Trip Report: Delta Airlines First Class | Boeing 717 | Chicago – Detroit
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
With an 06:15 alarm set, this would be the earliest start of the trip. Although I was still waking up reasonably early anyway, so wasn’t too painful!
I was on a train to O’Hare by 7am, arriving around 40 mins later.
As is the norm on this trip, I had checked in online so bypassed the check in desks.
I passed through security, and for the first time ever I was asked (or more specifically told) to take all food out of my bag. That was a new one to me.
As my SkyTeam status is with Delta Airlines, this meant no lounge access for me today. Instead I took a walk around the terminal, although as I’d not stuck to my two hour rule I didn’t have too long to kill.
Boarding
Boarding wasn’t quite as punctual as with American Airlines, although it was only a minute or two later than advertised.
Once on board, the crew were pretty quick in taking drink orders.
The boarding process was slowed down a little by the age old problem if there not being enough room for everyone’s carry on bags. It seemed to figure itself out quickly enough however.
Departure
Pushback came a few minutes ahead of schedule. We made a pretty slow taxi over to the active before making a pretty fast takeoff.
Almost straight after departure, there was a pretty sharp turn to the left.
Today’s routing would take us to the North, before heading towards Detroit.
Onboard service
The service began shortly after departure. As this was a shorter flight, there wasn’t any meal. Just the snack basket. Compared with American Airlines, there was a pretty small selection. Cheese crackers, biscoff cookies and a cereal bar.
Once the initial run was completed, the crew member serving the First cabin wasn’t seen again until clearing up for landing.
Entertainment
There were no personal screens fitted to this aircraft. Instead, entertainment was provided by streaming to your device.
WiFi was also provided. Free messaging is provided. I did find the service a little patchy though, so couldn’t actually see the prices.
Arrival
As this was one of the shorter flights I’d be taking on this trip, descent started around 30 minutes after departure. As it was a little cloudy, there wasn’t too much to be seen on approach.
We touched down and made the short journey over to the terminal. Arrival was made just under ten minutes ahead of schedule.
My thoughts
I must admit, I wasn’t overly blown away with this short flight. I had heard so many good things about Delta Airlines over the years, but in all honesty, they didn’t seem all that much different to American. Don’t get me wrong, they were far from awful – they just weren’t as great as I was expecting.
The crew member serving the first cabin was friendly enough though, and for the first time on this trip I actually had a flight not only leave but also arrive on time too.
