A few weeks back I flew on Delta Flight #9 from London to Atlanta. This was the last leg of an around the world itinerary and I was wiped out and had a full blown head cold by this point. I skipped the lunch service and slept instead. On this day Delta 9 was operated with a Boeing 767-400 which featured new Thompson Aero Vantage fully flat business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration; 1-2-1 meaning every seat is an aisle seat. The seats lie completely flat, are cozy, comfortable and offer plenty of privacy. Getting into the “true“ window seat is like trying to get into a coach window seat when trying to squeeze pass the person in the aisle seat: its tight but the benefit is privacy. What I mean by a true window seat is that each seat has a bulkhead (I don’t mean bulkhead as in a wall in front of your seat). The bulkhead alternates by row. Some rows have the bulkhead on the aisle with the seat right next to the window; other seats have the seat right on the aisle and the bulkhead next to the window. Aren’t you glad I have pictures of this?
the next 2 pictures are of a “window” seat with the bulkhead between the seat and window
this is what I am calling a “bulkhead”:
I recommend trying to get a true window seat; it will allow you more privacy in addition to being both a window and an aisle seat, but you can’t go wrong either way.
Here is the true window seat, bulkhead is just to the right:
Once you are in the seat, it is very cozy and quite comfortable when lying full flat. When the seat is postioned in the fully flat mode, your legs are extended all the way under the seat in front of you; so if you were lying on your back you would not really be able to bend your knees.
These seats are different than the seats found on some of Delta’s 777′s. Click here to see the differences.
According to SeatGuru.com these seats have 44″ of pitch (space between your seat and the seat in front of you). This does not seem like much relative to some other business class seats, but don’t worry, there is plenty of space to relax or work.
As for the flight, I woke with four hours to go. I found a self service snack cart was set up in the galley with cheese, snacks & bottled water. When I returned to my seat, warm chocolate chip cookies and drinks were offered, followed by the “pre-arrival” meal shortly after. The cabin crew was very polished. I felt very comfortable and safe with them running the show. Looking back at this menu, I am mad at myself for missing lunch.
I flew on Singapore and All Nippon Airways last month and received no amenity kit. Here’s Delta’s (pen, mints, eye shades, socks, toothpaste & brush, lip balm, moisturizer, tissues, ear plugs)
According to Delta’s website, these new business class seats can be found on all flights between Atlanta, Minneapolis, Detroit, JFK and Heathrow. Given Delta’s recent announcement about revamping their planes, there is no reason these seat shouldn’t go into every 767 in the fleet.
It certainly looks better than the, similar, new seat on Swiss – fewer “bad” seats. That said, I still think it’s far from being the best way to LHR – I dislike having my legs tucked into the narrow space beneath the table in-front. In this respect, I’ll always prefer BA or VS from LHR. Sadly for DL, I think this is reflected in the pricing, recent experience shows that, for LHR to JFK, they are significantly cheaper 9over £1000) than BA or VS.
It looks similar to A380 business class seat on Emirates. I didn’t like that particularly because it was very claustrophobic with high enclosing walls (unlike a first class suite these are much closer to your body).
It is hard to tell from the pictures but it appears the Delta seat doesn’t have the high walls so should be better.
Personally I prefer the Air NZ (or Virgin Atlantic) business class seats.
Rory-Thank you for the comment. Excellent point about price & quality. I certainly agree and perhaps that is why I find myself on Delta most of the time. In addition, living in Atlanta gives me so few choices; for direct flights at least. Take care
M
Global Traveller-Thanks for your comments. There are no “high walls” just the large bulkhead. This new config. is definitely a different “feel” from most J classes. I would not want anything to do with this config if I were claustrophobic. Thanks again.
M
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Check out Air Canada. I flew from Toronto to Sydney on a new 777. One stop to refuel in Vancouver and 16 hours to Sydney. The ‘pod’ seat configuration was excellent. Lots of leg room and easy to operate seat controls. Would also have to say that the wine and food was first rate. Give AC a try on long hauls. Cheers, Bob Little
global trvlr
I think this looks more commercialized and cheap than emirates. The difference between U.S carriers and Asian carriers is that Asian carriers actually care about appearance. They use nice colors and old fashioned uniforms. Most U.S carriers including dl sometimes basically stick to plastic and the occasional leather with fa’s wearing casual wear. It’s more quantity than quality in the U.S.
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Thanks