Delta One 757 Domestic Service, a Flight Review

Posted By Jon Nickel-D'Andrea on Jan 26, 2020 | 4 comments

On select Boeing 757 transcontinental routes, Delta offers their full flat-bed Delta One service. Recently I was able to snag a great deal on a flight from New York’s JFK to Seattle and had the chance to experience all aspects of this awesome flight.

From the lounge to the food options to the seat, the entire experience wildly exceeded my expectations.

Check-In Experience

This flight was operated out of JFK’s Terminal 4 which handles the majority of their international flights. Because of this, the experience was slightly different than a lot of Delta’s JFK flights.

Check-In runs down the side of the terminal building in a sort of hidden area. It’s hard to see, but if you look for the Sky Priority/Virgin Atlantic signs, you can’t miss it.

A short hop through security and you’re presented with a few lounge options. Since you are in a large international terminal, you can obviously see quite the selection. We had access to the Delta SkyClub, of course, but as a Priority Pass member you could also access the Wingtips Lounge or the Air India Maharaja Lounge, if you felt so inclined.

Delta Sky Club – Terminal 4

The SkyClub here is… for lack of a better word… huge.

I’m going to refrain from posting a ton of pics but imagine that you’re going up an escalator into a second level. There are multiple food stations, bars, about 400 seats, dining room tables, a kids room, a spa… it truly is a retreat in and of itself, and this was before a refurbish!

There are also shower suites to freshen up before or after your flight. Truly, no excuse not to spend a little bit of time here at least.

The Flight

Now, the good part. Remember that this is a domestic flight. The planes themselves are operated on many flights, but not all of them. Make sure to check the Delta Seat Map before you book to make sure that you’re buying the right one. Typically, Delta flies these planes from:

• Boston to Los Angeles and San Francisco
• Washington DC Reagan to Los Angeles
• New York JFK to/from Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Las Vegas

The first thing that you notice right away when you board the plane is the flat beds. They’re offset from one another, and on each seat is a pillow and blanket.

While not providing direct aisle access for each passenger, there’s usually enough room for the window passenger to slip by and the comfy seat makes the 6 plus hour flight more than bearable.

The bulkhead seats offer a slightly larger footwell and all seats come with a large setback screen to watch the selection of movies and TVs offered.

The seats can be reclined fully or offer fully independent sections. I prefer this over the preset options that only allow “Sit, Sleep, and Relax”

At each seat as well were both a USB charger and standard wall outlet charging.

LSTN headphones, some of the nicer ones I’ve had the pleasure of trying onboard, were available for your use. Unlike American Airlines, they don’t make you take them off an hour before landing…

The woodgrain accents continue into the very large treatable. A hot towel was also provided just before take off.

The Food/Service

It was an early morning flight so I wanted to rest as much as possible, but I was also hungry. Just after take off they came by with the menu of food options. Not being a picky eater, I told them that I’d let the other passengers choose and just take whatever was left over. 

Turns out that we were catered for a lunch service instead of breakfast. Surprise!

I’m not gonna lie – I thought it was a breakfast flight, but for some reason, I was served the breaded chicken with salad and veggies. Apparently this was all that was left over. HA!

No big deal – that means that we also got Ice Cream 🙂

I do like that they use a car in the aisle. The food, desserts, and drinks, were all presented on the trolley mid-aisle. It’s a nice touch that you can see what’s coming and I think it harkens back to another time in travel where food was served seat-side during the flight.

Other Airlines

It should be noted that on the JFK-SEA route you’ve got the option of flying American, Alaska, or Delta. Delta Airlines is the only airline to offer flatbed seating, and they should be charging more of a premium. Alaska can charge upwards of $1,000 for a oneway ticket in first class and the product is not competitive in any stretch of the imagination.

American offers an even worse product, mostly because with American you never know what you’re going to get from a customer service standpoint, or if they’re going to leave on time.

If you’ve got the choice to fly on one of these reconfigured 757 planes, and the cost isn’t too exorbitant, then my all means, snag it. It’ll make your flight across the country that much smoother and you’re going to arrive more relaxed and refreshed!