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I flew in the same $6k Delta seats as Team USA did for the Paris Olympics - here's what it was like
Delta is certainly going for gold in the airline industry, striving to elevate its cabin comfort and service all round.
For the fourth year running, the carrier was named the the Best Airline in North America at the prestigious 2024 SkyTrax World Airline Awards and it also took home a slew of other gongs including Best Business Class in North America and Best Airline Staff in the region.
Topping things off, this year the airline announced a multi-year partnership with Team USA, managing all travel for U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes to the Olympic and Paralympic Games to Paris and beyond.
But does the U.S. airline live up to the hype?
On a recent return trip from New York to London, I tested the airline's premium cabin offering: Delta One.
Delta is certainly going for gold in the airline industry, striving to elevate its cabin comfort and service all round. Pictured, a Delta One cabin on an Airbus A330-900neo
This year the airline announced a partnership with Team USA , managing all travel for U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes to the Olympic and Paralympic Games to Paris and beyond
This was the same cabin class which the Team USA Olympic athletes experienced this month, and the Para athletes will follow their lead next week.
Return tickets for Delta One seats from the U.S. to Europe and the UK start from upwards of $6,000 and can exceed $15,000.
Delta One lounge
The first perk of booking Delta One tickets is access to the airline's premium lounges, which are reserved only for Delta One customers.
At New York's JFK, a new dedicated check-in area and Delta One lounge opened in June as part of a $1.5 billion investment at the airport.
The space, which measures almost the same as three Olympic-sized swimming pools at 39,707sqft, has been broken down into different areas.
The offerings include a sprawling food court, atmospheric fine dining restaurant, swanky bar area, lounge complete with a fireplace and year-round covered terrace looking out over the runway.
To help travelers unwind before their flight, there is also a mini spa, with five state-of-the-art massage chairs from Human Touch (which retail for more than $10,000), a treatment room and sleeping booths with reclining chairs.
At New York's JFK, a new dedicated check in area and Delta One lounge opened in June as part of a $1.5 billion investment at the airport
The space, which measures almost the same as three Olympic-sized swimming pools at 39,707sqft, includes a covered terrace area overlooking the runway
I previously gained access to the lounge before it opened to the public, so it was interesting returning and seeing it in full swing.
As the airline has more than 200 departures a day out of JFK's Terminal 4 even this premium space was bustling come early evening, but it didn't take too long to get a drink at the bar and there were still plenty of seats available back towards the spa area.
The food court appeared to be the busiest area, with travelers who didn't have time to dine in the restaurant area eager to pick up hot and cold snacks.
While other airport lounges allow for self-service, all of the bar and food counters in the Delta One JFK lounge are manned by staff, with the coffee machine being the only spot where you are given free rein.
Flight one: New York to London
Delta brought Team USA back from Paris with the official Olympic flag on a special Airbus A350-900 but I boarded a Boeing 767-400 for my overnight trip from New York to London.
It was a full Delta One cabin for the seven-hour and 20-minute flight, with 34 seats in a one-two-one-configuration.
I was seated in 1C at the front of the plane and in the central area. On my seat greeting me, there was a bedding kit made from recycled materials and an amenity kit from Mexican apparel brand Someone Somewhere.
DailyMail.com's Sadie Whitelocks tested the airline's top-tier offering: Delta One
For her meal, Sadie opted for a ravioli dish, with a seared tuna and celeriac and truffle soup to start. She gave these items a thumbs up, but found the bread roll a little hard
As Delta works with luxury skincare brand Grown Alchemist, I expected the kit to contain more goodies, but there was only a small tube of lip balm and a hand cream.
The other components comprised an eye mask, bamboo toothbrush and paste, cardboard pen, and ear plugs.
On sitting down, sparkling wine and soft drinks were offered and a dedicated flight attendant checked which meal I would like.
Before the flight there was the option of selecting a meal in Delta One, with a 'limited selection' of 'exclusive entrée options' available but I left it until boarding to make a choice.
From braised beef short rib, roasted chicken breast and buffalo mozzarella ravioli, I plumped for the latter pasta dish.
Settling into my seat, I noted how roomy it felt and there was a tunnel-like 'cubby' space where my feet were which was big enough to accommodate my large handbag and shopping bag.
On Delta's Boeing 767-400s, the Delta One seats measures 51cm wide and they extend to 195.6cm long when they are fully flat (just taller than the most decorated Olympian in history, 6ft 4in American swimmer Michael Phelps).
After takeoff, I was pleased to find that the service was super speedy as I was keen to get some rest before landing into London the next morning.
The man in the seat next to me chose not to eat so he could get to sleep right away, and I lifted up the partition so he could get some rest in privacy.
As Delta works with luxury skincare brand Grown Alchemist, Sadie said she expected the amenity kit to contain more goodies, but there was 'only a small lip balm and a hand cream'
The seat was easy to use, Sadie says, with a touchscreen panel to control angles
Annoyingly, the TV systems were down with a reboot not working, so I ate dinner with just my thoughts to entertain me.
The al dente pasta was surprisingly tasty, as was the gently seared tuna which came as a starter along with a small bowl of celeriac and truffle soup. The bread roll however, was a little bit tough and I gave up after a couple of chews.
To wash it down, I opted for an oaky Californian Chardonnay, followed by a more voluptuous 2018 French Merlot-Cabernet blend.
After polishing off dinner, I popped to the toilet. Unlike other airlines where the business or first class washrooms have a luxury feel, I felt the Delta One ones were the same as the rest of the plane, bar the addition of a Grown Alchemist handwash.
Back at my seat, I attempted to plug my phone into charge but found that the plane had not yet upgraded to USB-C ports, so I charged it via my laptop instead.
The easy-to-operate lay flat plane seat was very comfortable and the pillow and the bedding worked a treat.
In fact, I woke up just as the captain was announcing it was time to land with around six hours of sleep under my belt.
This meant I missed the 'pre-arrival' offering of either a ricotta avocado omelet or a vanilla chia pudding, but there were some little bags of almonds in the snack area which sufficed.
After whizzing through the electronic passport gates at London Heathrow, my luggage was quick to arrive, as Delta One passengers also get Sky Priority baggage handling as part of their travel experience.
Flight Two: London to New York
On the London to New York leg, Sadie opted for a flavorful mushroom and tarragon pie
On the return leg of my journey from London to New York with Delta, I flew on an Airbus A330-900.
As there is no dedicated Delta One lounge at Heathrow, I dipped into the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, as these two airlines have worked in partnership for just over a decade.
The lounge was conveniently located close to the gate and as a Delta One passenger I was granted priority boarding.
Delta's Airbus A330-900s have been kitted out with 29 Delta One Suites, with the only difference being that the 'suites' have full-height doors and privacy dividers between the center suite seats.
The seats are also slightly roomier, with a width of 57cm and a length of 203cm when fully extended flat.
Other than these pointers, everything about my seat appeared to be the same as my outbound flight.
Luckily, this time around the TV was working too, so I settled in for the eight-hour and 15-minute journey with some movies to look forward to.
I hadn't used the headphones on the way out but I was disappointed to find them rather tinny and not as good sound quality as others I have used flying business.
At first I thought they might be broken, as one headphone only appeared to emit the faintest of sounds. But after swapping them out for a new pair and checking the headphone jack, I realized that that was the best action I was going to get.
The pie was accompanied by some 'plump' shrimp and a sweet corn soup to start
A menu showing some of the things on offer on Sadie's Delta One flight
On this leg of the journey, I also decided to test out the Wi-Fi. I thought with Delta One this would be free but I ended up paying $29 to get connected for the duration.
On the food side of things, the evening meal was just as satisfying as on the way out with a flavorful mushroom, red wine and tarragon pie, accompanied by some plump shrimp and a sweetcorn soup.
Alas, the same rock hard bread roll reemerged, but the juicy Bordeaux helped right this wrong.
For pudding, I decided to indulge in a cheese plate over an ice cream sundae.
After some movies and dinner, I settled in for a sleep, waking just as I did before - 20 minutes before touchdown.
Verdict
Overall, my experience with Delta and Delta One rates highly.
The sleep quality I got on both legs of my journey was great, and I think the seats serve up lots of room, especially for tall customers.
Along with comfort, other highlights included the new lounge at JFK, the friendly service, the food and beverage offerings and the Sky Priority baggage service.
Some of the things which I was less enthused about included the headphones, the washrooms (which appeared no different than those in economy), the lackluster amenity kits and the lack of free Wi-Fi.
However, on the last two pointers, a Delta representative told me that free fast speed Wi-Fi for all Delta passengers is currently being rolled out, while luxury fashion house Missoni has designed a new Delta One amenity kit.
These swankier-looking washbags are currently available on all flights to and from Italy and Paris and will launch worldwide in September.
So, if you have Delta SkyMiles to splash, or a bank balance that will run to it, Delta One seats do make a world of difference, especially if you're just hopping across the pond for a long weekend, where getting a good run of sleep can make or break your trip.