Flying Delta for the first time in 28 years.
Oct 26, 2019, 6:51 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Surrey, UK
Programs: BA Gold, *A Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 654
Flying Delta for the first time in 28 years.
The next part of my trip would see me head back to New York on Delta. This would nee my first time flying with them since 1991, so well overdue another couple of flights with them. As usual, the pics that accompany this report can be seen here:
https://www.inflightwithjames.com/po...icago-detroit/
With an 06:15 alarm set, this would be the earliest start of the trip. Although I was still waking up reasonably early anyway, so wasn’t too painful!
I was on a train to O’Hare by 7am, arriving around 40 mins later.
As is the norm on this trip, I had checked in online so bypassed the check in desks.
I passed through security, and for the first time ever I was asked (or more specifically told) to take all food out of my bag. That was a new one to me.
As my SkyTeam status is with Delta, this meant no lounge access for me today. Instead I took a walk around the terminal, although as I’d not stuck to my two hour rule I didn’t have too long to kill.
Boarding
Boarding wasn’t quite as punctual as with American Airlines, although it was only a minute or two later than advertised.
Once on board, the crew were pretty quick in taking drink orders.
The boarding process was slowed down a little by the age old problem if there not being enough room for everyone’s carry on bags. It seemed to figure itself out quickly enough however.
Departure
Pushback came a few minutes ahead of schedule. We made a pretty slow taxi over to the active before making a pretty fast takeoff.
Almost straight after departure, there was a pretty sharp turn to the left.
Today’s routing would take us to the North, before heading towards Detroit.
Onboard service
The service began shortly after departure. As this was a shorter flight, there wasn’t any meal. Just the snack basket. Compared with American Airlines, there was a pretty small selection. Cheese crackers, biscoff cookies and a cereal bar.
Once the initial run was completed, the crew member serving the First cabin wasn’t seen again until clearing up for landing.
Entertainment
There were no personal screens fitted to this aircraft. Instead, entertainment was provided by streaming to your device.
WiFi was also provided. Free messaging is provided. I did find the service a little patchy though, so couldn’t actually see the prices.
Arrival
As this was one of the shorter flights I’d be taking on this trip, descent started around 30 minutes after departure. As it was a little cloudy, there wasn’t too much to be seen on approach.
We touched down and made the short journey over to the terminal. Arrival was made just under ten minutes ahead of schedule.
My thoughts
I must admit, I wasn’t overly blown away with this short flight. I had heard so many good things about Delta over the years, but in all honesty, they didn’t seem all that much different to American. Don't get me wrong, they were far from awful - they just weren't as great as I was expecting.
The crew member serving the first cabin was friendly enough though, and for the first time on this trip I actually had a flight not only leave but also arrive on time too.
https://www.inflightwithjames.com/po...icago-detroit/
With an 06:15 alarm set, this would be the earliest start of the trip. Although I was still waking up reasonably early anyway, so wasn’t too painful!
I was on a train to O’Hare by 7am, arriving around 40 mins later.
As is the norm on this trip, I had checked in online so bypassed the check in desks.
I passed through security, and for the first time ever I was asked (or more specifically told) to take all food out of my bag. That was a new one to me.
As my SkyTeam status is with Delta, this meant no lounge access for me today. Instead I took a walk around the terminal, although as I’d not stuck to my two hour rule I didn’t have too long to kill.
Boarding
Boarding wasn’t quite as punctual as with American Airlines, although it was only a minute or two later than advertised.
Once on board, the crew were pretty quick in taking drink orders.
The boarding process was slowed down a little by the age old problem if there not being enough room for everyone’s carry on bags. It seemed to figure itself out quickly enough however.
Departure
Pushback came a few minutes ahead of schedule. We made a pretty slow taxi over to the active before making a pretty fast takeoff.
Almost straight after departure, there was a pretty sharp turn to the left.
Today’s routing would take us to the North, before heading towards Detroit.
Onboard service
The service began shortly after departure. As this was a shorter flight, there wasn’t any meal. Just the snack basket. Compared with American Airlines, there was a pretty small selection. Cheese crackers, biscoff cookies and a cereal bar.
Once the initial run was completed, the crew member serving the First cabin wasn’t seen again until clearing up for landing.
Entertainment
There were no personal screens fitted to this aircraft. Instead, entertainment was provided by streaming to your device.
WiFi was also provided. Free messaging is provided. I did find the service a little patchy though, so couldn’t actually see the prices.
Arrival
As this was one of the shorter flights I’d be taking on this trip, descent started around 30 minutes after departure. As it was a little cloudy, there wasn’t too much to be seen on approach.
We touched down and made the short journey over to the terminal. Arrival was made just under ten minutes ahead of schedule.
My thoughts
I must admit, I wasn’t overly blown away with this short flight. I had heard so many good things about Delta over the years, but in all honesty, they didn’t seem all that much different to American. Don't get me wrong, they were far from awful - they just weren't as great as I was expecting.
The crew member serving the first cabin was friendly enough though, and for the first time on this trip I actually had a flight not only leave but also arrive on time too.
Oct 29, 2019, 6:45 am
#2
Join Date: Oct 2019
Programs: Flying Blue, Air Points, Executive Club
Posts: 1
Thanks for your report on this short Delta flight. Those B717s are certainly pretty rare now in Europe so nice catch. I remember seeing a lot of AirTran 717s at ATL before they came to Delta and it was always a nice sight.
Can I give some honest feedback on this one and the others you are publishing? Lots of people seem to be reading them but not leaving any comments.
What if you added some context to your trips to give readers more background?
You say this is the first Delta flight in 28 years you've taken. Do you remember what the last Delta flight you took was like? Was it a domestic flight or an international? Was it good or bad? What aircraft did you fly on back then? Why did you pick Delta for this flight this time round - because of what you'd heard or read about Delta today?
You say you were expecting Delta to be great, but they weren't on this flight. Maybe describe what you were expecting that would have made this short flight a great flight for you and what Delta did or didn't do and could have done better? How did this flight compare to say, a London - Edinburgh if the time was about the same? Was it a more friendly crew or more food options that compared with your AA flights that would have made it great? Would any other US legacy carrier have offered a different or better service on a flight of that length do you think? How did it compare to short flights you've taken in Europe or elsewhere?
You say the crew serving F wasn't seen again until landing but then conclude that the crew member serving the F cabin was nice enough - so which was it? Did the crew in your part of the aircraft do a good job overall? What made them nice enough? Did you have any interaction with the crew? Could he/she have been more visible?
How did you rate your first B717 flight overall? Was the aircraft cabin comfortable, quiet and spacious? How did it compare to other T-tail jets you may have flown? Was the cabin clean and look well maintained?
People can relate more to your stories if you give them some context. But hey that's just my view, so feel free to disregard!
Can I give some honest feedback on this one and the others you are publishing? Lots of people seem to be reading them but not leaving any comments.
What if you added some context to your trips to give readers more background?
You say this is the first Delta flight in 28 years you've taken. Do you remember what the last Delta flight you took was like? Was it a domestic flight or an international? Was it good or bad? What aircraft did you fly on back then? Why did you pick Delta for this flight this time round - because of what you'd heard or read about Delta today?
You say you were expecting Delta to be great, but they weren't on this flight. Maybe describe what you were expecting that would have made this short flight a great flight for you and what Delta did or didn't do and could have done better? How did this flight compare to say, a London - Edinburgh if the time was about the same? Was it a more friendly crew or more food options that compared with your AA flights that would have made it great? Would any other US legacy carrier have offered a different or better service on a flight of that length do you think? How did it compare to short flights you've taken in Europe or elsewhere?
You say the crew serving F wasn't seen again until landing but then conclude that the crew member serving the F cabin was nice enough - so which was it? Did the crew in your part of the aircraft do a good job overall? What made them nice enough? Did you have any interaction with the crew? Could he/she have been more visible?
How did you rate your first B717 flight overall? Was the aircraft cabin comfortable, quiet and spacious? How did it compare to other T-tail jets you may have flown? Was the cabin clean and look well maintained?
People can relate more to your stories if you give them some context. But hey that's just my view, so feel free to disregard!
Oct 30, 2019, 1:30 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Surrey, UK
Programs: BA Gold, *A Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 654
Thanks for your report on this short Delta flight. Those B717s are certainly pretty rare now in Europe so nice catch. I remember seeing a lot of AirTran 717s at ATL before they came to Delta and it was always a nice sight.
Can I give some honest feedback on this one and the others you are publishing? Lots of people seem to be reading them but not leaving any comments.
What if you added some context to your trips to give readers more background?
You say this is the first Delta flight in 28 years you've taken. Do you remember what the last Delta flight you took was like? Was it a domestic flight or an international? Was it good or bad? What aircraft did you fly on back then? Why did you pick Delta for this flight this time round - because of what you'd heard or read about Delta today?
You say you were expecting Delta to be great, but they weren't on this flight. Maybe describe what you were expecting that would have made this short flight a great flight for you and what Delta did or didn't do and could have done better? How did this flight compare to say, a London - Edinburgh if the time was about the same? Was it a more friendly crew or more food options that compared with your AA flights that would have made it great? Would any other US legacy carrier have offered a different or better service on a flight of that length do you think? How did it compare to short flights you've taken in Europe or elsewhere?
You say the crew serving F wasn't seen again until landing but then conclude that the crew member serving the F cabin was nice enough - so which was it? Did the crew in your part of the aircraft do a good job overall? What made them nice enough? Did you have any interaction with the crew? Could he/she have been more visible?
How did you rate your first B717 flight overall? Was the aircraft cabin comfortable, quiet and spacious? How did it compare to other T-tail jets you may have flown? Was the cabin clean and look well maintained?
People can relate more to your stories if you give them some context. But hey that's just my view, so feel free to disregard!
Can I give some honest feedback on this one and the others you are publishing? Lots of people seem to be reading them but not leaving any comments.
What if you added some context to your trips to give readers more background?
You say this is the first Delta flight in 28 years you've taken. Do you remember what the last Delta flight you took was like? Was it a domestic flight or an international? Was it good or bad? What aircraft did you fly on back then? Why did you pick Delta for this flight this time round - because of what you'd heard or read about Delta today?
You say you were expecting Delta to be great, but they weren't on this flight. Maybe describe what you were expecting that would have made this short flight a great flight for you and what Delta did or didn't do and could have done better? How did this flight compare to say, a London - Edinburgh if the time was about the same? Was it a more friendly crew or more food options that compared with your AA flights that would have made it great? Would any other US legacy carrier have offered a different or better service on a flight of that length do you think? How did it compare to short flights you've taken in Europe or elsewhere?
You say the crew serving F wasn't seen again until landing but then conclude that the crew member serving the F cabin was nice enough - so which was it? Did the crew in your part of the aircraft do a good job overall? What made them nice enough? Did you have any interaction with the crew? Could he/she have been more visible?
How did you rate your first B717 flight overall? Was the aircraft cabin comfortable, quiet and spacious? How did it compare to other T-tail jets you may have flown? Was the cabin clean and look well maintained?
People can relate more to your stories if you give them some context. But hey that's just my view, so feel free to disregard!
Thanks for the constructive criticism! I will take the points you make on board and bare them in mind for the future.
Oct 30, 2019, 9:33 am
#4
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: BAEC Gold, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Titanium, UA Gold (*G), DL Silver, Makers Mark Ambassador
Posts: 4,642
Oct 30, 2019, 2:44 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: LAX and LHR. UA lifetime Gold 1.9MM 1K , DL Gold Medallion, HHonors Gold, Marriott Gold, Avis President's Club
Posts: 3,592
You seem to have come out of it OK. My last flight on DL (I'm taking several more in January) was 32 years ago. My only memory is that they didn't put my bag on the plane. I had to sit in a Crown Room (remember those?) in Houston to wait for it to arrive on the next flight in. I'm hoping that January will be different!