I recently had the (mostly) pleasurable experience of flying Delta’s ‘Delta One’ Business Class from Salt Lake City to London Heathrow on their A330-200 Aircraft. I typically fly Air Canada, United Airlines, and KLM overseas, but I jumped at the chance to grab a seat in Delta’s premiere cabin for this Delta One Business Class Review.
Grounded in Salt Lake: I enjoyed the pleasant attentive service, but a 28-hour grounding due to a mechanical failure put a slight twist in my travel plans.
What is it like to travel in ‘Delta One’ Business Class? This is my complete flight experience in the up-front cabin on my Delta Business Class flight from Salt Lake City, Utah to London, England, on a non-stop, nine-and-a-half-hour transatlantic flight aboard Delta’s widebody Airbus A330 Aircraft.
What Surprises Were in Store on This Delta flight?
Boarding Experience: I was one of the first to board and was immediately greeted at my Seat 2G by our exceptionally friendly Purser, who offered an ice-cold pre-departure glass of Champagne to help me settle into my seat.
The boarding experience was smooth and orderly with clearly identified lanes for Delta Priority Passengers and those in other boarding groups. I enjoyed the champagne and looked through the inflight entertainment options on the adequately sized swing-out LCD screen as the rest of the plane boarded.
Unfortunately, the surprise was that we were not going anywhere that evening. The Captain came on the intercom and informed us that the maintenance crew had broken an engine component and that there were no replacement parts or aircraft within the vicinity. We would have to unload the entire aircraft and wait for further instructions.
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Above left: the comfortable Delta Business Class seat with 80″ pitch and 180 degree fold flat bed. Right: Breakfast dining on my flight prior to landing.
You may also like to check out our KLM 777 Business Class Review, and Qatar Airways Uperdeck Business Class Experience Review!
How Did Delta Handle Our Delay?
After deplaning the aircraft it took about 45 minutes for Delta to confirm that there was no option to fly that evening and we were instructed to call one of several local hotels near the airport. We were provided free accommodation for the evening as well as a meagre $15 food voucher. There was no additional compensation offered by the airline.
I took the opportunity to explore Salt Lake City that evening and enjoy one of the many brewpubs in the city — Level Crossing Brewery. It was a great find and took some of the pain out of missing a full day of my London Itinerary.
What Did I Love About Delta Business Class to London?
The comfort of the Airbus A330-200 was quite good for an older aircraft, with a four-abreast seating layout featuring full 180-degree lie-flat seats. Two fairly spacious, well-appointed lavatories were in the front of the cabin adjacent to the cockpit doors. This layout is great as everyone has an aisle seat and there is no stepping over people to use the lavatory. See the cabin layout here at Seat Guru.
Meals and Entertainment on Delta A330 Business Class
The onboard culinary options were pretty tasty, I especially liked the choice of craft beer, the good wine selection and the well-prepared dinner offerings. I especially liked the bread-pudding like breakfast french toast, served with fresh fruit. It came out hot and was flavourful, served with a blueberry compote topping. Just what I needed before the long London Underground trip from Heathrow to my Hotel in Westminster.
The entertainment system was on par with other mainline airlines like United Airlines, Air Canada and American Airlines. A wide selection of bingable TV series, new and classic hit moves in addition to audio selections were available. I am not the biggest fan of pull-out or retractable screens in Business Class seats, as I find it a nuisance to stow during take-off and landing but this one seemed fairly unobtrusive.
Delta Sky Club Lounge at Salt Lake City Airport
A nice up-to-date modern lounge. Before reboarding the aircraft I had an extended stay in the Delta Sky Club lounge at the Salt Lake Airport. I was quite impressed with this rather expansive lounge and enjoyed my five-plus hour stay there. A large compliment of food and drinks were available free of charge and the Delta Sky Club offered gorgeous views of the Rocky Mountains surrounding Salt Lake. Compared to the United Clubs I usually frequent in the USA, this was far nicer and much less cramped.
Where Did I Travel in London on This Trip?
I was in the London area for a week of business meetings but made sure to get out and enjoy some of the best London has to offer before making a quick hop over to the Amsterdam area for another week. I spent time enjoying SOHO – the Entertainment capital of London, enjoyed a great trip to London King’s Cross, an area that has been recently redeveloped into London’s tech hub for the likes of Google, Facebook and many others.
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Taking into consideration that this flight had a very significant delay, I was still pleased with the quality and friendliness of the service as well as the value offered for this flight. I’d gladly fly with Delta again, and appreciate the relationship they have with KLM which is a SkyTeam partner for earning and redeeming miles.
It is very unfortunate that in cities like Salt Lake that are non-hub locations for Delta, there is a very real risk of potential for long delays in getting service for these one-off widebody non-stop flights like this Delta flight D50 to London. If time is of the essence, you are probably better off booking through a hub like Atlanta for Delta where quick access to crew and parts are available.