Review of Delta Air Lines flight from Detroit to Tokyo in Business

Greetings, dear reader, and welcome to the continuation of this quick jaunt to Japan with Delta.
Just in case you were wondering, here’s the rundown:
DL1822 YYZ-DTW 9/18/2016 - Here you go
DL275 DTW-NRT 9/18/2016 - You are here
DL276 NRT-DTW 9/22/2016 - Coming soon
DL1806 DTW-YYZ 9/22/2016 - Coming soon
When last we saw each other, your humble flght-reporter was just off the plane from Toronto, looking for the SkyClub in Detroit. So that’s where we’ll pick it up.

Hey look, there it is!
My boarding pass on my phone is scanned, and I headed upstairs to the lounge. The main lounge in the main terminal at DTW (there are two others, on the far ends of the looooong terminal building, but they weren’t open at this hour on a Sunday), it’s about what expects from a large U.S. hub lounge. Lots of nooks and crannies with seating of various varieties. I liked the general feel of the lounge aesthetically speaking — it appeared well planned and relatively model in both style and materials (ie: not a lot of chairs that looked like they’re on their last legs.)

Some reading materials available.

Food offerings were fairly minimal — a little disappointing for a major hub lounge, even by U.S. standards, I thought. There were a few smaller outstations with coffee and the like, and some cereal and muffins.

And then there was the “main” (small) buffet area, which was in breakfast mode with drinks, breads, oatmeal and grits as well as some fruits and yogurt.

I wasn’t exactly excited about the fare, but figured I had to eat, so I grabbed a little snack — a couple of baby muffins, some oatmeal with all the trimmings, some plain yogurt with granola, fruit, and some seeds, and an iced tea. Everything was fine, and it checked the boxes for making some stomach stop grumbling. But it wasn’t exactly memorable.

Airside views are non-existent in this lounge, unfortunately. But I did settle into a comfy chair overlooking the concourse, which provided ample opportunities to people-watch and silently look on with DYKWIA arrogance at those below me.

WiFi connection was easy, and it was acceptably fast. I used it to post my YYZ-DTW flight-report, and it was up to the task. But first… the traditional corporate shot.

Not having had my fill, a while later I headed back to the buffet and tried some grits with cheese, a couple of little pickles, some onion strings, and a beer that’s new to me, Saugatuck Oval Beach Blonde — a very easy drink, and quite enjoyable, I thought.

Back at my seat, I checked in on the plane for my flight to Tokyo, currently approaching DTW on its way over from Seoul. So things were looking reasonably good for an on-time departure.

I killed some more time, and then decided to try a cappuccino. Not bad.

This lounge offered showers, but I didn’t feel like standing around waiting for one of the two rooms to become available, so eventually I just gave up, and as the posted boarding time (55 minutes before scheduled departure? Yeah, right!) was approaching, I figured I’d head downstairs to see what’s going on, and to get a bit of a walk in.
Downstairs, my ride was getting catered — the windows in Detroit help filter out the sun, but they’re not the most photograph-friendly.

Gate’s already being staffed.

Our next door neighbour, an A330.

And a look at my ride from the other side.

By this time, there was a good crowd around the gate. Things seemed to stall out for a while after they pre-loaded those needing assistance and passengers with small children, but sooner of later, the Premium zone was called. I stepped forward, and had to have my passport checked, but was soon on my way down the jetway.
Flight: DL275
From: Detroit Wayne (DTW)
To: Tokyo Narita (NRT)
Date: 9/18/2016
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400
Registration: N670US
Seat: 77K
ATD (STD): 12:48 (12:10)
ATA (STA): 14:18 (14:30)
Stepping on-board, my e-boarding pass was checked, and I was motioned towards the back of the second Delta One cabin, and then up the stairs for my chosen seat, 77K. A little bit of research had suggested this was one of the better seats on the plane because of the extra space in front (should you need it) because it’s an exit-row seat. Because I love both upstairs and in the nose on 747s, I chose one each way — upstairs on the way over, and 1A on the way home.
I arrived to find my seat well-dressed and very nicely presented. I think the leather choice Delta made on this and even on some of its domestic first class fleet is very nice-looking indeed.

A look at the seat from the emergency exit area.

And from over-the-shoulder.

Delta’s in-flight pillows and blankets are marketed under the Westin Heavenly brand. There are two pillows — a very small one best used for lower-back support in a seating position, and a nicely-sized main pillow for sleeping. The duvet is quite comfortable as well.

Legroom is, obviously, quite acceptable.

The screen is a flip-out design, which means you can’t use it on the ground, really. But that’s okay, since Delta insists on not enabling IFE until you’re in the air anyways. There are only so many of these house ads one can watch.

Here’s a look out from the seat and down the aisle. Privacy and quiet on this 1-1 upper deck is outstanding, and with two flight attendants to so few seats, service is swift and very good.

A quick look outside at the starboard wing and power plants. One of my few criticisms of the seat is that between the large panel between the seat and the wall, and the space between the side of the seat and it’s set so far back from the outboard wall of the plane, that it’s hard to get right into the window to get a good picture

Just a couple of minutes after boarding, I was greeted and offered a pre-departure choice of orange juice or champagne. I went with champagne, of course.

Time to check out the menu for today’s flight. I had pre-selected the Japanese-style meal for the flight home, having read that the menu ex-NRT is particularly good, but wanted to try the “off the rack” experience for this flight, my first in Delta One. I selected the lamb for my main course.

Time for a qiuck tour around my pod. The outside wall houses USB, electrical, and headphone ports, and also a storage cubby, housing headphones.

The headphones offered aren’t cutting edge, but were good enough and comfortable enough that I didn’t bother to swap out my own set.

Seat controls, and a dated IFE remote control, are located on the side wall of the seat.

Slippers are offered, and are reasonable for what they are — a decent size and fairly comfortable, with a fabric pouch also provided for storage.

This crew’s very proactive, offering Japanese arrival documents before departure. It’s a gesture I appreciate.

The amenity kit offered is a nice blue hard-sided affair, branded Tumi. Contents are about what you’d expect. I appreciate the inclusion of a pen in the kit — something that many airlines don’t bother to include. The little cup of mouthwash is also an interesting addition.

A look up the aisle towards the flight deck here on the upper deck. Captures the privacy of the cabin pretty well.

Meanwhile, the IFE is loading up, so soon we’ll hopefully be able to check that out.

Or not. Maybe we’ll just get a Coke ad.

Once they’d convinced us of the wonders of Atlanta’s favourite cola, the safety video rolled, and it was time for pushback.

Taxiing past a DL A330.

It’s a fairly short taxi before we line up and we are out of here.

As we climb, the IFE system has come to life, so I take a look around to see what’s on offer.

The IFE system is easy enough to use, but the categorization could use some work. They mix contents of all languages, and they have a lot of Chinese-language films in the lineup, as well as some others. So scrolling through the New Releases category takes a lot longer than it would if they were to offer a bit more separation.

I start off the flight with Allegiant. It’s not terribly good, but I’ve watched the other movies in the series on flights, so why not keep up with traditions?

It’s a pretty day as the climb continues.

Service begins very quickly as we level off with a hot towel service.

A quick trip to the lav before we get into the meal service. Unfortunately, the upper deck of the 744 may have a nicely updated cabin, but the lav is pretty barebones.

The table is quickly set, and the starter is presented along with the first drink, instead of a nut service. Delta seems to hate nuts, with the exception of the the traditional little bags of peanuts for Y passengers, of course.

The starter is interesting. All three parts are quite good, although the “roasted apples” are more “applesauce.” I enjoyed it.

The soup and appetizer were presented next, together on a tray. Soup seems to be optional. A bread basket service was offered at the same time.

The salad was interesting due to the grains and cherries, and the dressing was good. The greens didn’t seem super-fresh, although not past their prime either.

The celeriac soup was very good, although I wouldn’t rave about it the way I rave about soups on a plane many times.

Service really moves along, with finished plates removed very quickly, and the next course presented in a very timely fashion. I wouldn’t say it felt rush, but I didn’t get the “Okay… I’m ready for the next course” feeling I get in international J meals sometimes. The main course comes next. The lamb main was decent — braised, so it remained tender, but didn’t really develop the full lamb flavour that a grilled dish would. The smoked cauliflower mash was a nice alternative to a starch, and was quite tasty. I always enjoy broccolini, but wish there’d been a little bit more offered on the veggies side. I had a very pleasant red wine with it – the California Pinot

Dessert service follows from a cart, and because I am a glutton, I politely request “all of the above.” These cheese offering is pretty satisfying… although the presentation is somewhat let down by the packaged crackers. It’s a little detail, yes, but it seems out of sync with the rest of the service.

The warm apple butter cake was quite delicious, and the sundae… well… that’s hard to screw up. All in all, a very nice dessert.

With dinner over very quickly, it was time to get comfy and finish my movie. I found the seat quite comfortable in a variety of positions for lounging and sleeping.

With the movie over, it’s nap time. I didn’t sleep very long, but it was enough to refresh me after a very early wakeup call back in Toronto.

I check in on the status of our flight, and then select my next movie — Captain America: Civil War. I’m not much of a superheroes movie person, so I don’t expect a lot, but I seemingly always watch these on a plane, and I am seemingly always pleasantly surprised.

Midway through this movie, the mid-flight snack was offered. I find it interesting that Delta schedules three “meals” for this kind of flight, as opposed to more usual “big meal post departure, little meal pre-arrival, and various snacks available in the meantime” approach, but I kind of linked it. The anitpasto plate (referred to by my flight attendant as a “deli plate” was all pretty good. I accompanied it with a gin and tonic. I don’t think there’s any more risk of malaria in Japan than in Canada. But why take that risk, right?

With that movie over, I check in again, and we’re up over Alaska at this point. Up next in our cinematic tour de force: The Boss. It didn’t excite me very much, but did have some good moments.

Throughout this time, water bottles were regularly offered. There were also snacks set up near the galley at the back of the upper deck, although nothing terribly exciting. Think domestic snack basket.
When The Boss is over, we’re about three and a half hours from Narita, and up next, I choose Demolition. I think it was okay, although I did one of my least favourite, if most frequent, plane movie trips… watched the first half-hour or so, then fell asleep, and woke up in time for the ending. So I know enough about it that it’s probably not worth watching again in full, but don’t feel like I’ve really seen it.

When Demolition is over, we’re less than two hours out of Narita, and sure enough, it’s just about pre-arrival meal time.

Service begins with another hot towel.

The breakfast is then served all together. I opted for the biscuit and sausage gravy, and while it was nothing approaching a fine dining meal, it was tasty, hearty, and satisfying. And maybe stripped a couple of months off my life, but we won’t discuss that. The fruit was also very good, while the croissant was less interesting.

After breakfast, we’re shortly on our descent into Narita. I think I put something on the screen? But I don’t recall what, I don’t think I really watched it.

It’s a long and cloudy descent into the Tokyo area, during which time headphones and any remaining service items are collected, and the crew says their goodbyes. By the time we break through the clouds, we’re not far off the ground.

And soon we touch down.

It’s not a very long taxi at all (by Narita standards) before we pull into the gate next to our little sibling.

Getting off the plane takes a bit longer than it should. I don’t feel like flight attendants did a very good job of managing traffic to let the upstairs people get downstairs and get a shot at door 2L, but whatever. After we step off, I’m afforded a couple of last looks at my ride across the Pacific. One from downstairs, which shows off where I’ll be sitting on my ride back home.

And one from upstairs.

Unlike past arrivals at Narita, arrivals is very quick at this moment. I’m through in no more than about fifteen minutes, and quickly landside, where it’s quite busy.

I buy a ticket for the Airport Limousine bus service in to my hotel in Minato, and that’s where this particular part of this adventure comes to an end.

Thanks for reading this flight-report — I look forward to finishing it with my journey back from Japan to Canada very soon. Hopefully, I’ll see you then!