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Delta’s newest plane took off Friday as the airline conducted its first revenue service using the Airbus A321neo from Boston to San Francisco.
The new model also introduces Delta’s new first-class seats, a modern update to traditional recliner seats with a number of new touches—most notably the two fins on either side of the headrest, Slightly improved privacy.
The neo has been highly anticipated since the seat model first leaked, and was subsequently confirmed by the airline in early 2020.
My colleague Zach Griff got his first look at the plane before it entered service, and even before Delta took it from its Atlanta hangar to Boston for the first time He even had a chance to fly when he was flying profitably.
Even so, it can be difficult to get an impression of a new airline product on the ground or on an empty plane.
But what about a transcontinental flight that takes seven hours in the cabin from boarding to disembarking?That would definitely provide a better feel.
Neo itself is an interesting platform for Delta, offering lower operating costs (in the form of lower fuel consumption) while also providing a relatively blank slate for airlines to design the in-flight experience.
“We feel like it’s a really great experience for people,” Charlie Shervey, Delta’s Boston-based sales director, told me in a pre-flight interview.”We felt it could be very competitive and provide a great experience.”
Although the airline chose to put the jets on the Boston-San Francisco route instead of planes with lie-flat seats, Schewe said the airline is constantly evaluating demand and may add to that at a later date.Notably, Delta plans to add lie-flat seats to its sub-fleet of 155 A321neos on order.
For this layout, most passengers will find the economy class and the extended space section familiar.But there’s updated in-flight entertainment, a new Viasat Wi-Fi system, enlarged overhead bins, mood lighting and other amenities that should provide passengers with an overall improved experience.
However, new doesn’t always mean better.That’s why we booked our tickets in the front cabin of our first flight so we could see if the hype was really worth it.
Spoiler: The seats are excellent, a marked improvement over the standard first-class recliners.But they’re not perfect, and have some nasty flaws — mostly the result of design sacrifices in which one thing is traded for another feature.
The flight was supposed to take off before 8:30am, but I had arranged with Delta to get on the plane a few minutes earlier—and on the tarmac—for a photo shoot.That means arriving at Boston Logan Airport around 6am
Even far before the flight, the scene was party ready, and by the time I finished my photography tour, it was in full swing.
As travelers enjoyed breakfast and snacks, where AvGeeks took photos of the inauguration and exchanged souvenirs, a Delta representative walked into the crowd, asked for silence, and summoned two passengers on the flight.
Turns out, they were on their way to their honeymoon – they happened to be on this flight to San Francisco, and the Delta flight crew gave them a bunch of treats and gifts (just kidding, of course, the whole scene was actually for them).
After a few very brief remarks from another Delta representative, the crew and ground management gathered to cut the ribbon for the new jet.It was Diamond Medallion and Million-Miler passenger Sascha Schlinghoff who did the actual cutting.
Schlinghoff didn’t know he would be invited to the ceremony until a few minutes ago, he told me after we landed in San Francisco, and said he was just chatting at the door with Delta employees during the festivities.After a while, the managing director at the scene and the staff at the door came up to ask him if he wanted to cut the ribbon.
Boarding started a few minutes later, pretty fast.When we stepped onto the plane, each passenger was given a bag full of inaugural gifts – a special pin, a bag tag, an A321neo keychain and a pen.
First-class passengers were given a second gift bag engraved with a paperweight celebrating the flight upon boarding.
As we pushed back, the flight attendant announced a water cannon salute as we taxied to the runway.However, there seems to be a miscommunication with the MassPort fire crew as they ended up not salute – they just drove the truck in front of us for a while and led the way, but it was hard for the passengers to see.
However, we can see Delta Ramps employees pause what they were doing, taking pictures or videotaping, as the new planes passed by.
After a few bumps during the initial climb, the flight attendant came over to take drink orders and confirm our breakfast options.I, like every other first-class passenger, picked up my meals early through the app.
After a while, breakfast was served.I ordered the egg, potato and tomato tortilla which was actually more of a frittata.I wouldn’t mind adding ketchup or hot sauce, but even without it, it was delicious.It comes with fruit salad, chia pudding and warm croissants.
My tablemate Chris opted for the blueberry pancakes, and he said it tasted as good as it looked and smelled: very.
It’s a full first class cabin where AvGeeks celebrates the inauguration.This means that no one really settles down during the flight, and it also means that passengers are requesting drinks almost all the time throughout the flight.The flight leader and other flight attendants responded calmly and were very attentive throughout.
Snacks and final drink service are taken away before landing, it’s time to set off in search of lunch!
But as good as it is, the service is typical of what you’d expect on any non-Delta One transcontinental flight in the morning.Let’s move on to the unique feature here, seating.
To cut to the chase, I’d say these are some of the best first-class recliners that American Airlines has flown.While they’re not flat-bed pods, they beat any other recliner available.
Winged guards on either side of the headrest won’t completely block your seatmate or those in the aisle, but they will slightly block your face and add to the sense of distance from your neighbors.
The same goes for the center divider.It’s not quite like the center divider you’ll find in the middle seat of a Polaris or Qsuite business class, but it creates and enhances a sense of personal space—there’s no need to fight over armrests or shared center table space.
As for those headrest wings, they have rubber foam padding inside.A few times I found myself accidentally putting my head on them instead of the headrest.Very comfortable, although I wish Delta Air Lines made this space a high touch point for frequent cleaning.
The rows are slightly staggered across the aisles, and the offset helps add a little bit of privacy.In a way, “privacy” is almost the wrong word.You can see your fellow passengers and they can see you, but you just have a greater sense of personal space, as if you were in a transparent bubble.I found it very comfortable and effective.
There is a small room under the center armrest for a small water bottle, as well as a phone, books and other small things.There’s also some surface space next to this privacy divider where you’ll find power sockets and USB ports.
You’ll also find a shared cocktail tray in front of the center armrest — really, the only thing shared.
This is very well designed with a small lip to keep things from slipping off, perfect for holding drinks throughout the flight.
At your feet, there’s also a cubby between the two seats in front of you, separated so that each passenger has some space.It’s big enough to hold a laptop and a few other things.There are also large pockets in the seatbacks, as well as space for a laptop.Finally, there’s room under the seat in front of you, although that’s proving to be rather limited.
Anyway, I was able to sit comfortably – even during meals – with my laptop and phone plugged in, a bag with all my various chargers, a notepad, my DSLR Camera and a large water bottle, and some space to spare.
The seats themselves are very comfortable, and any concerns I had about the thin padding were unfounded.At 21 inches wide, 37 inches in pitch and 5 inches in pitch, it’s a great way to fly.Yes, the padding is thinner and stronger than older cabins, like Delta’s 737-800, but the modern memory foam used can also work well with less material, and for the nearly seven I’ve had on board Hours.I also found the headrest, with its adjustable position and neck support, particularly ergonomic.
Finally, I could try connecting my AirPods to the inflight entertainment system via Bluetooth, a new feature Delta is piloting in first class on these planes.It’s flawless, and the sound quality is far superior to what I usually get when connecting AirPods with an AirFly Bluetooth dongle.
Speaking of the inflight entertainment screen, it’s large and sharp and can be tilted up and down, offering different angles depending on whether you or the person in front of you is tilted.
First, it was very difficult to get out of the window seat.The lockers between the two front seats protrude slightly into the foot area, with barely a foot of gap to pass through.
Combined with the large recline on these seats, this can be a problem.If the person in the aisle seat in front of you is reclining and you are trying to get out of the window seat to use the toilet, you must pass deftly.That might be enough for me to choose an aisle seat on the windows of these jets.If you’re a reclining sleeper, be prepared to be woken up by the passenger behind you grabbing the seat so you don’t fall over.
Even if you’re in an aisle seat, if you open the tray table, the person lying in front of you will visibly eat into your space and feel very claustrophobic.If the person in front of you is reclining, you can still type on the laptop, but it may look a little tight.
Also tight: storage space under the seat.Thanks to the box that contains the entertainment system and power supply, plus the kickstand for each seat, there’s less room for bags or other belongings than you might expect.In practice, however, this isn’t really a problem, since there’s plenty of overhead bin space.
Finally, it’s a shame that Delta didn’t choose to add leg rests or footrests, such as on the recliners in its Premium Select premium economy class.That’s not the norm for first-class seats on American Airlines, but the airline is already raising the bar — why not raise the bar a bit to make it easier for passengers to fall asleep on red-eye and early-morning flights?
The new first class seat design for the Delta A321neo is very, very good.While the promise of “privacy” may be overstated, the sense of personal space these seats provide is unmatched.
There are a few hiccups, and I suspect passengers will be frustrated by having difficulty getting out of the window seat in the reclining situation I described above.But having said that, I would definitely go out of my way to fly first class on this plane rather than a similar narrow body.
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Post time: May-23-2022