Ciao, USA | Delta One and AA Business class to Rome, Florence and Cinque Terre
Jun 12, 2017, 9:37 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Kansas City, MO
Programs: AA Plat, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold
Posts: 19
Ciao, USA | Delta One and AA Business class to Rome, Florence and Cinque Terre
BACKGROUND: With the digital ink still drying from finishing my first trip report comes another contribution to this community. Right before leaving for our trip to Asia last fall, my wife and I were discussing where would be next on her list for travel. Her heart was set on the Mediterranean, specifically Italy.
BOOKING: Eager to find the best deal possible, I began searching for some award space to travel to Italy around the Memorial Day holiday. Fortunately, since I was booking far enough out, Delta had several award seats available from Kansas City to Atlanta to Rome. After parting with 70,000 SkyMiles and $5.60 per person, we had secured our Delta One tickets to Rome. I wasn't planning to book a return flight immediately, instead waiting to decide if I would want to fly Delta back or return on a separate carrier.
About two months after booking, I found a good deal on American Airlines open jaw tickets through Flyertalk’s own Mileage Run forum. The ticket I ended up booking would take us from Rome to New York’s JFK and we would have a return ticket from JFK to Paris in December, which may just be thrown away. Each ticket cost $1,095, which would have been a great deal for a one-way economy ticket, making it a tremendous deal for business class.
Our one-way tickets from JFK to Kansas City (via Chicago) were booked about two months out and we paid $332 apiece for economy. During booking I applied several of my 500-mile upgrades in the hope of getting moved to first class.
In this report I’ll be reviewing (or al least showing pictures from):
Delta First Class - 757-200
Delta One - A330
Boscolo Exedra Rome
Hilton Rome Airport
American Airlines Business Class - 772 retrofit
Also to come are plenty of photos from Rome, Florence and Cinque Terre - one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen.
Stay tuned!
BOOKING: Eager to find the best deal possible, I began searching for some award space to travel to Italy around the Memorial Day holiday. Fortunately, since I was booking far enough out, Delta had several award seats available from Kansas City to Atlanta to Rome. After parting with 70,000 SkyMiles and $5.60 per person, we had secured our Delta One tickets to Rome. I wasn't planning to book a return flight immediately, instead waiting to decide if I would want to fly Delta back or return on a separate carrier.
About two months after booking, I found a good deal on American Airlines open jaw tickets through Flyertalk’s own Mileage Run forum. The ticket I ended up booking would take us from Rome to New York’s JFK and we would have a return ticket from JFK to Paris in December, which may just be thrown away. Each ticket cost $1,095, which would have been a great deal for a one-way economy ticket, making it a tremendous deal for business class.
Our one-way tickets from JFK to Kansas City (via Chicago) were booked about two months out and we paid $332 apiece for economy. During booking I applied several of my 500-mile upgrades in the hope of getting moved to first class.
In this report I’ll be reviewing (or al least showing pictures from):
Delta First Class - 757-200
Delta One - A330
Boscolo Exedra Rome
Hilton Rome Airport
American Airlines Business Class - 772 retrofit
Also to come are plenty of photos from Rome, Florence and Cinque Terre - one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen.
Stay tuned!
Last edited by mccluresonthemap; Jun 16, 2017 at 6:51 pm
Jun 13, 2017, 9:35 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Kansas City, MO
Programs: AA Plat, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold
Posts: 19
MCI -> ATL in Delta First Class
I've got a quite a few pictures to share from our flights, so I'm going to split the two legs of the trip into their own sections. Feel free to skip if you're not interested in hearing the fine details of Delta's domestic first class. 
DL 1250
MCI -> ATL
Miles: 750 miles
Seat: 3A
757-200
We arrived at the Kansas City airport about 35 minutes before our flight left. As described earlier, Kansas City’s airport is extremely easy to get through. We dropped our bags with the Skycap and were through security within 5 minutes of arriving at the terminal. Since we had showed up so late, the flight had already started boarding, so we made our way to the front of the line and boarded through door L2 on the 757-200.
After turning left and heading into the first class cabin, we took our seats and were immediately greeted by the flight attendant working the forward cabin. As we settled in, she greeted me for being a Silver Medallion (LOL), but I was surprised that even my lowly status gained some acknowledgement from the flight crew. She offered us a pre-departure beverage, and we were able to sneak in two quick gin and tonics before our flight took off.
Waiting at our seats were a bottle of Dasani water, a blanket and a thin pillow. These wouldn’t be of any use to us on this flight, but it’s nice they appear to care about helping keep passengers comfortable. The seats on the 757-200 measure 21 inches wide, but seem even larger when you sit down. Our plane for this flight was Delta’s 75G, which offers few creature comforts such as personal televisions, but was just fine for the 90 minute jump to Atlanta.
Our flight from Kansas City to Atlanta left from Gate 57 in Terminal B at 1:56 p.m., which was 9 minutes ahead of our 2:05 p.m. scheduled departure.
Just a few minutes later, we turned right onto runway 1L and began our trip to Atlanta.
About 30 minutes after takeoff, the flight attendants came through taking drink orders and offering snacks from the basket. I went with some Oberto beef jerky, a Biscoff cookie and a gin and tonic. The cabin crew was very attentive, making sure I stayed adequately hydrated with Bombay Sapphire.
It wasn’t long before we were making our descent into Atlanta, along with a number of other planes.
We touched down on runway 26R at Hartsfield-Jackson International at 4:31 p.m., a whopping 25 minutes early. Once on the ground, we taxied around the taxiway Victor on the west side of the airport, which is a half circle that gives you an interesting look at runway 8R/26L. As we taxied by, I was able to grab the below picture:
After a 9-minute taxi, we pulled up to gate E8 next to a Delta A330. We grabbed our stuff and headed into the airport for a brief layover before our flight to Rome.
Thanks for reading!
DL 1250
MCI -> ATL
Miles: 750 miles
Seat: 3A
757-200
We arrived at the Kansas City airport about 35 minutes before our flight left. As described earlier, Kansas City’s airport is extremely easy to get through. We dropped our bags with the Skycap and were through security within 5 minutes of arriving at the terminal. Since we had showed up so late, the flight had already started boarding, so we made our way to the front of the line and boarded through door L2 on the 757-200.
After turning left and heading into the first class cabin, we took our seats and were immediately greeted by the flight attendant working the forward cabin. As we settled in, she greeted me for being a Silver Medallion (LOL), but I was surprised that even my lowly status gained some acknowledgement from the flight crew. She offered us a pre-departure beverage, and we were able to sneak in two quick gin and tonics before our flight took off.
Waiting at our seats were a bottle of Dasani water, a blanket and a thin pillow. These wouldn’t be of any use to us on this flight, but it’s nice they appear to care about helping keep passengers comfortable. The seats on the 757-200 measure 21 inches wide, but seem even larger when you sit down. Our plane for this flight was Delta’s 75G, which offers few creature comforts such as personal televisions, but was just fine for the 90 minute jump to Atlanta.
Our flight from Kansas City to Atlanta left from Gate 57 in Terminal B at 1:56 p.m., which was 9 minutes ahead of our 2:05 p.m. scheduled departure.
Just a few minutes later, we turned right onto runway 1L and began our trip to Atlanta.
About 30 minutes after takeoff, the flight attendants came through taking drink orders and offering snacks from the basket. I went with some Oberto beef jerky, a Biscoff cookie and a gin and tonic. The cabin crew was very attentive, making sure I stayed adequately hydrated with Bombay Sapphire.
It wasn’t long before we were making our descent into Atlanta, along with a number of other planes.
We touched down on runway 26R at Hartsfield-Jackson International at 4:31 p.m., a whopping 25 minutes early. Once on the ground, we taxied around the taxiway Victor on the west side of the airport, which is a half circle that gives you an interesting look at runway 8R/26L. As we taxied by, I was able to grab the below picture:
After a 9-minute taxi, we pulled up to gate E8 next to a Delta A330. We grabbed our stuff and headed into the airport for a brief layover before our flight to Rome.
Thanks for reading!
Jun 15, 2017, 10:12 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Kansas City, MO
Programs: AA Plat, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold
Posts: 19
I appreciate the comment, zip10001. Hope you enjoy what is to come!
Thank you, Madone59. Future posts ahead!
Good catch, Chadg! I meant to update the Booking section and then completely spaced on it. After booking the MCI-MSP-FCO leg, the MSP-FCO nonstop was cancelled, which resulted in us changing our flights (for free) to MCI-ATL-FCO. This resulted in a tighter connection and a slightly different arrival time, but the flight length between Atlanta and Rome was preferential due to it being a little longer, which allowed us some more time to rest. I'll update the Booking section to eliminate the confusion.
Jun 16, 2017, 6:49 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Kansas City, MO
Programs: AA Plat, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold
Posts: 19
ATL -> FCO on Delta One
After arriving at the airport so early, it turned out we had quite a bit of time between our flights, so we headed to one of Hartsfield-Jackson's hot spots: One Flew South. Located smack dab in the middle of Terminal E, it's a good location for people like us who were looking for a quick snack before our flight. OFS had a good beer selection, and we grabbed a local IPA from Scofflaw Brewery Co, the Basement IPA. Good flavor and very refreshing! For the food, we split the "OFS" Dirty South. Open-faced meatloaf sandwich with pimento cheese, bacon, a fried egg - all the goodies.
Delicious! Not sure if the rest of the menu holds up to this, but I plan on returning to do some further research.
Now to the flight...
DL 64
ATL -> FCO
Miles: 5,116 miles
Seat: 5A
330-300
Our flight was leaving from the F terminal, which serves as Atlanta's defacto international terminal. Expect some higher end stores, Porsches as random displays and warnings about Zika. Otherwise, it's a standard terminal. To get to the terminal you take an underground train that moves between the various terminals. They run every few minutes and it takes about 30 seconds to move from one terminal to the next.
We headed to the gate to find a whole herd of gate lice anxiously waiting for Zone 8 to board. I snapped a quick picture of some of our plane (they always seem to be hidden from good photo opportunities).
With our ZONE PREM boarding passes, we cut to the front of the line and made our way down the jet bridge.
We were greeted at Door L2 by a flight attendant, who directed us down the left aisle to the seats 4A and 5A, which are two window seats.
Awaiting at the seat were some headphones that I didn't even bother to open since I have my own Bose QC25 headphones. Additionally, there was a bottle of Dasani water, along with a Tumi-branded amenity kit. These kits are gender neutral and feature a useful set of contents for the flight. (Photos from when I returned to Kansas City.) Also at the seat were the pillow and bedding and the flight's menu.
Back to the seat. Delta's A330s feature a reverse herringbone seat, similar to what you'd find on a number of carriers. However, the bones of this seat feel a little old, and you can definitely notice the entertainment controller and IFE screen are dated. However, the seats on the plane have recently been reskinned with the Delta One checkered pattern and look much sharper than the old BusinessElite seats. After settling in at our seats, we were offered a choice of welcome drink - champagne, water or orange juice. I opted for the champagne and took an also-offered New York Times.
Delta features Westin Heavenly bedding, which includes a large pillow and comfortable duvet. Additionally, Delta has individual air vents on their planes, allowing you to stay cool under the sheets, which is one of my biggest complaints about foreign carriers. Unfortunately I didn't document this, so shame on me for that.
Time to go! We taxied out and rolled past two other planes heading east that night; an Air France 777 and a Virgin Atlantic A330.
The taxi took about 17 minutes and eventually arrived at Runway 27R, where we almost instantly began our takeoff roll.
About 20 minutes after takeoff, the flight attendants were up and moving about the cabin. They first came through and brought hot towels and took orders for the meals on the evening's flight.
The menu read as follows:
I ordered the braised short rib with rapini, along with a gin and tonic. The meal service began about 45 minutes into the flight, with a ramekin of warm nuts and my drink arriving first.
Next came the trio of starters, the Spring Pea and Mint soup, Pickled Gulf White Shrimp and Three Bean salad. All were tasty, and it was nice to get a variety from the starters, rather than just get one thing and have a 100 percent chance of not liking it.
Next up was the short rib. This was an absolutely phenomenal meal. It made me forget I was on a plane it tasted so good. Good texture, flavor and a perfectly sized portion.
After dinner was cleared, the flight attendants passed through the cabin with several desert options. I opted for an ice cream sundae and another drink.
After the meal service was wrapped up, I was ready for bed. Unfortunately for those still reading, I failed to very thoroughly document the bed, which I attribute to the gin and tonics. But here's a picture of the bed without any sheets.
Night shot from 35,000 feet.
Woke up after a fairly restful 5 hours of sleep and enjoyed watching the airshow for a little while.
The flight attendants began coming through the cabin about an hour before landing offering breakfast to those who were just waking up. I choose the Gruyere and Leek omelette, which was served with some fruit. I don't know if it looks appealing in the picture, because it looks fine to me now, but when it was placed in front of me, I didn't seem hungry anymore. I ate the fruit and a couple bites of the sausage, but it wasn't for me.
By the time I finished moving the food around my plate, we had started our descent into Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport. The views outside were gorgeous.
We landed in Rome at 10:05 a.m., another early arrival by 25 minutes. Couple shots of the plane after deboarding.
Delta One's seat and service on the A330 is a great way to head across the Atlantic. Our flight attendants were attentive, quick to refill drinks and seemed like they genuinely enjoyed their work. The flight was smooth and the lie-flat seats allow you to get some rest on the way. Although breakfast wasn't very appealing to me, the dinner service was memorable in a positive way! I look forward to flying Delta's top class again, hopefully on one of their future A350 routes.
Thanks for reading!
Delicious! Not sure if the rest of the menu holds up to this, but I plan on returning to do some further research.
Now to the flight...
DL 64
ATL -> FCO
Miles: 5,116 miles
Seat: 5A
330-300
Our flight was leaving from the F terminal, which serves as Atlanta's defacto international terminal. Expect some higher end stores, Porsches as random displays and warnings about Zika. Otherwise, it's a standard terminal. To get to the terminal you take an underground train that moves between the various terminals. They run every few minutes and it takes about 30 seconds to move from one terminal to the next.
We headed to the gate to find a whole herd of gate lice anxiously waiting for Zone 8 to board. I snapped a quick picture of some of our plane (they always seem to be hidden from good photo opportunities).
With our ZONE PREM boarding passes, we cut to the front of the line and made our way down the jet bridge.
We were greeted at Door L2 by a flight attendant, who directed us down the left aisle to the seats 4A and 5A, which are two window seats.
Awaiting at the seat were some headphones that I didn't even bother to open since I have my own Bose QC25 headphones. Additionally, there was a bottle of Dasani water, along with a Tumi-branded amenity kit. These kits are gender neutral and feature a useful set of contents for the flight. (Photos from when I returned to Kansas City.) Also at the seat were the pillow and bedding and the flight's menu.
Back to the seat. Delta's A330s feature a reverse herringbone seat, similar to what you'd find on a number of carriers. However, the bones of this seat feel a little old, and you can definitely notice the entertainment controller and IFE screen are dated. However, the seats on the plane have recently been reskinned with the Delta One checkered pattern and look much sharper than the old BusinessElite seats. After settling in at our seats, we were offered a choice of welcome drink - champagne, water or orange juice. I opted for the champagne and took an also-offered New York Times.
Delta features Westin Heavenly bedding, which includes a large pillow and comfortable duvet. Additionally, Delta has individual air vents on their planes, allowing you to stay cool under the sheets, which is one of my biggest complaints about foreign carriers. Unfortunately I didn't document this, so shame on me for that.
Time to go! We taxied out and rolled past two other planes heading east that night; an Air France 777 and a Virgin Atlantic A330.
The taxi took about 17 minutes and eventually arrived at Runway 27R, where we almost instantly began our takeoff roll.
About 20 minutes after takeoff, the flight attendants were up and moving about the cabin. They first came through and brought hot towels and took orders for the meals on the evening's flight.
The menu read as follows:
I ordered the braised short rib with rapini, along with a gin and tonic. The meal service began about 45 minutes into the flight, with a ramekin of warm nuts and my drink arriving first.
Next came the trio of starters, the Spring Pea and Mint soup, Pickled Gulf White Shrimp and Three Bean salad. All were tasty, and it was nice to get a variety from the starters, rather than just get one thing and have a 100 percent chance of not liking it.
Next up was the short rib. This was an absolutely phenomenal meal. It made me forget I was on a plane it tasted so good. Good texture, flavor and a perfectly sized portion.
After dinner was cleared, the flight attendants passed through the cabin with several desert options. I opted for an ice cream sundae and another drink.
After the meal service was wrapped up, I was ready for bed. Unfortunately for those still reading, I failed to very thoroughly document the bed, which I attribute to the gin and tonics. But here's a picture of the bed without any sheets.
Night shot from 35,000 feet.
Woke up after a fairly restful 5 hours of sleep and enjoyed watching the airshow for a little while.
The flight attendants began coming through the cabin about an hour before landing offering breakfast to those who were just waking up. I choose the Gruyere and Leek omelette, which was served with some fruit. I don't know if it looks appealing in the picture, because it looks fine to me now, but when it was placed in front of me, I didn't seem hungry anymore. I ate the fruit and a couple bites of the sausage, but it wasn't for me.
By the time I finished moving the food around my plate, we had started our descent into Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport. The views outside were gorgeous.
We landed in Rome at 10:05 a.m., another early arrival by 25 minutes. Couple shots of the plane after deboarding.
Delta One's seat and service on the A330 is a great way to head across the Atlantic. Our flight attendants were attentive, quick to refill drinks and seemed like they genuinely enjoyed their work. The flight was smooth and the lie-flat seats allow you to get some rest on the way. Although breakfast wasn't very appealing to me, the dinner service was memorable in a positive way! I look forward to flying Delta's top class again, hopefully on one of their future A350 routes.
Thanks for reading!
Jun 19, 2017, 5:57 am
#13
Join Date: Feb 2016
Programs: Delta, AA-Gold, Hilton-Gold
Posts: 93
I appreciate the US report. Surprisingly not a lot of those around here. One thing I think the US based airlines lack in premium compared to other airlines is the Spirit selection. All of those liquor choices are very basic and cheap. I'm sorry but for a several thousand dollar ticket they can do more than Dewars for Scotch. Not to mention the Wine list isn't impressive either. Most bottles average around $20 bucks a piece.
Jun 20, 2017, 8:32 pm
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Programs: DL PM, MR Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 10,130
Great start to the TR - love One Flew South, it's our go-to on our (frequent) ATL routings ex-RDU!
Glad your braised rib turned out well - I was on ATL - LHR in the first half of May and thought it was a sure bet and it turned out to be quite bad.
Look forward to the rest - we're hoping to replicate this in many ways early next summer (including miles ex-US and hopefully a nice cheap J fare sale for the return)
They just added Macallan 12 (available as of June 1) so I think they've solved the scotch bit at least (and Woodford is certainly a nice, reasonable Bourbon for D1 IMO)
Glad your braised rib turned out well - I was on ATL - LHR in the first half of May and thought it was a sure bet and it turned out to be quite bad.
Look forward to the rest - we're hoping to replicate this in many ways early next summer (including miles ex-US and hopefully a nice cheap J fare sale for the return)
I appreciate the US report. Surprisingly not a lot of those around here. One thing I think the US based airlines lack in premium compared to other airlines is the Spirit selection. All of those liquor choices are very basic and cheap. I'm sorry but for a several thousand dollar ticket they can do more than Dewars for Scotch.