For those that follow me, you know that Delta hassurprisedme in the past with Porsche rides. Between the operational record, excellent customer service, and surprises like this, it should come as no surprise why I pick Delta consistently!
This weekend I had flown to Cedar Rapids, IA to attend a memorial service for a good friend and coworker of mine (James West). After two days of waking up at 4 AM for flights, I was running on fumes when I landed in Atlanta on my way to Raleigh (especially after arriving at the gate just in time to board the flight to Atlanta). My girlfriend and I were very pleasantly surprised to see Kevin of Delta Elite Services waiting for me at the door. He was an incredibly engaging and kept everyone in the car laughing for our drive… no small task given we had all been awake from far too early!
He walked us to the SkyClub in our next concourse and provided us with these brochures as well as his business card (not pictured for privacy reasons). I’ve actually never seen these brochures before, so it was twice as cool for me in that regard. Though the reason for the trip was somber, this was definitely a very welcome surprise. Thanks, Kevin!
This week I had the opportunity to give the new Alessi serviceware a whirl, and I am very much a fan. The napkin ring went from being a paper hoop to a nice hexagonal metal ring, and the mugs and glasses are markedly nicer than before.
Another nice touch was that the old salt and pepper shakers (with what appeared to be tape on top to keep the contents in) have been replaced by resealable ones with a modern look that aligns with the rest of the serviceware.
Overall, I quite liked my experience and I look forward to using it in the future!
Salmon and veggies
Quality silverware!Resealable salt and pepper shakers
Alaska Airlines released their plan for Virgin America on their blog, and while a lot of changes are promising, Virgin’s amazing First Class hard product will be missed.
There was confirmation that you can use your Alaska Airlines companion certificate on Virgin America routes, which is a surprisingly smooth integration of systems (not going to lie… I was not expecting it to go that well between their IT departments!). I have this card and I’m looking forward to taking advantage of it!
Massive LAX changes with Delta moving from T5 and T6 to T2 and T3, displacing pretty much everyone else. I usually avoid LAX simply because I spend more time on the tarmac than in the SkyClub, but this could make things interesting.
The Centurion Lounge in SEA-TAC was undergoing expansion earlier this year, and it has finally completed! I’ve been known to fly through there from time to time and I am very excited to go back.
One of the biggest changes to Delta was announced by René – you can now be upgraded even after boarding. It’s only a pilot program right now, but I truly hope it will be adopted system-wide.
For some travel I have coming up, I noticed that my usual plane from JFK to San Diego was replaced with an internationally configured Boeing 757-200. Though this means there are substantially fewer seats in First Class (down to 16 from 20 to 26 depending on configuration), there is an opportunity to fly Delta One domestically without any upgrade certificates!
To be safe I didn’t miss out on this opportunity, I went ahead and called Delta to apply a Regional Upgrade Certificate to my reservation. As soon as I was off the phone, I noticed that my reservation now had a note indicating I was wait-listed for my upgrade (since no upgrade space had cleared yet). I wasn’t worried, though, as using a Regional Upgrade Certificate moves you to the top of the list so you are only competing with others that are using them, or those who are willing to pay to upgrade.
History
Delta first introduced the lie-flat seat configuration for the Boeing 757-200 four years ago. Interestingly enough, my plane had the same BusinessElite branding as from all those years ago. Some things never change, eh? 😉
B757 Delta One Cabin
As you can see from the seat-map above, the DeltaOne/BusinessElite cabin is arranged into four rows of four seats. While that means no aisle-access for everyone, it is still a huge improvement over the standard first class product. Even with the older seats, being able to be completely flat goes a long way to being functional when you land.
My seat: 4DOne of the new Westin blankets!Outlets and headphones, as well as a drink holder.
My only complaint with this configuration is that it is impossible to rest your left arm without hitting controls!
Seat controls and remoteHuge screens!Updated IFE, complete with pinch-to-zoom and usable controls for media
Domestic Delta One Meal Service
When it came time for dinner, we were given an option of fish (poached salmon) or beef. I opted for the fish as I had a delicious steak for lunch. 😉 Though this was the same meal as offered on other domestic flights, the flavor of the dish was much nicer. The acidity worked quite well for it and it maintained its flavor at 35,000 feet.
Poached salmon on russet potatoes and mushrooms
Closing Thoughts
From what I can see, there are quite a few more opportunities for domestic lie-flat in my future, so I am quite excited. Since I have to be up early the next morning, being able to stay well rested makes a big difference. Having Ku-based GoGo is icing on the cake!
There has beena lotof talk recently about Delta bringing back free meals to the economy cabin for transcontinental (JFK-LAX & JFK-SFO, for now) flights, and it has raised questions about customer loyalty, profitability, and if other airlines (United and American) will take note of this and do the same.
I can’t speak to profitability or making customers (more) loyal, but as someone who flies across the country regularly, it is comforting to know that even if I don’t get my upgrade, I will get a meal… …Not to say that I would turn down an upgrade, by any means! 😉 This is even nicer for tight connections when I can’t swing by the SkyClub to grab a bite before the flight.
Admittedly, I’ll be sad to see the Fruit & Cheese plate go, which leaves me wondering if this means we will be able to make dietary requests in economy the same way we can when booking First/Business class tickets. Overall, I am excited for other transcontinental routes potentially adopting this.
As I got off my flight to JFK this week, I was surprised by Delta with something that I have never had the chance to experience… the Porsche! I was taken off the jetbridge and dropped off at the SkyClub at my next terminal – talk about service! 😀
Thank you, Delta, for the experience of a lifetime!
I have no idea how I missed thisnews, but Delta is going to be connecting Austin and Raleigh with a year-round, daily flight starting March 9th of this year. It’ll be on a CRJ-900, which will be a tight fit for the 1,162 miles between the two airports, but it’s hard to beat that convenience.
The CRJ-900 has a range of 1,553 nautical miles (just over 1780 statute miles), so it isn’t surprising that it would be used to test the interest of the route.
From the Austin-Bergstrom website:
Delta’s new year round, daily nonstop flights between Austin, Texas and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina are scheduled as follows: Flights depart – Austin daily at 11:15 a.m. and arrive in Raleigh-Durham at 3:10 p.m. Flights depart Raleigh-Durham daily at 8:30 a.m. and arrive in Austin at 10:40 a.m. The flight will be operated by GoJet on a CRJ-900 aircraft with 76 seats.
