I ran a quick twitter follower survey the other day with the simple question what would you rather do A) Fly the LAST Delta B747 or B) Fly the FIRST Delta A350 flight?
The results were fun. 20 who responded voted A while only 7 voted B. Now I get that there will be lots of time to fly the new jets and it does not look like Delta will ever again have the 747. So I understand the almost 3-to-1 vote for nostalgia. So when will each of these events take place?
Delta is not officially saying (and yes, I asked). All I was told was it would likely be a flight from Asia. From another source I was told that likely it would be the ICN-DTW flight on 17DEC17.
And when you look on the 18th you do see the route will be flown by a 777 not a 747. Again, all of this is educated guessing so far as we just do not know for sure and it does not, at least at this point, look like Delta is going to make this as big a deal as many of us AVgeeks would like it to be. I am still personally thrilled and will always treasure I became a Delta Million Miler on a 747 from Asia!
I even suggested to my Delta contact that they do some kind of domestic farewell flight say from ATL-SEA-LAX then on to the boneyard in Arizona. I was told if I would pay for the JET-A (the gas) they would think about it (I don’t have $200k for gas). I took from this that it is not gonna happen. 🙁
Well, what about the A350 then? Again Delta (official) is not talking. So, my other contacts are telling me that the first bird should be arriving at the nest i.e. #ATL in July. That means, if fitting out goes as planned in either August or September range it should start flying some domestic flights before it is put into the international rotation.
I am really looking forward to these first few flights and will, one way or another, find my way onto these flights (if not the very first one). Personally I think the Delta One Suites are going to be a game changer and set Delta apart but time will tell. Others feel it is mostly just a standard Delta One seat with a half door.
So you tell me. Are you going to try to gamble and book / fly the final Delta 747 flight ever? What about the very 1st ever revenue flight for the A350? Please vote in my reader poll & let me know in the comments below! – René
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Previously the last scheduled 747 flight was ICN-DTW on 12/31. My seat was 77A. Then they had to go and change it to 12/17. Oh well.
I vote on the A350, because the flights I’ve taken on the Delta 747 have been uncomfortable flights. I like United 747s are better than Delta’s because of the comfort level. The seats are very hard and tight on Delta’s 747s. Personally, I’ll be glad when they’re gone. I’ve enjoyed the A330s more than the 747s on Delta. Hopefully, the A350 will be a comfortable plane. So for that reason, I’m more interested in flying the A350 on Delta more than the 747.
For me probably the A350 because I’ve flown the upper deck a couple of times this year. I’ve sad my farewells.
I flew the ” first flight” on the AA 787-9 DFW-LAX. It actually was not the first flight as it was proclaimed to be. The positioning flight to DFW was also a revenue trip. Even more disappointing was that there was no recognition at DFW. The gate agents had no clue the a/c was the 787-9. They thought they were boarding a 777.
So if flying the A350, the question becomes business class or premium economy? Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t the A350 the first DL plane with PE?
The AA787-9 was thier first a/c with PE. Domestically PE was treated as MCE which elites select at booking (no fake upgrade). I selected PE and was upgraded to a very nice business seat both ways. Hard to turn down those upgrades to sit in PE. How will DL handle PE as far as C+ and upgrades from coach?
@John – for PE upgrades etc see: http://renespoints.boardingarea.com/2016/11/03/delta-updates-wording-diamond-global-upgrade-certs-new-premium-economy-seats-not-bad/
@Rene, Thanks for the link. I did some quick searching on d.com and saw nothing definitive on how DL PE Select will be treated on domestic routes (if it indeed exists on those routes). I assume PE seats will be viewed as C+ domestically.
@John – Delta has stated PE will not be medallion upgrade eligible. However, if the jet is a domestic segment on a domestic route (ie you are not starting from an international flight and just making a stop) my guess is PE will be like C+ and D1S will be standard medallion UG. The clear exception would be non- medallion UG routs like JFK-LAX
The 744 holds a special place in my heart… I flew it as a kid from LAX to SIN on SQ, and I remember the awe I had… so I would *love* to take one last ride before it went away.
Will be fun whoever scores the A350 (with a suite) without buying it on one of the domestic shakedown flights-that will be the ultimate “battlefield upgrade”
Rene,
On a recent flight I asked the FA when the A350 would come into service. He told me they would start training in August and it would start flying all Asia routes from DTW. He could not pin down which Asia routes, but seemed sure they would be out of DTW and sometime after October. I am going to try to schedule one last 747-400 flight out of DTW to Shanghai in the upper deck which I love. The seats are not that uncomfortable for me and I love the seat more than the other beds on the 777 and 767.
BTW, the suite is not a game changer if you will notice the space allocated for everything. The door actually takes up arm space. And the foot well is going to be no bigger than the 767. If it does actually get to lie flat, as opposed to the 767, then it will be better. But the way the suite is configured, it will seem claustrophobic. I actually love the 747 seat and space so I will miss it. I am flying on the Etihad Apt soon, so that will obviously spoil me.
Come on Rene! DYKWIA? As a DM MM I’ll settle for nothing less than both. Closing one chapter and opening the door to the next seems like the way to go.
747 all the way!
747!!!! need to find one quick for my MM run!!!!!!!!!!
Absolutely the last 747!
I don’t trust DL to not shove everyone in a new plane like sardines.
“If it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t goin'”
So, how can I find out when there will be a flight with a Delta One Suite? Any chance you’ll share the secret domestic routes they may take?
@Jeff – Will be sure to blog it
There is a domestic 747 flight on September 5th from LAX to DTW. From what I understand this could be the last domestic flight of the 747 ever. I would much rather fly on the 747 than an A350