Delta Airlines: First Class, DTW-EWR, Airbus A220

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Previous parts to this trip:

• Introduction: USA, September 2019
• Trip Report: TAP Portugal | Airbus A330 | London Heathrow – Lisbon
• Trip Report: TAP Portugal | Airbus A320 | Lisbon – Geneva
• Hotel Review: Crowne Plaza, Geneva Airport
• Trip Report: Iberia | Airbus A320 | Geneva – Madrid
• Trip Report: Iberia | Airbus A350 | Madrid – New York JFK
• Hotel Review: Crowne Plaza, HY36 Midtown Manhattan
• In Pictures: New York
• Trip Report: American Airlines First Class | B737 | New York – Miami
• Hotel Review: Holiday Inn, Port of Miami Downtown
• In Pictures: Miami
• Trip Report: American Airlines First Class | Airbus A321 | Miami-Dallas
• Hotel Review: Hotel Indigo, Dallas Downtown
• In Pictures: Dallas
• Trip Report: American Airlines First Class | Airbus A321 | Dallas – Chicago
• Hotel Review: Kimpton Gray Hotel, Chicago
• In Pictures: Chicago
• Trip Report: Delta Airlines First Class | Boeing 717 | Chicago – Detroit
• Trip Report: Delta Airlines: First Class, DTW-EWR, Airbus A220

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After arriving from Chicago, I had around two hours until my next flight to Newark. Once more, I had no lounge access, so I took a walk of the very long terminal.

This wasted around 45 minutes after which time I set up camp at the gate area with a couple of snacks.

Boarding

The inbound aircraft arrived from Atlanta around twenty minutes prior to when our flight was scheduled to board.

Prior to boarding, the gate agent mentioned a gate to gate time of 1h29, and that we may be a little late due to the crew for this flight having only just arrived on a flight that parked at the opposite end of the terminal.

Also mentioned was the boarding procedure and that it would be strictly enforced.

The crew turned up 20 minutes prior to departure. Boarding got underway shortly afterwards.

On board

I was curious to see how Delta’s newest aircraft compared to the 717 that I flew in on.

Ready and waiting at each seat was a small bottle of water, a pillow and blanket.

I found the seats offered a little more space compared to the 717, but not a huge amount.

The biggest difference was the personal entertainment screens in the seat back. Earphones were offered once boarding was completed.

We were informed of a slot delay affecting our departure, but with a flying time of 1h6minutes, our arrival shouldn’t be affected by this.

Departure

Pushback came around 10 minutes behind schedule.

Despite the earlier announced slot delay, we made a quick taxi out to the runway and were number one for takeoff. It didn’t take too long before the views disappeared.

Onboard service

A few moments after departure, drink orders were taken. This arrived a while later, followed by the snack basket. The selection was a little different to the morning flight. It still contained crisps, biscuits etc. but different varieties.

What was on offer looked to be much the same as what was being handed out in economy.

IFE

As mentioned earlier, the Delta A220’s fleet has personal tv screens fitted at every seat. In first class, they’re a pretty decent size, and had a good picture quality.

Content wise, there are a selection of films, tv shows and live tv. Although with this flight being just an hour, I stuck to the sky map.

WiFi was also available and unlike on the previous flight, it actually worked this time!

Arrival

Descent started around 50 minutes after departure. The flight deck gave an update of the weather, landing runway and which stand we would be parking on.

We touched down ahead of schedule and were on stand twenty minutes early.

After this it was time to decide whether to take the bus or train into New York City. Both cost around the same, the train would potentially be quicker however I’d used the bus before – so that’s the option I went with!

My thoughts.

This flight was inline with virtually every other flight I’ve taken in the US service wise. The crew made a difference though. In general they were younger and therefore more enthusiastic than their AA counterparts experienced earlier in the week.

Bit of a shame that First Class and top tier frequent flyers don’t get access to the airlines’ lounges in the US, but this isn’t unique to Delta. It’s the same across the big three in the US so that can’t be held against them.

One more thing.

A few months back, I watched the following video from Paul Lucas featuring his experience with Delta.

I didn’t really think all that much of it after watching. However upon flying with Delta, the video came back into my mind. Both Delta aircraft I flew on had issues with their general housekeeping.

On the 717, there was more of a deep clean needed.

Where as on the relatively new A220, it was just sloppy cleaning after the previous flight.

A used (?) napkin in the seatback. Ok, I guess that was easy to miss.

Where as the previous passengers blanket stuffed down the side of the seat is a little harder to forgive.

It was hardly the end of the world, but upon boarding a flight I generally don’t find any evidence of the previous passenger. Not on Delta. As I said, minor issues but it was still something I picked up on.