On my first flight back from a visit out to home base of Eye of the Flyer in LA my wife and I flew on an international wide body Delta 767-400 with the upgraded seats. These may not be the most amazing seats in the sky but they are a massive upgrade over the old ones that just about everyone hated and likened to coffins.
While not common, Delta does fly wide body jets domestically either for capacity utilization or moving a jet from place to place for the start of an international journey. When I booked this flight it was not a 767-400 so the change was most welcomed since I was already booked in first.
Delta, especially the CEO and other big wigs at the airline, considers itself a “Premium Airline” and worthy of charging more than others for flights. But hearing this over and over it got me thinking just what qualifies as a premium airline. Is it the seat alone or the ground experience preflight or the offerings and service onboard? I would love your thoughts as I share my view starting with the preflight beverage that was offered on my flight. I requested a mimosa and it was provided in a plastic cup – is that premium?
My friend Gary from View from the Wing started some buzz (and was roasted online for the post) recently when he was refused the request for a glass of water preflight and simply told there was a bottle of water in his seat. On my flight the passenger in front of me made the same request and received the same answer. So does not providing a simple request make the airline less premium?
Once up in the air Delta started real drink service. I am pleased to say that the beyond undrinkable canned wines, at least in Delta mainline 1st class, are gone. I am told they are still onboard for coach and my guess is still on regional jets but I am happy to be corrected if that also has now changed.
I requested both a glass of wine as well as a glass of sparkling water and the simply OUTSTANDING senior Delta flight attendant even asked if I wanted a slice of lime with my water – a premium touch maybe? I think so. Plus no more plastic cups thank you very much. Now on to lunch.
The above is not from the flight I was on. No, it is from my last international Delta flight where I had in the app requested what Delta, before the pandemic, always offered, that is, a premium meal experience with each course delivered one at a time. I even requested, as you can see, that I receive this service vs. just one tray service. You can guess what happened on that flight – everything came at once and the lazy flight attendants seemed to rush everything and then hide up front for much of the flight. That was not a premium experience and from a long FlyerTalk rant thread it seems Delta is hit and miss (at best) in returning to what was.
For this flight, since it was domestic (non transcon), you do not have the choice other than single tray service so I was not expecting anything else despite the fact we were on a 4 hour flight on a wide body Delta One jet. I had pre-ordered the meatballs and the lead flight attendant before departure confirmed everyone’s orders. Again nice work and a premium touch I would expect.
Now it is my turn to show an example of what I expect as a premium service vs. what is presented from Delta.
The meal was very good. Chris loves this meal and has reviewed it here and I have ordered it a number of times. It is both filling and flavorful. But look how it is presented. Could it be presented in another premium way? Why not this:
This is how it could be served with the trays put back into the carts until the meal was done. Yes it would take more time but is there not a clear “premium” difference in the above two presentations? Plus the plastic trays are always so “sticky” to me – it may be by design to prevent them from moving around but it always just creeps me out a bit.
The rest of the service by the flight attendant assigned to our side was all but perfect for the entire flight. She was up and down the aisles often and attentive to everyone’s requests and quick to remove both the trays from lunch as well as trash and such along the flight – again a premium experience worthy of Delta’s boasting.
We deplaned from the second door and on most international flights with a business or first class cabin a flight attendant will “hold” the coach cabin until the forward cabin passengers have had a chance to exit. Again just another small part of what I would expect from a premium airline experience – this did not happen on this flight.
I really hope this post does not come off as an attack on Delta in any way as every part of this trip was absolutely fine and what I have come to expect on “good days” flying with Delta crews that do care about providing “Strive for Five” service.
But was it premium – I would in balance have to say no. So is Delta really a premium airline? Does any of the US domestic airlines provide a true premium experience for flights inside the US? What about internationally can Delta hold themselves up as a premium compared to other airlines inside or outside of Skyteam? I would love to know what you think about this! – René
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You’re right…it’s absolutely not. The term “Premium” has no objective definition. It’s like how nearly every apartment and/or condominium complex calls themselves “Luxury”. There’s not legitimate way to define it. Delta has some wins over the other US3, but it also fails in many places…seat pitch in F, route network outside the US/Europe, ridiculous layover times ex-Europe to anywhere that isn’t ATL, MSP, DTW or LAX, horrible redemption values and the recent “upgrade” of Medallion statuses, lack of D1-specific lounges, the whole issue with Sky Club crowding, their constant boot-licking of American Express because they’re now a bank that happens to fly instead of an airline, and the list goes on. They also still have a handful of varying D1 products: old reverse herringbone, old 1-2-1 forward-facing with tiny screens, suites with doors, suites without doors. Sure, their FAs tend to be less awful than AA and UA – but that’s a really low bar. They do seem to maintain their (older) planes pretty well, but does that really make them “Premium”. I tend to fly them most domestically and AF/KLM to/from Europe where I live half-time, but I would never pretend that DL is remotely premium in any sense. Slightly better in some areas than AA and UA? Sure. But that’s about all the room I’ll give ’em.
Personally I prefer the cookie remain wrapped. I don’t need an extra person handling it to unwrap it (I can surely do that) and I really may want to just slip it in my backpack for later.
@CarolK – 100% agree, I’m OK if a cookie, brownie, or really any other “packaged” baked-good remain that way as I may choose to take it with me. I’m also GF so lots of things on my tray tend to come pre-packaged and I feel safer seeing the Udi’s (or similar) packaging rather than a roll on my tray of dubious origin and composition…
Just had two flights on Avianca where 4 items on each of my trays were individually wrapped in cling film and each pax was to remove themselves. It probably took me a solid 3-4 minutes to take it all off. On a two-hour flight serving 10 people I’m not sure the FAs would have had the time to uncover all of our food (12 meals x 3 minutes = 36 minutes!). Conversely, on a recent Delta flight all the food had some sort of compostable paper “domes” over the food that the FAs easily removed and piled-up in the galley presumably to recycle. But I suppose no one is accusing Avianca of being a “premium” airline.
Nothing beats the flight attendant I had once on US Airways PHL-LAX who draped a paper napkin over his arm (with the US logo facing out) and presented the bottle of wine to us describing it as “it was a very good week” before unscrewing the top.
Im a Platinum Delta. I’ve been very loyal to them, only flying Delta domestically. When Delta announced the changes i cashed in points for a trip to Italy. I fly back and forth a lot to Europe. I typically use points on AirFrance or KLM, United, Emirates, ITA, American Airlines, Aer Lingus and Virgin Atlantic. Obviously Emirates is a premium airline. the rest, id lump together as essentially the same experience
When i got onto my DeltaONE seat, i cannot tell you how tight it was. It was so bad I took melatonin to fall asleep and asked I not be disturbed. I just wanted to sleep the flight away. and, i did. I woke up as we were on descent.
Delta charges more domestically and internationally (except for Emirates). But, they offer an inferior product. Maybe domestically, i can skip the cans of “premium Manhattan” and fly point to point on Frontier. Ill still get where I”m going and really, at the end of they day, Delta has over charged for their product. they can’t get their hard products on all planes (i.e. the flight to europe with old Delta One). I have sat in first and watched the FA sit in the jump seat on her phone so she did not have to provide service (not kidding). Im sure this happens on other airlines, but they charge less so you expect it
Absolutely agree. One never knows anymore which Delta they will experience:
The much beloved, but increasingly rare, “old school Delta”?
– OR –
The increasingly common “new (and so NOT improved for anyone but shareholders and senior managers) Delta”, which is as disappointing and so NOT premium as a flight on most other US-based airlines.
As to international long haul Economy class, if DL26 from Seoul/ICN to ATL is any indication of how bad the paxex now is at Delta, then flyers are best advised to AVOID Delta and fly its foreign flag alliance partners (Korean Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, etc.).
I’d agree it’s a term of art, but to me, premium=memorable. Virgin Atlantic clubhouse in Heathrow, United Polaris Lounge, old Delta 747 upper deck experience, all my Virgin Australia trips from the US-I still look back on those and smile. A lot of Delta flights are more “ok”, even up front. I do fondly remember the southern FA who *jokingly* refused to let my seatmate have a Woodford and Coke though…
I always ask for ice for my bottle of water during pre-boarding service(if they offer it) and after usually asking 3-4 times I finally get it.. The last 3 flights they kept forgetting..It was like a joke between me and my hubby!!
René, DL is not a premium airline domestically or overseas. Yeah, the marketing dept. can use all the adjectives they want. I don’t think a mainline domestic airline can be a true Premium without separating their planes, people, and in flight service like they did in the opposite direction with Song years ago
Regarding the serving of pre-departure beverages in plastic, I appreciate that Delta even does PDBs. Their US competitors don’t as a rule. But there is another reason they serve in plastic, and that has its roots at the FAA. Quoting from a WSJ article:
“Plastic glasses are easier to collect because they can be thrown away, which results in flight attendants’ getting to their seats sooner. An FAA spokesman says the use of glass isn’t prohibited, but the agency “highly recommends using disposable products.” Foreign carriers aren’t subject to FAA recommendations, so they can set a more elegant table for takeoff.”
And, there we have it. US airlines are held to a different standard than foreign carriers who are not subjected to US government regs. I say … ‘”just be happy you’re getting an alcoholic PDB in the first place.”
They would say a premium airline is one which offers first or business class rather than being a LCC with just an extra leg room coach offering. Exactly what service, food, seats etc you get is still a lottery when the airline has the right to switch planes and those planes come from different domestic (eg intercontinental) or international routes.
It depends on what you are comparing Delta to. Compared to US LCCs, Delta is a premium airline. Compared to the better European, Asian and Middle Eastern carriers, Delta is second or third class. My rating is based on comparing F and J lounges, premium seating, food and beverages, inflight service and amenities, and alliance partners and benefits. In spite of the D1 label, Delta doesn’t have international first class. That is not necessary to be a premium airline but it helps. Most Americans have not experienced travel on a premium airline; so Delta thinks it can get away with anointing itself as one.
While the new 767-400 seat is an improvement over its predecessor, I found it to be very uncomfortable on a TATL flight this summer. The seat is extremely tight. It is narrower than the first class seats on all DL domestic mainline aircraft except the 717. Plus, there is no padding on the console or armrest that your body must wedge between. It is not all Delta’s fault, the 767 seems to be too narrow to have comfortable, decently sized seats in a twin-aisle, 1-2-1 configuration.
I agree with a previous comment that the DL 747 upper deck was a premium experience. I think it was the best business-class cabin in the sky at the time.
Cheers!
The use of the word “premium” is thrown around the way restaurants throw around the term “world famous”. A local bar by me claims you should try their “World Famous Wings”. We always joke…really…they’re world famous? So, people in Istanbul know about them?
Delta is definitely not premium at the Atlanta airport. I just had 2 bad experiences in the Delta lounge in a 3 day period. Second one was tonight trying to use the bathroom. They have gender neutral bathrooms which can be dicey for women who have to sit down, but I took a chance. Urine all over the floor and seat in the first. No toilet paper and no seat liners at all in the second. The third was closed completely. I find out there are bathrooms upstairs, so I go up. Big sign in front of the restroom door that it is closed for cleaning. Another woman and I are standing there waiting for the staff person taking the trash out to finish and then we ask if it’s ok to go in. We are told no. We can’t. Staff tells us the bathrooms are now closed for cleaning 10 minutes before the club closes. Doesn’t matter to staff person that the downstairs is unusable. So what are people supposed to do when we think we have a nearby bathroom to use on the way to the gate and then suddenly it’s not available – with no warning whatsoever? Why am I busting my butt to keep my Diamond status if I can’t rely on using a bathroom in the lounge? The staff obviously closes early so they can be done and go home at 10 while us foolish customers think we have until 10 to use the facilities. After all the recent changes and now this nonsense – Not worth it to stay with Delta!!! I shoulda switched over to American or United right away.