My wife and I took a trip to London back in September of this year, and we had a great flight with Delta. My mother is from England originally and I have been a few times, but my wife had never been and so after many years, we finally planned a trip to go. In looking at fares to London, it looked like we could get a better price if we were to fly directly from New York. We also decided to cash in some miles for the JFK-LHR portion of the trip to DeltaOne, whereas all the other segments would be in Economy.
We began our day in Minneapolis and had a routine flight to JFK that morning. Our layover was quite, but we we enjoyed exploring all that Terminal 4 has to offer and to spend sometime relaxing in the SkyClub there in that terminal.
Here are some photos from our layover in JFK.
Boarding for Delta #401 began promptly at about 6:45pm that evening, and soon we were on the 767-300 and settling into our seats. The flight was totally full, and we didn't see any open seats.
Champagne on the ground in the new Alessi glassware.
Pushback occurred on-time just at around 7:30pm and we taxied out for a routine takeoff. After initially turning onto the runway, we suddenly turned off and parked on the taxiway on the other side of the runway. After a few minutes the Captain announced that they were trouble shooting a "maintenance issue" and he would keep us informed. Another 20 minutes or so passed before he said that they were having trouble with the transponder and would need to head back to the gate for further maintenance work.
Long story short our delay turned into a 4 hour delay, but at least our flight was not cancelled (which I was very worried about). After what seemed like a long wait initially at the gate, a new transponder was installed, and we took off just before 11:00pm EST.
Within a few minutes of reaching cruise altitude, the flight attendants began the service in the cabin. The service was excellent throughout the whole dinner service, but did seem a bit rushed due to our long delay and was probably done so people could maximize their sleep on the short Atlantic crossing.
Stylish cloth covering the beverage cart.
Woodford Reserve on the rocks with some mixed nuts.
After the first beverage service, the flight attendants then came down the aisle with the appetizer and soup course - this was all fantastic. The appetizer with salmon roe was excellent and probably one of the best things I've ever eaten on a plane.
I ordered the lamb and it was tasty (but a bit overdone) so this wasn't my favorite dish from the whole flight. Desert followed right away afterward and the flight attendant serving my side of the aircraft very nicely allowed me to have both options for desert instead of just one.
After dinner, I reclined my seat and was able to get about 3 hours of solid sleep. I often struggle to sleep on planes, but this time I slept very well and found the bedding provided to us to be very good.
This was where dinner service ended, and I took this photo right before I went to sleep.
Breakfast service began just as we were passing over the Irish Sea and it was more than I was expecting on a short TATL flight. It was very good; the baked egg dish was very tasty.
The flight attendants were soon in the cabin preparing the cabin for landing at Heathrow. Landing was smooth and we were soon parked at Terminal 3. It was a great flight with Delta!
Below, I'm including some photos from our return flight from LHR-MSP. I didn't take too many from this flight, and so thought I'd just share these here instead of writing a separate report. We had a good flight back home in Economy and was very impressed with the number of meals/beverage services that took place on our flight. Great job, Delta!
Great lunch soon after leaving London
Pre-landing snack.
Thanks for reading - Happy New Year!
Matthew (757)
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Verdict
Delta Air Lines
9.4/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew10.0
Entertainment/wifi10.0
Meal/catering8.5
New York - JFK
10.0/10
Efficiency10.0
Access10.0
Services10.0
Cleanliness10.0
London - LHR
9.5/10
Efficiency8.0
Access10.0
Services10.0
Cleanliness10.0
Conclusion
9 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
Hey Matthew, thanks for this new report. It's nice to see a report on DL longhaul--I've sure missed mama Delta. The service seems as good as ever. It's funny how DL can serve pre-departure drinks in an actual glass where as all the other US carriers use plastic. Just one indicator that DL is a cut above.
After flying DL (and AF) exclusively for years and years, I haven't flown DL in over 2 years, since I switched to AA. I'm finally going to be flying DL again this spring and looking forward to it. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing, Kevin! Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, I was impressed by the quality of the flight and it was nice to get a pre-departure drink in a real glass! Looking forward to reading about your experience with them later this year.
"We also decided to cash in some miles for the JFK-LHR portion of the trip to DeltaOne," - Looks like it was worth every mile.
"we enjoyed exploring all that Terminal 4 has to offer and to spend sometime relaxing in the SkyClub there in that terminal." - Great plane spotting and the Skyclub is a good place to hang around.
" Champagne on the ground in the new Alessi glassware." - To be honest i'm not a fan of this new design. It's contemporary but I don't think that it differentiates itself too much from others out there. To each his own I guess. ;)
" After what seemed like a long wait initially at the gate, a new transponder was installed, and we took off just before 11:00pm EST. " - Good thing you were not connecting and your flight took off after all.
"The appetizer with salmon roe was excellent and probably one of the best things I've ever eaten on a plane." - DL is very generous offering a soup, salad and proper appetizer on that tray. I'm impressed.
"..the flight attendant serving my side of the aircraft very nicely allowed me to have both options for desert instead of just one." - I guess you asked nicely. :P
Good thing that you were able to get some shut eye. The breakfast looks solid for a short transatlantic flight.
Thanks for sharing Matthew, such a rarity from you!
Not the smoothest of departures. Were you deplaned during the delay and just forced to linger in the gate area? Shame it wasn’t on the reverse flight (ex-EU), then you could have gotten some nice $$$ from DL for the delay ;)
Good to see linens laid for both meals. On a prime route like JFK-LHR, would definitely expect higher end service given the competition so not surprised to see strong catering here. What was under the shrimp on the starter? The US carriers really need to axe the logo’d napkins in J. Your breakfast doesn’t really need to be sponsored by Coca-Cola.
The catering on your LHR-MSP sector looks very similar what to what I saw on MAD-ATL minus an additional mid-flight snack. DL still has better Y catering than AA/UA.
Thank goodness for European protections afforded by EC261/2004! The $700 compensation required by the EU law I got after a 12 hour delay recently, made the delay easier to swallow. Though I do think there should be provisions for higher compensation for Premium cabins, but still I appreciate the fact that these protections exist. We need this in the U.S. !
We were not deplaned, but they kept the door of the aircraft open and passengers could stretch their legs if they wanted in the jet-way. By the time we got back to the gate, we were there for probably 1 hour 30 minutes or so before we finally pushed back again. It took us about 1 hour to get back to the gate with all the waits on the taxiway while they were troubleshooting the issue.
It was a shrimp and watercress salad with sweet potato - it was definitely very good. I agree with you on the napkins!
Yes, my wife and I were impressed by the quantity of food given to us on the flight from LHR-MSP. It seemed the flight attendants were always in the aisle with something.
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7 Comments
After flying DL (and AF) exclusively for years and years, I haven't flown DL in over 2 years, since I switched to AA. I'm finally going to be flying DL again this spring and looking forward to it. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing this nice FR.
"We also decided to cash in some miles for the JFK-LHR portion of the trip to DeltaOne,"
- Looks like it was worth every mile.
"we enjoyed exploring all that Terminal 4 has to offer and to spend sometime relaxing in the SkyClub there in that terminal."
- Great plane spotting and the Skyclub is a good place to hang around.
" Champagne on the ground in the new Alessi glassware."
- To be honest i'm not a fan of this new design. It's contemporary but I don't think that it differentiates itself too much from others out there. To each his own I guess. ;)
" After what seemed like a long wait initially at the gate, a new transponder was installed, and we took off just before 11:00pm EST. "
- Good thing you were not connecting and your flight took off after all.
"The appetizer with salmon roe was excellent and probably one of the best things I've ever eaten on a plane."
- DL is very generous offering a soup, salad and proper appetizer on that tray. I'm impressed.
"..the flight attendant serving my side of the aircraft very nicely allowed me to have both options for desert instead of just one."
- I guess you asked nicely. :P
Good thing that you were able to get some shut eye. The breakfast looks solid for a short transatlantic flight.
Happy 2018 and safe travels.
Not the smoothest of departures. Were you deplaned during the delay and just forced to linger in the gate area? Shame it wasn’t on the reverse flight (ex-EU), then you could have gotten some nice $$$ from DL for the delay ;)
Good to see linens laid for both meals. On a prime route like JFK-LHR, would definitely expect higher end service given the competition so not surprised to see strong catering here. What was under the shrimp on the starter? The US carriers really need to axe the logo’d napkins in J. Your breakfast doesn’t really need to be sponsored by Coca-Cola.
The catering on your LHR-MSP sector looks very similar what to what I saw on MAD-ATL minus an additional mid-flight snack. DL still has better Y catering than AA/UA.
We were not deplaned, but they kept the door of the aircraft open and passengers could stretch their legs if they wanted in the jet-way. By the time we got back to the gate, we were there for probably 1 hour 30 minutes or so before we finally pushed back again. It took us about 1 hour to get back to the gate with all the waits on the taxiway while they were troubleshooting the issue.
It was a shrimp and watercress salad with sweet potato - it was definitely very good. I agree with you on the napkins!
Yes, my wife and I were impressed by the quantity of food given to us on the flight from LHR-MSP. It seemed the flight attendants were always in the aisle with something.
Great to hear from you!
Delta Airlines remains a good choice on transatlantic flights, the job is properly done, as much for catering as for comfort.
Wish you a great day
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