Flight Review Delta Airlines Comfort Plus Class Boeing 767-300ER
This is actually not just one flight review, but two wrapped up in one, since I recently had the chance to take two consecutive flights on Delta Comfort+® class, one a US transcon from LAX to JFK and the other an international, transatlantic one from JFK to Barcelona.
I am aware there are some differences between Delta’s domestic and international service, yet, the aircraft type was the same and the cabin was pretty much the same in both cases, so I will try to summarize in this flight report of the Delta Airlines Boeing 767-ER my general impressions of both flights on Delta Comfort+® class.
Flight #: DL392
From: Los Angeles International (LAX)
To: New York City (JFK)
Flight time: 5h approx.
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300ER
Flight #: DL168
From: New York City (JFK)
To: Barcelona (BCN)
Flight time: 8h approx.
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300ER
For clarity I have divided this review in the following sections:
Pre-flight experience
Seat & cabin
Amenities, IFE & Service Onboard
Food & Drink
Pre-flight experience
This is perhaps the part of the journey in which Delta really impressed me. Since I am not a regular Delta customer, I downloaded the airline’s app on purpose to manage the check-in for this trip.
The interface is quite sleek and easy to navigate and it had a number of features that, while not essential, are quite interesting for those of us with an interest in the tiny details of our air journeys. For example, the possibility of checking out which specific plane is going to be on that flight and to track its preceding moves through the “Where is my plane” and “Watch flight” options.
Also, the unbundling of the different ancillary services and the possibility of monitoring - all the way to the boarding gate - how full is your flight and what options are there to get a (paid) upgrade.
The practical information about the flight, boarding gates, connecting flight, etc was also quite comprehensive and easy to find on the app, as was the information about the final destination.
Seat & Cabin
I was flying on Comfort Plus, which is one step up from plain economy. Delta has other service classes above Comfort+: Delta Premium Select (Premium Economy or Biz Light), First Class (Domestic) and Delta One (International).
What extras does Comfort Plus give you over plain Economy class?
You get to board before economy class you also get some extra food and snacks, more frequent flyer miles (I guess), guaranteed overhead bin space and…the key element when we are talking (as it is the case here) of rather long flights: more seat pitch!
The seat pitch in Delta Comfort Plus is 34’ compared to 32’ in economy. You can see in the pic below how I had no problem at all with stretching the legs and there was still quite a big gap left.
Configuration on the Comfort+ section of the cabin on the B767-300ER is 2-3-2 (for a total of 20 seats).
On both transcon and transatlantic flights I also got a pillow and a blanket.
You can also get an impression in the pics of the overall Comfort Plus cabin atmosphere & the state of the toilet (mid-flight).
Amenities, IFE & Service Onboard
As we shall soon see, the inflight entertainment system plays a big role in the overall Delta Comfort Plus experience, but first of all, let me point out we got a small amenity kit (containing an eye-mask, toothbrush and toothpaste) plus a seat of earplugs.
The seatback screens have a USB port in addition to the socket for the earplugs.
The whole IFE experience was pretty good (same of both flights).
Full disclosure: I’ve worked as a consultant with companies in the IFE space that may compete with some of the platforms mentioned here. In any case, I will share my impressions just based on my own personal experience here.
There is a selection of over 100 movies and a similar number of series and other content. Navigation was quite smooth throughout the system and the touch screen is very responsive.
Also, and again a treat for aviation enthusiasts, the flight and aircraft information was superb.
There was also live internet connectivity on both planes, although for any navigation other than messaging services, you would need to pay. Here Delta offers you different plans, including a monthly subscription plan, which I guess is useful if for very frequent flyers.
Internet access is browser-based, so no need to download any specific app before the flight.
In my case I could not get past the Fee Plans screen, I don’t know if this was due to something wrong with my phone or with the system, but in any case, had plenty of other stuff to do, so after a few reload attempts, I gave up.
You can also see the food and drink options on your seatback screen and that’s where we are going to next.
Food & Drink
First of all, let me say that food and drink is one of the aspects of the flight in which there was a marked difference between my first, transcon flight and the second leg (transatlantic), despite flight length being not that different and the flight taking place throughout the whole day (plus 3h time zone difference).
On the transcon flight we only got snacks and soft drinks and coffee/tea. To be fair the selection of snacks, if not particularly healthy, was quite diverse and the crew members were actually quite generous when it comes to handing them out.
In addition to snacks (and this cute. Delta cookie), we did get a proper warm meal plus tea/coffee and wine on the transatlantic leg of the trip from JFK to Barcelona.
The food itself was nothing to write home about. One little detail that I like is the careful wrapping of the cutlery (the extra sensation of cleanliness that it gives you in the environment of an aircraft is a nice touch!)
Right before landing we got the second warm meal of the trip: breakfast. Quite simple (a warm cheese & egg warm sandwich) but but filing, and together with some fruit juice and coffee, the sort of thing you expect to start the day with energy. It was early morning at destination, but only the early hours of the night for those of us still on an American clock!
Our take:
Worth to go for Comfort Plus? I guess it really depends on the price point you can get. The overall experience is not sooo different from plain economy, but when on a long flight, it’s certainly nice to have the extra seat pitch. How much are you ready to pay for 2” (5cm) extra of space?