Delta operates from two terminals at JFK: Terminal 2 and 4. Terminal 4 is significantly bigger, and serves most of Delta's international routes.
However, since Delta's flight to Iceland is on a 757 — smaller than the planes that fly most routes to Europe — it can leave from the smaller Terminal 2. Because the terminal does not have passport control facilities, though, the flight returns to Terminal 4.
Unfortunately, Terminal 2 is a bit lacking. It tends to serve mostly point-to-point domestic flights, and often gets crowded.
There are a handful of sit-down restaurants, a Wendy's, a couple of small shops and news stands, and a Delta Sky Club lounge.
We went up to the Sky Club to have a light preflight dinner and a drink, but it was really, really crowded. To the point that it was almost impossible to find a place for two people to sit together.
We found a seat eventually ... though we were facing this guy who thought it was okay to put his feet up on the table where people put their food.
The buffet area was overrun and the food looked pretty unappealing, so we decided to head down to one of the restaurants instead.
Delta has a few 757 configurations, and this one — the one without "Delta One" business class — is a bit odd.
The boarding door and one of the lavatories is right in the middle of the Comfort-Plus section, meaning the cabin has a sort of scattered feel, and a lot of seats are up against bulkheads. For example, I had a bulkhead just behind me. Luckily, I was still able to recline.
One major downside to this seat was that I was right next to the lavatory, meaning I would have people bumping into me trying to get into and out of the restroom all night. Plus, the smell was quite unpleasant.
If you're booked on one of these 757 flights, it's worth noting that row 18 on the right side is directly behind the lavatory, and seats are slightly more narrow since the tray table and entertainment monitors are stored in the armrests. The same is true for row 19 on the left side, which is behind the boarding door.
But back to my seat, 17C. Despite the odd placement of the seat, the seat itself was perfectly comfortable for the roughly five-hour flight.
Each Comfort-Plus seat on the 757 is roughly 17.3 inches wide with 34 inches of pitch. That's the amount of space between the back of one seat and the back of the seat in front of it.
That's certainly not industry leading, but it's on par with most of Delta's narrow-body jets. For comparison, Comfort-Plus seats on the widebody 767, which operates many of Delta's flights to Europe, are 17.7 inches wide with 25 inches of pitch.
One other source of annoyance, though: the rail, or "leg" of the seat in front of me pretty much bisected that stowage space. That didn't affect my legroom, but if I had tried to store a carry-on, I couldn't have fit a full-sized backpack.
Flight attendants also distributed small amenity kits with a sleep mask, earplugs, and a cleaning wipe.
Each seat — aside from seats in the rows mentioned before — had an entertainment screen embedded in the seat in front. The screen had a USB port embedded so you could charge your phone.
There was an individual reading light and air vent for each seat. I opened my air vent all the way, which helped minimize the smell from the lavatory.
There seemed to be some rowdy passengers on this flight. The flight attendants actually had to stop the safety video and restart it because people were messing around in the aisles. Soon enough, though, we pushed back and were in the air.
Shortly after pushing back, flight attendants came around with the menus. This is a nice touch that Delta does on international flights in economy; it adds a pleasant feeling to the meal service, and also helps you plan ahead (for example, you can skip dinner if you know that a light meal will be served before landing).
It also lets you decide what to eat before the flight attendants get to you. Here were the entrée options on my flight ...
A few minutes after takeoff, flight attendants came around with hot towels. This is usually something you'd see in business or first class, but Delta also does it in economy (admittedly, they're disposable wipes, rather than cloth towels like in the premium cabins). It's yet another nice touch, though, and it feels nice to wipe your hands after getting through the airport and onto the plane.
Right around now, I started my first movie of the flight (it was fine, though a disappointing capstone on what had been an interesting X-Men series).
I'm not used to saying this about airplane food, especially in coach, but it was delicious. The lettuce was crisp, the chicken was tender, and everything was flavorful ...
Sitting in Comfort-Plus, I was lucky to get dinner early on in the service because after about 15 minutes, the pilots announced that we were entering an area with reported turbulence, and the flight attendants would have to buckle in.
Once dinner was served to everyone, the cabin lights were lowered — they stayed dark through the rest of the flight.
Soon enough, we began to descend, and after about 20 minutes, we made a light, easy, and on-time touchdown at Keflavik International Airport.
Soon enough, we made it to the terminal and through customs, and were ready to start our first day in Iceland!
We also flew Delta on the return. The flight leaves at 8:30 a.m., and unfortunately I wasn't able to take photos in the airport because we were running a bit late.
This time, I was in seat 16C, one row up from my previous flight. We also just happened to end up on the same exact plane.
The experience was similar, but sitting one row up — and not being directly next to the restroom — made a huge difference.
Aside from the seat, the main difference on this flight was the menu and service, since it was a morning flight.
Breakfast service came next. It's a good thing that both options were sandwiches, because there was no silverware on the plane. One of the flight attendants said that apparently the catering ground staff forgot to load it. That was fine for the sandwich ...
... But made it a little awkward to eat the cheese spread with crackers and the fruit salad. Eh, first-world problems.
The rest of the flight was uneventful, and there was one more drink and snack service before landing.
Soon enough, we were on the ground at JFK. So what did I think of Delta's speedy service to Iceland?
The five-hour flight between New York and Keflavik, Iceland, is an easy one. By the time you reach cruising altitude and have dinner or breakfast, watch a movie, and have another snack, you're already on approach.
Wow Air's incredible flight deals and marketing led to a tourism boom for Iceland and heavy competition on routes. Prices have generally gone up since the airline's collapse, but there are still decent prices available, and the Reykjavik area makes for a fantastic long weekend.
If you fly Delta, just be careful when picking your seats. While extra legroom might seem appealing at first glance, the odd seat layout on the older 757-200 jets leads to a number of compromises for Comfort-Plus, like the narrow seats or a malodorous adjacent lavatory.
