Delta One A330-200 Business Class Review, Beijing (PEK) to Seattle (SEA)
Delta's best business class product, hands down.
Hopping between Asia and the US, you'd think I wouldn't hesitate to throw some points down for a tier 1 airline like Singapore, ANA, JAL, Cathay, or even Korean, but sometimes you just don't have the luxury or time (or points!) to make an extra stop on your way home, which is what happened to me this trip. But since Delta is my "daily driver" — the Volvo to the Ferrari, the Starbucks to the Kopi Luwak — I'm familiar with the experience, I don't even need to look at the menu, and though I may not snapchat seat photos to friends, I'm rarely disappointed. And, when seated in this particular reverse herringbone business class product, it's hard to be disappointed...here's why.
What's awesome:
- reverse herringbone configuration - far superior to DL's 767 product
- totally sleepable lie flat seat
- window seats feel very private, so get one if you can
- food/drink is business class-y, but consistently very that
- cramped footwell/ottoman
- seats in the middle basically stare at your neighbor's screen/dining experience
- may not be an issue for you, but seats towards the rear of the forward cabin get some galley noise
- I used the term "product" 6 times in this post
How it Happened
When flying home from an amazing Great Wall hike I had the option of either going directly back to Seattle in Delta One (business class), or pushing my tolerance for airtime and hopping down to HKG and flying Cathay business via SFO, which would require a night in HKG and a night in SFO...so I opted for the Delta A330 straight back to Seattle. This flight was 80k Membership Rewards points, which landed me in Delta One via an instant 1:1 transfer rate to my SkyMiles account. That's a lot of miles for a one way fare, but not when you consider the $ amount — which was over $6k — making this point/$ value a decent $0.075 per point, well above my $0.04-5 threshold.Consistency, Consistency, Consistency
Or is it location, location, location? I forget. Either way, Delta is pretty darn consistent with their business class experience, at least when they remember to load amenity kits on board before the flight (more on that flight some other time!). Yes, the Delta 767 business class was cool 10 years ago and is in need of a serious refresh ASAP, but on their other widebody jets (aside from some 777s) you'll end up in this reverse herringbone configuration, much like you see on tier 1 airlines such as Qatar, Cathay, Virgin Australia, Air France, and EVA (though EVA's tier 1 status is not confirmed as they have no first class). Delta One on the A330 is a great business class product for three main reasons:- whether it's good or bad, you will have basically the same experience on every flight
- everyone has aisle access
- since you face away from the aisle your seat feels more private