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This post will review 2 separate flights in Delta domestic first class. Delta flight DL2366 Sacramento to Salt Lake City and DL1843 Salt Lake City to Boston.
I arrived at the Sacramento Airport parking garage and snagged a good spot on level 3 close to the pedestrian bridge. Lines at the security checkpoint were relatively long, but with TSA PreCheck it only took a few minutes to get airside.
Introduction: Business in Boston
Review: Delta Domestic First Class – Sacramento To Boston
Review: Delta Sky Club – Salt Lake City
Review: Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor
Review: Hyatt Regency Boston
Thoughts On Boston
Review: Delta Sky Club – Boston
Review: Delta Sky Club – Minneapolis
Drive By: The Escape Lounge – Minneapolis
Review: Delta Domestic First Class – Boston to Sacramento
Parking Garage
Security Area
Terminal A
The first of the 2 flights left at 1:35pm and so I had arrived at the terminal about an hour early in order to have some lunch. The food offerings use to be very slim at Terminal A, but a recent renovation has fixed that. My new go to spot for this terminal is the Iron Horse Tavern. I ordered the chicken wings and a club soda for lunch. The wings and the service were good.
Iron Horse Tavern
Menu top
Menu bottom
Delta 2366
Sacramento (SMF) – Salt Lake City (SLC)
Thursday March 10th, 2016
Departure Time: 1:35pm
Arrival Time: 4:08pm
Flight Time: 1hr33min
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Seat: 02D, Domestic First Class
After lunch I made my way to the gate. It was a cluster, which is typical for Delta domestic flights. Delta really could stand to improve their gate boarding process.
Gate area
Jet bridge – albeit a little blurry
I was greeted by a sweet flight attendant named Katlin at the Airplane door. She smiled and made a point to engage customers as we entered the plane. She asked where I was headed today and I said Boston. “Oh, that’s home for me”.
Once I sat down her colleague came by to collect my jacket and take drink orders. I appreciate the flight attendants that take the effort to do pre departure beverages on a narrow body domestic plane during the boarding process. It’s never easy for them, but what a nice touch for a domestic flight. On board the A320 the first class cabin was in a 2×2 3-row configuration. 12 seats. With so few seats I would guess medallion upgrades are even rarer these days.
Seating arrangement
Delta red first class blanket
Dasani water – standard issue
Leg Room
One item I appreciate about both American and Delta is the bottle of Dasani water in domestic first class. I think United could take a tip here. The cabin was a little worse for ware, and some parts of the interior literally looked like it was coming loose at the seams. Regardless, the cabin looked clean.
A little worn
At 1:30pm the doors were closed and we pushed back at 1:32pm. As we taxied out to the gate the safety chat was done by a young gentleman flight attendant. He had a comedy routine for the talk, and for a moment I thought I was on a Southwest flight. I’m sure he has done the safety talk many times and this helps him get through the routine, although I hadn’t seen this on a Delta flight before. Overall, he was part a good crew.
After takeoff the captain came on and stated it would be rough from 5,000′ to 12,000′ on the climb out. It was as predicted, a little bumpy. I relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful scenery going by. I fell asleep for the majority of this short flight and awoke to our initial decent into Salt Lake City.
Our flight today
Rain on our way out
The valley is green
Sacramento river
Only shot of the cabin
Nevada and Utah have such stark beauty
Coming into Salt Lake City
Our view to the left at the gate
We landed about 20 minutes later with no issues. The crew was tops on this first leg and I really enjoyed them.
Delta 1843
Salt Lake City (SLC) – Boston (BOS)
Thursday March 10th, 2016
Departure Time: 5:05pm
Arrival Time: 11:36pm
Flight Time: 3hr31min
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 02A, Domestic First Class
My stay at the lounge was short as I just had 20 minutes before boarding for my next flight. I walked to gate D11 and it was a mess, worse than in Sacramento. The gate sits in the corner off the concourse sandwiched between D9 and D13. D9 was also boarding and 2 masses of humanity were trying to converge into essentially the same space. It was complete confusion and frustration by everyone involved. If I hadn’t been traveling with carryon bags, I would have waited this one out. No such luck today.
I really try to be considerate when boarding, but in this situation you have to just negotiate your way to the gate and try and guess who is really boarding and who is jockeying for a better position once for their group is called. It’s an imperfect situation at best. After going through the boarding process I made my way down the jetway and into the first and only boarding door on this Boeing 737-800 craft. The first class domestic cabin was 16 seats in a 2×2 4-row configuration.
Our flight today
Our gate mate while boarding
On entering the plane, I was greeted by a friendly female flight attendant. After taking a seat in 2A the same attendant worked the cabin to pick up coats and jackets in order to hang them. Waiting at the seat was a standard first class Delta pillow, blanket and bottle of Dasani water. About 10 minutes after boarding the pre-departure beverage service was started. The female FA really worked the cabin; the same cannot be said about her male colleague. The captain came on the mic and gave us a rundown of the flight. A few minutes later we closed the door, pushed back and took off. Overall we were about 10 minutes behind schedule.
Cabin forward
1C and 1D
Getting settled
Ready to go
Side view
Lots of blue and red tails
Left turn
Beautiful afternoon
Vista of the Great Salt Lake
It took 20 minutes for the captain to turn off the seatbelt sign. The crew began working the cabin and service started out with a beverage order. Dinner orders also were taken and the choice was between chicken or pasta. I had the chicken. A warm towel was passed out, and I enjoyed a club soda.
Knee room
Club soda
Hot towel
Dinner service was fast. It included a warm roll (which was excellent), beverage service and Gelato for dessert. Afterward I ordered a coffee and freshly brewed Starbucks was served. Overall it was descent meal and I enjoyed it while watching the sun set behind the plane.
Chicken with a salad
Dessert
Coffee
Enjoying the view
During the meal and afterward an overhead in-flight entertainment system played the new Star Wars movie. I saw this one in the theaters, and what a disappointment I might add. The entertainment system was 1990s vintage, and it is surprising any of these systems are still operating. I pulled out my iPad and answered emails for the next couple hours.
Yep, that’s it
iPad worked well with the tight seat pitch
Next to us at landing
At this point we had started our initial decent into the Boston area. The city lights looked welcoming as we came in below the cloud cover. The crew cleaned up and the rest of the flight went without issue.
In Summary:
Delta sells a number of domestic first class flights at a significant discount these days, which worked our great for my last minute trip to Boston. Delta is very consistent about their inflight product. I actually like the Dasani water and red blanket waiting for me when I board. I also still enjoy being served dinner while hurtling through the sky on a short 3 &1/2-hour domestic flight. Overall, the Delta crews and their service are very good.
I do think there is room for improvement on a couple matters. 1) The boarding process will Delta is poor. It’s uncivilized, and it needs help. 2) The seat pitch on Delta’s narrow body first class seats is tight, usually 36”. Put that in combination with the old fat style leather seats and it just feels cramped for a first class cabin.
Even with these criticisms, I appreciated being able to sit up front.
