Review of Delta Air Lines flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles in Domestic First

After a series of stressful weeks at work, my partner and I decided spur of the moment to take a vacation to San Francisco for the weekend. We both have the Delta Air Lines Platinum American Express card which offers a complimentary domestic companion ticket every year. The total price of our tickets without the additional cost of seats was USD$421.00 from Honolulu to Oakland via Los Angeles. Upon checking-in through the Delta app the evening before our departure, we were offered an upgrade to first class for $329.00 per person for the HNL-LAX segment (and $259 for the LAX-OAK segment which was a bit ridiculous for a 1 hour flight). Delta AMEX companion tickets are not supposed to be eligible for upgrades to First or even Comfort Plus from May 16, so I actually called Delta reservations to ask if the upgrade was valid. The agent could only tell me that it was an online special that she couldn't replicate in the system so I went back online and took advantage of the upgrade offer.
That evening, the TSA line was actually very quick, and with access to the "Gold Lane" for premium/priority passengers, we were through in less than five minutes. In the past we have visited the Delta SkyClub but it was only 45 minutes to boarding and neither of us was hungry or thirsty enough to make the $29 access fee worthwhile so we grabbed a drink at a bar and proceeded to gate 21 at 2010 for boarding at 2015.
Though the flight was far from full, everyone was crowding the lines despite the clear announcements for priority passengers. We boarded quickly and were greeted at the door by the inflight service manager, a beautiful, soft-spoken Japanese flight attendant who I later learned through eavesdropping had never operated a 757, a domestic Hawaii, or a Hawaii red-eye flight before. It was cute to watch her learning the announcements on the fly, discovering the location of items in the galley and figuring out how to work the cabin lights. In fact, half the 'meal' service was in practical darkness before another crew member came and asked her to turn the lights up. I tend to like bulkhead seats for the ability to get out of my seat easier, especially if I'm on the window side. I appreciated the nice legroom in 1CD which clearly had more legroom than 1AB where the bulkhead wall was much closer and the legroom definitely more restricted. I can't speak for the non-bulkhead seats but I was very happy with the legroom in 1CD.

Upon taking our seats in 1CD, we were offered a choice of pre-departure beverage of orange juice or Mai Tai. I jumped on the Mai Tai which, although a little sweet, was delicious. That being said, my proximity to the galley allowed me to watch the crew opening up the bottle of Mai tai mix which for me took a little of the exoticism away.
We pushed back a few minutes early and taxied to the reef runway - 8R - for a speedy ascent. The ISM's welcoming remarks once airborne were faint and difficult to comprehend with the noise and her soft tone but I enjoyed watching her speak anyway. Within 15 minutes of wheels up, the crew had pulled out a beverage cart and positioned it in the galley in front of the 1L door with a wide variety of beverages. Naturally, my eyes fixated on the bottle of sparkling wine chilling in an ice bucket wrapped in a white cloth. These small, seemingly insignificant details are what I most enjoy about flying in business/first.

The ISM began her service my approaching me, kneeling down to ask what I would like to drink. She then told me that dinner tonight was beef sliders and asked if I would like to join them for dinner. It's a bit emotionally confusing to be greeted with such politeness and professionalism while being offered a hamburger for dinner but I so appreciated her service. I gladly accepted the meal and asked for a glass of the sparkling wine which was called Mito by Ca' Di Rajo, an Italian prosecco. I can't remember if she took everyone's drink orders or poured my glass first but it wasn't long before I was sipping the delicious prosecco and my food was in hand. The tray table was draped with linen and the two beef sliders were nicely presented with fixings and a molasses cookie on the side. At first I had to remind myself this was domestic first class but the sliders were actually really good - not dry at all - and quite filling. The ISM was quick to top up my glass when she saw I was running low and I appreciated that my tray was taken away quickly after I had finished eating even though I am an admittedly fast eater and they hadn't even finished serving the full first class cabin. I was a little surprised at how much time service took; I wasn't timing or anything but had I cared much about shut eye the galley light was on for at least half the flight while dinner was served and then the trays collected.

After my meal, I watched a little bit of TV. I find Delta has a great selection of inflight entertainment but nothing really appealed to me at that late/early hour. The monitors at the bulkhead are located against the wall so at first I did find the screen a little too far away (or too small) for my liking. However, I'd much prefer this setup than to have the monitor in the armrest which is the case in the bulkhead on other airlines. I slept for a little while - I have never been able to sleep well on airplanes, but the seats were comfortable and the legroom sufficient so I was at least relaxed. Almost as soon as I had woken, the ISM was by my side again asking if she could get me anything. I was in mid-sentence saying, "I'm fine," but she asked specifically if I wanted coffee and I immediately thanked her and said, "Yes, please." Again, I had forgotten I was in first class because she presented me with a mug followed by the snack basket which she offered with a large smile. By then we had begun our descent into LAX and the rest of the flight I enjoyed sitting against the window watching the city lights as I enjoyed my coffee.