Delta, Americas finest airline. (Delta Airlines (DL))

Member Name: GillMN

Product:	Delta Airlines (DL)
Date:	21/01/09 (249 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Efficient, competetive, friendly.

Disadvantages: I can't think of one.

Delta Airlines is an American owned and run operation. It has had rather a chequered past and made a lot of innovative moves in the last decade to stave off bankruptcy.

They must be doing something right because according to Wikepedia "Delta serves 461 destinations in 96 countries, more than any other U.S. airline. It operates 1,534 flights per day. Delta, Delta Connection, and other flights from the SkyTeam Alliance partners have 6,795 daily flights"

That is a phenomenal amount of aeroplanes and people being shifted around the world every day!

My husband and I flew with Delta to New York from Manchester and back in Dec 08. I had originally booked with Air France with a change at Charles De Gaulle airport because that was the cheapest available on the web. (Approx £550 return for the two of us.)

Shortly after booking and paying I got a phone call from Delta explaining that Air France was an alliance partner of Delta and would I mind swapping to a Delta Direct flight at approximately the same time. I most certainly did not mind! I was delighted because it took three and a half hours off the journey!

Within ten minutes our confirmation eMail had come through confirming our new flight. The next day I received another eMail checking that our new times were indeed okay. I was impressed by this efficiency and attention to detail.

My daughter had also booked with Delta as part of her 'Wedding Package', she and her husband to be, travelled out two days before us. My husband dropped them at the airport. Ten minutes after that, I got an ecstatic phone call from my daughter to say that Delta had upgraded them to Business class because they were going to get married. They were pampered all the way to New York, at no added cost. It made my day and it certainly started the trip for them both in a very special way!

Two days later and it was our turn for the airport. Check in at the Delta desk was fast and efficient. I thanked the girls on the desk for upgrading my Daughter and soon to be Son-in-Law. They were so happy on the desk to hear how exciting that had been for them. One of the staff told me that they couldn't upgrade us but they didn't need to because the flight was half empty. Brilliant!

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Boarding.

Boarding was easy and pleasant. We were all asked to sit in our assigned seats until take off so they could count us all easily. We were told we could spread out if we wanted to when the seat belt lights went off.

It made so much difference having the extra space. There was room to stretch out and it was possible to move about without aggravating everybody in your row. Having said that, the seats were quite large anyway and there was good leg room unlike a lot of planes. (Ryan Air planes in particular!)

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Refreshments.

Food on board was perfectly edible. Many different ethnic groups and special diets were catered for. Tea and coffee were served free at regular intervals. I can't remember if the alcoholic drinks were free but I seem to remember that they were. We were served two meals on the flight, breakfast and lunch. The bread rolls and cheese were really nice and fresh. Considering how long the omelettes we had, had been cooked, they tasted suprisingly good.

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The staff.

Overall both ground staff and flight attendants were polite, very helpful, informative and behaved as though they actually really wanted to help. I couldn't fault them. I wish other airlines had staff of this calibre. Their efficiency on the flights both there and back (which was competely full) was very obvious. They took time to talk with you and to check that you had everything you needed.

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In-flight entertainment.

We either had individual screens on the backs of each seat or small ceiling tv's. A magazine listed all the options. There were a lot of choices, even a quiz and puzzle channel. ( I loved that one!) There also about 15 radio channels if you didn't want to watch TV. There was genuinely something to suit everybody.

I was particularly pleased that there was a channel that gave flight information. I really enjoy watching our progress and seeing speed and altitude. It fascinates me to read about head winds slowing us down and tail winds speeding us up! On the way home we had 140-150 mph tail winds which blew us home an hour ahead of schedule. Not bad hey?

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Freebies!

On boarding we were given a pack including an eye mask, earplugs, and earphones and adaptors. We were also given a copy of the Delta Magazine which was very interesting. Drinks were free (I think) and so were boiled sweets and mints. There were packs of activities for children but I didn't see what was in them. (I nearly asked for one but saved my OH the embarassment!)

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Coming home.

We left New York the day before major snow storms were expected. Because of this the aircrew were trying to get as many people as possible onto the flight so that they would be home for Christmas. The staff were amazingly patient as people fussed over different seat arrangements and insisting on being seated together etc. We left New York with a completely full plane but about twenty minutes behind schedule. It didn't matter because we still got in an hour early! Thank you Mr Tail Wind!

The flight home was fast and uneventful. It was a night flight and the seats were so comfortable that I slept until we landed! The pillows and blankets that the staff handed out made me even more comfortable. My husband ate my breakfast I was so fast asleep. (That was his story anyway!)

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I can't reccomend Delta highly enough. Nor can my Daughter and new Husband. The flights sped by (no pun intended) and we as passengers were treated like VIP's instead of cattle.

Summary: I fly every month. Delta is the best company I have ever flown with.