NW 753/755/756s. The limited leg room bulkhead seat warnings are also found on the NW 753 1C/D seats and 755/756 1 A/B seats, the 320 1 A/B/C/D seats have the same warning and have 1" less pitch than the M90, 9-40/50 1 A/B/C/D and the 9-30 B/C seats have the same warning and have at least 1" less pitch than the M90. NW's 9-30 1 A/B and 319 1 A/B/C/D show as having a cutout for the bulkhead seats. Basically I think the warnings are there when there's no cutout and no seat in front with that extra space. I'm only 5'7'' and almost always change to 1A when UGed via EUA.

Perhaps some of the taller FTers with F seating experiences on DL can be a little more specific, but on paper the bulkhead DL seats in F look about the same or better than on NW.

socrates

Just to clarify my 508 mile ATL-CHS is a short flight...and again IFE isn't a GPS readout on the LCD screens in my opinion, if they wanted to provide a quality IFE product they could have made an annoucement similar to CO's

DL Platinum

I appreciate your concerns, I am 6'4" and find coach unbearably uncomfortable! As to your specific questions, I travel on both NW and DL holding platinum status on both for the past 5 years. IMHO, some NW FC bulkhead seats can be quite comfortable for a tall person as you have found, but be careful with the seatguru comments. Sometimes that "cutout" can be deep enough for a carryon, other times (the 319 I think) it is just a inch or two deep.

I would NEVER recommend a DL FC bulkhead seat on any of their aircraft unless it is a Business Elite plane (767 - 777). The only upside is no -one to lay their seat into you, but legroom is restricted at the bulkhead. Personally, (here come the flames) I prefer DL to NW, especially after both have come out of bankruptcy.

DL First Class Domestic:
+Leather seats, with a good amount of padding
+Decent pitch (same for NW)
+In flight entertainment, some with in seat video and tv (rolling out through the fleet slowly)
+Specialty drinks
+Crew attitude and service is just better. Maybe it's becuase I have 2 million miler status, but I see an attitude from the crew and the GA's that makes me feel appreciated. They actually smile!
+Flight information at the gate works and is very informative
-Battlefield upgrades (DL is selling more FC and upgrades are getting quite competitive)
-Meal policy in FC of only greater than 1450 miles
+if you have fly coach you will atleast get a snack and audio / video entertainment
+8 oz bottles of water in FC and coach

NW First Class Domestic
+As a PM almost always upgraded (greater percentage of FC seats)
+If not upgraded, 1000 point bonus
-cloth seats, and very unsupportive, especially in the DC 9 series
-no entertainment domestically, period.
-grouchy, unfriendly, and generally over worked flight and gate attendents
-flight information at the airport is always suspect
-If you fly coach (yuck) you a beverage and thats it.

Yes, I do beleive the DL product to be better than NW, and not by a small amount. DL came out of bankruptcy with a "can do" attitude and it shows. From the front counter, to the gate agents, to the flight attendants and the front cabin crew, they smile, interact with customers, and actually thank them for flying "their" airline. I just haven't seen the same from the entire team at NW. Got back from AMS on sunday, flying NW in WBC, and while the seat was wonderful, I was totally underwhelmed by the service.

Frankly, if NW does not address it's workforce problems it will not make it in this new world of air service - but I digress from the OP. Try DL, you might like it.

orlandodlplat

I would add that the bulkheads on the non-IFE 757s (those with only 6 rows of F) and the domestic 763s aren't THAT bad.

On the former-Song 757s (with 7 rows of F), stay far away from the bulkhead. Ditto with the M88 and M90.

Cargojon

I've flown BWI-MEM in a CRJ on NW, so y'all count your blessings.

DCAflyer81

This isn't surprising to me. NW 1189 (DTW-LAS, 7:37pm departure) does not serve dinner either. It's silly, especially with many people having connected from ~5pm departures from the east coast, but that's the situation.

socrates

there is worse...I've done ORF<->IAH on a ERJ....nasty nasty nasty flight, I'd like to see Larry take that flight (but in his defense he admits the seats are bad and he's working on replacing them)

gsupstate

I know this is a little OT (okay, more than a little! ), but I find Coach on DL to be far superior to NW. Can you say, "free snacks"? I know it's not a huge deal, but that, and the general appearance of the a/c interiors, along with some form of IFE on most flights makes DL a nicer ride in Coach.

I say this as someone who used to fly NW almost exclusively, but am now flying DL more, so I've noticed some things. Not trying to start anything!!

hnewman

I was drawing a comparison between the two airlines. I am very greatful that DL upgraded me. VERY. No complaints. But I was comparing the two experiences given the potential merger.