#26 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
833 reviews
Report No: 2023-102
Dear folks,
While I still have some not posted Flight-Reports from 2022, I decided to mix the order and share some of my 2023 experiences here at Flight-Report before some of those in 2022.
For the second flight of this series, I was actually so excited to try a new aircraft type and a brand new product which was the Delta A330-900neo with the Delta One Suites but due to an equipment swap I ended up flying another new product that I haven't tried which was the Delta A330 in their Business Cabin from New York to Paris. Before the flight, I have also decided to visit the Virgin Clubhouse in New York JFK since both the Delta SkyClub and the AMEX Centurion Lounge was overcrowded at that time.
So here is the routing, which would be revealed part by part
After arriving from my previous flight, I checked the FIDS to ensure that my onward flight was on time and the aircraft was at the gate at that time which allowed me some time to visit a lounge.
One advantage of Delta and AMEX is that they would both show their occupancy level of their lounges through their respective mobile applications and both Delta SkyClub's and the AMEX Centurion Lounge was almost full so I decided to try the Virgin Clubhouse with my Delta One ticket.
Despite there were multiple Virgin Atlantic flights at that time, one to Heathrow and one to Manchester, the lounge was not crowded at all and I was able to find a seat. At that time, the lounge didn't accept any PriorityPass or AMEX Platinum cardholders due to capacity constraints though.
The full menu of the lounge is as below where food must be ordered through the QR code; however, drinks could also be ordered at the bar directly through a bartender.
While the menu was below my expectations compared to reviews that I've heard about the lounge, I decided to order a kids meal of chicken tenders since I didn't want to fill my stomach as I would also planning to enjoy the onboard dinner service.
Every table at the lounge has a table number and a QR code for ordering food & beverages.
My water and my champagne arrived a few minutes after the order was processed.
However, it took time for my chicken tenders to come which was served with potatoes. I have asked for some extra mayonnaise which was promptly served.
Shortly after my meal, I have ordered a latte and some ice cream which also came at a reasonable timeframe.
I have asked for both vanilla and chocolate ice cream through the QR code and 3 scoops of each flavor did arrive; albeit the ice cream was tasted good.
While I sat at a proper table as I was also responding to some e-mails from my laptop, there are also some fancy seating, a TV area and a pool table at the clubhouse which I find unique.
The lounge also has great views as I was able to spot this Singapore Airlines A350 which was scheduled to operate the worlds longest flight from New York JFK to Singapore.
Also a pity that the toilets weren't clean and there was an used toothpaste and a toothbrush at the sink.
I also blame mannerless passengers for this as there is a trash can just below the sink and we should all be aware of courtesy at public areas.
About an hour before scheduled departure, I have left the clubhouse since I would need to walk all the way to the other end of the terminal for my departure gate.
After walking 5-10 minutes, I was in the B concourse.
And at gate B29, our Airbus A330-300, N821NW, was awaiting for us.
This flight would be my first Delta mainline and long-haul flight.
Boarding was pure chaos since there was already a line formed with no priorities respected and with the method first come front in line; as well as SkyPriority passengers waiting at front of the boarding lanes. There was an usher asking people to not block the terminal hallway but she was mostly unsuccessful as the gate area was pretty small to accommodate a wide-body.
Also boarding being delayed with no delay announcement also confused passengers.
Luckily boarding started around 45 minutes before scheduled departure time and I have boarded with Delta One passengers and got rid of the mess at the gate area.
Another view of N821NW
After being welcomed by the crew, I have headed to my seat 2A which is actually the first seat on the window side of the cabin.
While the seat looked old and outdated; it was actually pretty comfortable both when sitting and lying down.
A bedding set and slippers were available at every seat.
As well as an amenity kit and a bottle of water was waiting for me at the seat console.
Plus an headset
The seat was also equipped with a Panasonic branded IFE system which also looked old since this cabin was last refurbished back in 2013.
However, the touch screen functioned properly without any issues.
The IFE main menu looked like this.
My main entertainment through the IFE screen would be the flight map.
Delta doesn't offer written literature but a safety card could be found at the seat pocket.
One of the things that I'll also appreciate that there are individual air nozzles onboard this cabin, where some carriers wouldn't bother installing them on their long haul aircraft.
Shortly after boarding, the cabin crew who was serving my area introduced himself and handed me a menu for tonight's flight.
Whereas at the same time, another crew was handing pre-departure beverages.
Before the doors were shut, I also visited the front lavatory which was clean.
To speak about lavatories, I was pretty surprised that one of the announcements onboard was "if any of our lavatories needs attention, please let one of our flight attendants know" whereas some other US carriers wouldn't clean lavatories mid-flight at all.
While on the ground, the cabin crew came one more time to confirm my preordered meal preference. In the meanwhile, you could find the full menu for this flight here:
While boarding took time, we were only pushing back with a 10 minute delay.
Our neighbor that day was this Delta 767
And shortly after pushing back, a welcome video has been streamed on personal entertainment screens.
French subtitles were also available.
While taxiing to the runway, it is time to do some plane spotting.
Singapore Airlines A380 that is getting prepared for its flight to Singapore via Frankfurt.
A Delta Connection Mitsubishi CRJ900
After the welcome video has finished, the safety video was streamed.
Some more Delta Connection CRJ's at the Terminal 4 regional concourse
British Airways 777-300ER
JetBlue A321
And after a 15-20 minute taxi and wait, we were finally in the air
Some photos after takeoff
Flight information for the day.
It was going to be a short red-eye flight this evening.
Shortly after the seatbelt sign has been turned off, the service begun with oshibori towels
Once they were promptly collected, the crew came with an aperitif plate, alongside offering drinks.
I have asked for some champagne which was promptly served.
Shortly later, the crew came with the trays which had a salad with vinaigrette, a plate with bread and butter; alongside offering corn chowder soup for those who would like.
Shortly later, the cabin crew came with main options collecting plates for the soup and salad.
I have opted for the beef option which had a decent portion and tasted good.
Braised Beef Short Rib
with fingerling potatoes, roasted fennel, baby carrots, and Dijon green peppercorn jus
After a couple of minutes, the crew came with dessert options where I have opted for the sundae.
The cabin crew has also offered hot beverages but I have only asked for a refill of my water glass which was promptly done.
The service was pretty fast but at a great pace, as from the aperitif to the collection of the dessert plate, it took 40 minutes which was great as most passengers was aiming to maximizing sleep so I would like to thank Delta for this concept and training the crews appropriately whereas at some carriers meal service time could be much longer.
A water bottle was also provided for the night. The bottle was a water bottle of a French brand with the French bottle cap concept which was interesting to see on an ex-US flight on an US carrier
A photo of where we were before I slept for the night.
I did woke up while we were at the south of Ireland near the Brittany area in France and breakfast was promptly served at that time.
I have opted for the Warm French Pudding option which tasted great.
The tray also included a croissant, a pack of butter and a fruit plate.
I would also appreciate Delta for offering a hot proper breakfast while some other carriers are only offering cold breakfast options for breakfast on eastbound transatlantic flights at similar durations.
Also something to note that my tea was served with an actual hot pot of water, where I could top up hot water as I need.
After the trays were collected, it was already getting bright outside and the cabin crew thanked us for flying Delta and handed two mini chocolates of two different brands.
There was no sun that day over Paris
Approaching Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
And despite departing late from New York JFK, we have landed 30 minutes ahead of schedule.
It was raining at Paris that day.
Terminal 1
An Air France A350 passing by
Multiple Air France wide-bodies were visible at that time.
F-HTYP had also arrived at a similar time with us, although from Bangalore, India.
A HOP! Embraer
An Air France 777-300ER at Terminal 2E Hall M
This time, the smaller variant, a Boeing 777-200ER
And another one, which did arrive as AF159 from Dallas Fort Worth that morning
An Air France A350
This A350 was also at Hall M getting ready for its triangle route flight AF 756 to Brazzaville and Kinshasa
That day we were going to park at gate M45.
Next to these two Delta A330's
Whereas, N827NW was scheduled to operate DL83 to Atlanta that day.
The VDGS was open where there were no marshals on duty
And we have parked next to this Air France A350.
After saying goodbye to the crew, I left the aircraft and entered the terminal.
Despite some countries in the EU considering as arrivals from the USA as clean arrivals, every passenger arriving from this flight was directed upstairs to the arrivals level.
A final photo of N821NW before heading towards Flight Connections.
It was now time to follow signs to Flight Connections
And this report has come to an end where the journey would continue in the next series.
Thanks for reading this Flight-Report, I hope you enjoyed it and hope to see you in another Flight-Report.
The lounge experience at JFK was pretty pleasant, albeit with limited selections, however, I enjoyed my visit at the Virgin Clubhouse at JFK as it was pleasant and quiet unlike other Terminal 4 lounges and awaiting to see how the new Delta One Lounge at JFK would look like in the future.
The flight experience was also great as I found Delta's hard product to be not updated, however, the soft product was much better than some other carriers that I have flown such as AA, BA, LH, UA. The crew was also attentive and I was able to get a good sleep on the old product. I also enjoyed the breakfast being a full meal compared to other carriers just offering a fruit plate and a yoghurt on a East Coast TATL flight.
Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 113 avis concernant 6 compagnies sur la ligne New York (JFK) → Paris (CDG).
La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Air France avec 7.5/10.
La durée moyenne des vols est de 7 heures et 6 minutes.
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4 Comments
Looking forward to your next report.
It was indeed a pleasant flight on D1 despite the old cabins and I would totally agree that the walks from the gates in CDG are pretty long but a great exercise especially after a long-haul flight.
- Hope to see you there.
Agree that the hard product is getting old, but still much better than the staggered seats on the huuuuge 767 fleet, which have always felt a bit small to be, and especially tight in sleep mode. Whereas these old school Cirrus seats are much more spacious.
The catering looks quite good--as, usual better than the other North American carriers. The one criticism I have is that those plastic trays look so cheap. The bamboo trays they used to have looked much better IMO.
Thanks for sharing!
- Indeed, that is the reason why I skipped the DL SkyClub which showed very crowded on the DL app at the time during my visit and those days, the news regarding the line at the DL SkyClub at JFK was one of the trend topics on the av-geek side.
- I have never flown their 767 yet, but I'll agree that these Cirrus seats are very spacious and comfortable.
- I'll agree that DL catering is much better than UA and AA in this case and I'll be honest that I never noticed that the trays were plastic until reading your comment, however, it really looks like an Economy Class tray on Singapore Airlines.
- Thanks for reading!
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