Delta? Fly by any other airline... (Delta)

Member Name: kevin121

Product:	Delta
Date:	12/12/08 (134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap flights

Disadvantages: Basic plane interiors compared to UK airlines, not good value for money

I chose to fly with Delta over any other airline for my last holiday to California because having checked various sites they were the cheapest schedule airline to fly from Gatwick.

I discovered most airlines which fly to San Francisco only fly from Heathrow which was not an option for us - I learnt my lesson having carried suitcases around London Underground and on trains before (in rush hour) and it's no laughing matter with all the commuters. The next most important thing to us was how long the overall journey was going to take, and the times varied wildly depending on how long you were prepare to stop-over somewhere for refuelling. Generally speaking, the longer you are prepared to wait on a stopover the cheaper the flights will be. Delta had a very good choice of flights, with most of them stopping over either in Cincinnati, Atlanta or New York. Naturally we chose New York.

We were notified that we had to arrive at the airport at least 3 hours before departure, so we arrived at Gatwick's North Terminal at 6am expecting to see the check in desks empty but that wasn't the case. It turned out that Delta is one of the biggest transatlantic carriers from Gatwick which I hadn't expected. So we joined the back of a long winding queue. The lady at check-in, or the ground staff as they're called, was fairly pleasant and asked all the usual questions (did you pack your own bags? Are you carrying any sharp instruments on your person? etc).

Having given all the required answers and having watched the luggage being weighed and sent on it's way, we wandered off to have a browse around the terminal, and so our journey began.

Our outward journey was expected to take 16 hours 45 minutes, with the journey to JFK airport taking 7 hours 55 minutes, a stopover of 2 hours and forty minutes and then the second flight taking 6 hours 10 minutes to get to San Fran International. All in all a very long time travelling.

The flight information we had told me that the planes we would be travelling on for all four flights were Boeing 767's, although I wouldn't know the difference, looking out at them from the terminal windows.

When we boarded at Gatwick we had to walk through the premium class section at the front of the plane to get to our economy seats. From the little I saw, the seats there were leather upholstered and with more leg room, having only six seats across compared to the seven in economy. There were only about seven or eight rows in this section as well - tiny compared to economy class. I realised when we sat down that the major drawback in economy class (which they don't advertise) is that they don't have seat back TV's! I thought that was standard with virtually every airline, even on short haul flights on charter planes. So you only have the one television and you have to crane your neck to see it hanging from the ceiling at the front of the plane. I'd expected better than this for such a long flight. I was also surprised to find the cabin crew had a far more casual appearance than on British airlines, with some of the women having their hair loose. I would have thought that wasn't allowed for health and safety reasons, but there you go - they do things differently over there. Also I feel there weren't as many chances to get soft drinks or water as I would expect, after all dehydration is one of the biggest risks when flying.

We landed safely at JFK airport in New York, and the only thing I can say is how disappointing! For such a famous airport, there was nothing there at all- only a few little coffee bars to speak of by the entrance. We spent the time watching the yellow cabs pull up with their passengers and go. The next flight to San Francisco ended up being delayed by 30 minutes and the Gate, if I remember rightly, was number 35, which we discovered was just about the furthest away it could be. On boarding this plane, the only difference was that first class was even smaller than before, with only four or five rows at the front, if my memory serves me correctly.

By the time we landed in San Francisco it was getting late and we were feeling very tired. I must have watched Wild Hogs, the film they were showing inflight three times already.
We then had a lovely holiday before heading back to San Francisco Airport in San Bruno for the return flights, three weeks later.

The man who checked us in was friendly and attentive, especially given the fact that it was still early morning. I remember thinking he reminded me so much of an older version of Ed Norton, the american actor!

Anyway we boarded, after only a short delay, and the flight back to JFK in New York was uneventful, until we actually touched down. As always, once the plane had taxied to the spot where we should alight, and the seatbelt lights went off, people jump up to get their bags. We then waited to disembark. And waited. And waited. I believe it was over fifty minutes before they would finally open the doors and let us off, although I can't remember because I was so tired I slept most of the time. The reason why I'm not sure, the cabin crew did explain that it was because we had to slot in with the other planes so we couldn't actually taxi to our gate any sooner, so they shooed all the people standing up back to their seats and tried to pacify them. I wasn't bothered provided we didn't miss our connecting flight back to London, because like I said, I was too tired to care much. Anyway, that was the only incident in all four of our flights. We did manage to disembark in the end and got our flight home with some time to spare. Again, I couldn't help noticing the more casual appearance of the american stewardesses, although that doesn't detract from the service they provide.

All in all, I found the airline to be a disappointment, because although the fares were very reasonable at £446 for two adults, the savings were obvious, such as the interior of economy being really basic and more suited to a short haul flight. Had we known the in-flight entertainment was so basic, it might have persuaded us to look at other airlines. However, in my opinion, the meals we had on all four flight were on a par with Virgin Atlantic, and so was the seat pitch, which is important when you're travelling for so long.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this, I hope it's of some help if you're thinking of flying to the States soon.

Summary: Check out british airlines first if you want decent service.