I flew Delta's reviled 767 business class seat from Europe to New York. Here's what it was actually like.
Berlin's Tegel Airport is an ... interesting place. Rather than going through security and then getting to the gates, each gate has its own security screening.
The airport first opened in 1948 and was used during the Berlin Airlift for military and supply planes. It began commercial operations in 1960.
It was originally scheduled to be closed in 2012, when development of the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport was expected to be completed. However, ongoing delays to the Brandenburg project have extended Tegel's life.
That means that the business class lounges are pre-security, so you can head right to them after checking in, but need to leave early enough to go through security.
It took me a little while to find the Air France lounge, which I could access as a Delta One passenger. It was up a few floors and tucked in a corner
The lounge was relatively small but also not very crowded. It was perfectly comfortable for the 45 minutes I spent there. When I checked in, the attendant told me when I should make sure to get to security at least an hour before my flight time.
There were a handful of self-serve drinks, including soda, beer, wine, liquor, and water...
... And a handful of snacks and warm dishes. It was nothing fancy, but certainly more comfortable than killing time in the terminal.
With a little more than an hour until departure, I went to the gate. Each gate has its own security screening, and Delta set up a separate line for business class and frequent flyers with elite status. There were a few people in front of me, and the whole process took about 15 minutes.
If you aren't able to use the priority lane, you definitely want to get to the gate more than an hour in advance — Tegel security is very thorough, which means lines can move slowly.
The gate area post-security was quite crowded, with all the seats taken and people standing pretty much everywhere.
Boarding began just a few minutes later — I was in the first boarding group.
And here's my seat, 5A.
The business-class cabin has a 1-2-1 layout, which means each seat has direct access to the aisle.
Each of the business-class seats has a small side table, so the rows are staggered. That means that some seats, like mine, have the the table between the seat and the aisle, making it feel more private when you go to sleep ...
... And others — like the seat in front of me — are directly against the aisle and have the table on the inside, in this case, against the window. On some planes, those seats can feel a lot less private and make sleeping a bit harder.
The seat controls are at the front of that side table.
That side table also holds the tray table ...
... While the remote control for the in-flight entertainment system sits under teh adjacent armrest.
There are a few reasons that some Delta flyers complain about these seats.
Each seat has an in-flight entertainment screen. But the screens are pretty old. They're perfectly fine, but are relatively low-definition and can be fairly hard to see when the cabin lights are on or the window shades are open.
The newer in-flight entertainment screens on most of Delta's fleet are a significant improvement.
The other complaint is that the seats are definitely showing their age. This is definitely true — as if to prove it, one of the panels under the screen was falling off.
It was still attached, and ultimately didn't interfere with my flight at all, but it definitely showed that these seats are due for some TLC — Delta is currently in the process of slowly retrofitting its 767 fleet with new interiors, including new seats.
Each seat had a small adjustable reading lamp — in addition to the overhead personal light — plus a power outlet, headphone jack for the entertainment system, and a USB port to charge phones.
There was also an old ethernet port, but Delta's mainline planes pretty much all offer Wi-Fi these days.
In addition to the side table, there were a few storage areas, including a pocket in front of the seat ...
... Another pocket on the front of the side table, on my right side ...
... And a cubby under the seat in front of me, although this is where a passenger's feet go when the seat is turned into bed mode.
There was also a small cubby for shoes, a convenient touch.
There were a few things waiting for me at my seat, including a water bottle, an amenity kit, a menu ...
... And a plastic-wrapped bedding set. Delta offers Westin Heavenly-branded bedding in Delta One, which is phenomenally comfortable.
The amenity kit came in a stylish Tumi-branded bag
It came with a handful of essentials, like a toothbrush and toothpaste, mouthwash hand sanitizer, a pen, moisturizer, a sleep mask and ear plugs, and socks.
A few minutes later, the main flight attendant working my side of business class, Christopher, came over to introduce himself and offered me a glass of either sparkling wine, orange juice, or water as the plane boarded.
To skip ahead a bit, service throughout the flight was incredible. Christopher introduced himself to every passenger in the cabin, which made the flight feel so personal. He was an American who studied abroad in Germany during college and spoke fluent German, so he was a big fan of working the Berlin and Munich flights.
Throughout the flight, the flight attendants and purser were constantly keeping an eye on the cabin in case anyone needed anything. They filled my water glass a few times without me even realizing that they were coming through the aisles, offered to answer any questions, and were all great to chat with, without being overbearing or anything if I wanted to relax or work.
I fly fairly often for work or otherwise, on a variety of airlines in a variety of cabins, but I was genuinely impressed by the whole crew on this flight.
Boarding took about 40 minutes. I drank my wine, sent a few e-mails, and decided to flip through the menu.
Once we took off, the flight would start with a drink service and pre-lunch snack. Then, we'd have starters ...
... Followed by the main course and dessert.
There were also plenty of snacks available mid-flight, and a pre-landing meal.
There was also an extensive list of drinks ...
... And a shorter curated wine list.
We pushed back from the gate about 10 minutes after boarding finished, and took off another 10 minutes later.
About 10 minutes after we left the ground, the flight attendants sprang into action, coming around to hand out hot towels ...
... And noise-cancelling headphones.
A few minutes later, they came around with the drink cart. I decided to try the signature cocktail, a spiced cranberry bourbon — Woodford Reserve, ginger ale, cran-apple juice, and lime.
Lunch service began about 30 minutes later. The appetizers came out first. There was a shrimp dish, which I ended up not eating — I'm not usually the biggest fan of shrimp —plus a Caesar salad and tomato basil soup, both of which were fantastic.
The soup was seriously fantastic, the perfect meal on a rainy fall flight.
The Caesar salad was a bit heavy on the cheese, but that's not actually a bad thing, in my book.
For lunch, I had decided on the fried salmon with a leek cake, cherry tomatoes, and broccolini. I'm usually pretty anti-fish on planes, but I wanted to see how it was.
The plating was a bit weird, and water from the broccolini made it soggy, but everything was really tasty. The fish, especially — I was impressed that they could pull off a good salmon fillet on a plane.
As I was eating my main course, the cabin crew came around to offer fresh drinks. I went for a Woodford on the rocks this time.
Finally, dessert was served. I had the sundae with the works. Despite the salmon for my main, this was not destined to be a healthy flight for me.
Delta One Business Class 767 400 IMG_4613
After lunch, I decided to go into bed mode and take a nap, plus watch a couple of movies. The bed was a bit narrow but comfortable and I was able to sleep. The foot cubby was a bit narrow, but still spacious enough for me to be able to roll over.
Because the Boeing 767 is narrower than most other wide-body planes — like the Boeing 777 or 787, or the Airbus A330 — business class seats tend to be a bit narrower than on the bigger jets.
Even though the seat was certainly aging, and the panel under the screen was loose, it was perfectly comfortable, on par with the best seats — and obviously miles beyond the coach seats I usually fly.
I watched a few movies — including Godzilla, King of the Monsters (more fun than I expected) while processing photos from my trip and catching up on some reading.
After all, gotta get those photos ready for the 'gram.
A few hours in, the flight attendants came around with warm chocolate chip cookies, a staple of Delta One flights between the US and Europe.
The pre-landing meal service (I guess technically dinner?) began about 90 minutes before we got to JFK. It started with a hot towel ...
... Followed by drinks. I had a cup of coffee.
We had a choice between a burger or a crab cake salad. I decided to go with the burger, only because I wanted to see how it was.
As it turns out, it was actually pretty good. The bun was oddly large, but otherwise it was perfectly tasty.
It came with a decent potato salad.
After lunch (or dinner — my internal clock was pretty confused at this point), the flight crew came around with a basket of chocolates.
About eight hours after taking off, we landed at JFK ....
Ultimately, even if the seats are showing their age, and even though they're a bit narrow compared to on bigger planes, I found the flight perfectly comfortable and don't understand the complaints. Here's why.
It was a business class seat with direct aisle access, a relative degree of privacy, and plenty of space. No, it's not the newest seat in the sky, but — aside from the cosmetic damage and the sub-par screen — it stood on its own merits.
Service was phenomenal, the food and drinks were good, and I was able to lie down flat while sleeping and watching movies. That's pretty much all you can ask for from a business class flight.
It's certainly relatively narrow compared to the business class seats you'd find on a bigger plane, and someone larger might have trouble getting comfortable in lie-flat mode. But compared to coach, it's a world of difference.
Delta is in the process of replacing the seats on the 767-400. The new cabin looks like it will be beautiful, but until it's ready, I think the current business class seats are still a treat.
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