By RamonRamon is the creator of Traveling Companion. He focuses on flight review, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further.
Flight Overview
Our first experience with Delta domestic First Class meal service had average food but impressive service. The Delta 737-800 was a bucket of bolts and really needed a refresh. Pros- Impressive Service, Strong Amenities Cons- Old and Loud Plane, Ancient In-Flight Entertainment System 
Boeing 737-800
After matching to Delta status in November 2019 Christina and I had our first upgrade to Delta First Class that included meal service due to empty Friday after Thanksgiving flights. I am going to focus this review on the flight. While we visited the Delta Sky Club at Salt Lake City (SLC) before this flight Delta has since opened a new Sky Club. Therefore, I am going to skip a review of the lounge and look forward to checking out on my next time through SLC.
Boarding As we headed to the gate it was a very snowy day at SLC, however, I was impressed by how the airport was able to handle the snow and I barely noticed any impact to airport operations. Christina and I were upgraded 24 hours out from the flight based on our Delta SkyMiles Silver status. At that time there were still nine free First Class seats because of very light after Thanksgiving loads. 
Snowy SLC
We really appreciated receiving the upgrade in advance since it gave us access to these Sky Priority Benefits including priority check-in and priority baggage handling. Delta doesn’t give Silver elite access to Sky Priority benefits so as Delta Silver’s our best way to get access to these was to get upgraded in advance or purchase and upgrade. Because the upgrade we were among the first people on the flight.
Departure Gate C6
Plane and Seats
The plane was literally a bucket of bolts with a screw falling from above when I went to put my bag into an overhead bin. Delta is known for keeping planes longer than other airlines and fixing up the interiors but this plane was not yet refreshed. 
Boeing 737-800 Interior
On the flight we were originally seated in 3B and 3D across from each other. After all elites and one employee were upgraded there was one open seat left in First Class and the flight still had 23 free seats in economy. The First Class seat was like a throwback to 1990s and didn’t include Delta’s modern look. Because I was seated across from Christina a friendly flight attendant who ended up working economy said we’re okay to switch seats and if someone else showed up we should ask them to take my original seat.
First Class Seat
The seat I switched to, 3C, had a broken arm rest. The flight attendant was very apologetic about the broken seat. Another negative aspect of these old seats was that they had no headrest. The positive aspect of these old seats was that they contained far more padding than the modern slimline seats. This padding made the seat more comfortable but the material made the seat hold in more heat. This Boeing 737-800 was loud and I was very glad that I had noise canceling headphones or the sound would have driven me crazy. Right before take-off the captain let us know that the flight time was a little over three hours with a strong tail wind.
Amenities and In-Flight Entertainment
When we boarded at our seats were a thin pillow and a blanket. The blanket was thin but comfortable. I appreciated that Delta had bottled water, though it is not environmentally friendly, at the seat when we arrived because I am often dehydrated in flight. I hope Delta is able to find a more environmentally friendly container to provide passengers with water prior to departure. 
Seat Amenities
While I don’t typically comment on airplane bathrooms, I have to commend Delta on the high-quality bathroom amenities on this flight. The amenities included Malin+Goetz hand soap and lotion. While cost doesn’t always equate to quality just one 8.5 fluid ounce bottle of the Malin+Goetz lotion retails at $36 as of October 2022. I thought these were strong amenities since many airlines don’t even include any lotion on most domestic First Class flights yet alone a high-quality variety like Malin+Goetz.
Malin+Goetz Lotion
The in-flight entertainment screens on this flight were tiny (about the size of an iPhone Plus), old, and slow. The seats still had manual dials for overhead IFE showing you just how old the plane was. As I clicked through the IFE it was not responsive and needed significant updates.
IFE Monitor
Food and Drinks
After we got settled into our seats one of the flight attendants working First Class offered us a pre-departure beverage. Christina declined while I ordered a Sprite.Afterwards she confirmed our pre-orders then went to take the passengers orders. 
Pre-Departure Beverage
After some turbulence subsided, the dinner meal service started with a hot towel service which was warm and had refreshing scents. The dinner came on one tray with broccoli, side salad (parmesan, baby tomatoes, and iceberg lettuce), white bread butter, and steak with potatoes. My salad was boring but at least came out fresh. I found the bread was soft but below average. The steak and potatoes were well cooked and seasoned and the broccoli was good. Christina found her salad to be plain and the bread stale. Christina’s ravioli was lukewarm but overall good and she thought light years above American Airline’s First Class meals.
Steak Dinner
Overall, I found the dinner to be the perfect serving size and I really liked the silverware by Alessi. Christina was also impressed by the silverware and thought it was strong and classy. Moreover, she was impressed that the tray was well made, had a Delta pattern, and a strong grip. Both of us agreed that the highlight of the meal service was the Ben & Jerry’s Americone Dream ice cream served for dessert.
Prior to landing the flight attendants came around with the snack basket which included the following choices: 1) Kind Bars, 2) El Augustin, 3) Oreo Thins, and 4) Cheez It. Christina got Augustin and Oreo Thins and I had Oreo Thins. We both liked our choices and the wide Delta snack selection.
Service
On this flight there ended up being two flight attendants working the 16 seats in First Class much better than American Airlines which typically only has one flight attendant for domestic First Class on narrow-body planes. Having two flight attendants made service really fast as these flight attendants divided and conquered service. For example, even with strong turbulence the flight attendants came by with more bottles of water, continual refills, and were quick to clear our dishes. The only minor hiccup was that towards the end of the flight the flight attendants brought our coats from the closet but forgot my suit bag. Later I reminded the flight attendant and she brought my suit bag before departing the plane. Overall, the flight attendant service was professional, kind, and accommodating.
Take Away
On our first Delta First Class flight with meal service Delta delivered impressive service, strong amenities, average food and drinks, but the bucket of bolts plane and IFE left a lot to be desired. Despite being only average Delta’s food and drinks were still miles ahead American Airlines First Class and its service was in a different category all together. I hope Delta upgrades all of its domestic narrow body planes with the new look and feel. In particular the IFE systems really held back our otherwise good experience on this flight and are sorely in need of an upgrade. Despite these drawbacks I would likely choose to take Delta on domestic First Class on this route again.
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By RamonRamon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight review, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further. Flight Overview This non-stop Delta flight from the Washington D.C. area which has now moved from IAD to BWI provided a comfortable and convenient ride to Cancun, Mexico. Pros-Non-Stop Service to Cancun, Newly Upholstered and Comfortable Seat, Friendly Crew Cons-Slow Boarding Process, Old IFE System, Limited IFE Selection, No USB Power Relaxing in Cancun Report Relaxing in Cancun Overview Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Washington Dulles Review Delta 737-800 IAD-CUN Flight Review Hyatt Zilara Cancun Review Boarding After a visit to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse my traveling companions and I took a long walk from the lounge down to our departure gate B78 at the far end of the B terminal. As we walked I was happy to be traveling with two friends even though it was strange to be traveling without Christina. We were traveling during the federal government shutdown and there had been reports of long lines at security around the country but all of us made it quickly through security. On the way to our gate I ran into an alumnus of my college who was headed with her family to vacation in the Cancun area. It was nice to randomly run into someone I knew at the airport.  Dulles Gate B78 At check-in the flight was full in economy but ended up having two empty First Class seats even after all upgrades were processed. This was not surprising because neither Dulles or Cancun are Delta hubs and Cancun is primarily a leisure destination making this a rare non-hub to hub flight for Delta. Since I flew this flight in the winter of 2019 Delta moved the flight from IAD to Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) which makes sense since BWI is a more leisure focused airport. I was annoyed that I did not have Delta status since I could have easily ended up with a First Class upgrade. Because of the empty First Class cabin I was offered a $169 First Class upgrade at check-in which I would have gladly accepted if I was flying with Christina. However, I declined it since I was flying without her and my friends were flying in economy. Despite the 7:50 am boarding time boarding did not begin until 8:10 am because of large number of passport checks and gate-checked bags. Despite the late start boarding was completed in 25 minutes and economy ended up going out with empty seats which I assumed was due to passengers missing the flight.  Boeing 737-800 Plane and Seats On this flight I was flying a Boeing 737-800 arranged in a standard 3-3 economy configuration with approximately 17 inches of width and 31 inches of pitch. As I headed to my seat 20C, a standard economy aisle seat on the left hand side, I noticed the fresh and stylish blue upholstery on the economy seats. Delta clearly had recently replaced the upholstery and I appreciated the updated look. The seat was nicely padded and comfortable but did not have a headrest which would be annoying on a late night or early morning flight when a passenger is trying to rest.  737-800 Economy Seats Once passengers completed boarding the captain announced that we could not depart because of a maintenance issue. Once the issue was fixed we still didn't move because we needed a driver to move us back from the gate since there was a ton of ice and snow on the ground. We ended up departing at 9:05 am about 20 minutes late for our approximately 3-and-a-half-hour flight. As we took off we saw the ice and snow and I was very happy to be escaping the Washington D.C. winter for Cancun, Mexico.  Delta 737-800 Amenities and In-Flight Entertainment After boarding was completed the flight attendants came through the economy cabin with complimentary headphones. This is a staple on Delta's international flights. The headphones Delta offers are cheap headphones so I always bring my own noise cancelling headphones, but they are still better than nothing in the era of cost cutting and fees. The area where Delta was really weak on this flight was in-flight entertainment (IFE). This 737-800 featured an old Delta IFE system with a small screen and poor resolution. The IFE also did not have USB power and economy passengers had to rely on the two shared AC power outlets for every three seats. Finally, the IFE selection on this flight was not strong and it had relatively few new releases. I ended up watching Mission Impossible Fallout.  737-800 IFE Food and Drinks
The start of the flight was quite bumpy and the captain asked that the flight attendants and passengers remained seated. This delayed the start of the flight food and drink service. Despite the turbulence passengers continued to walk about the cabin and flight attendants continually asked passengers to remain seated for their safety. After about 30 minutes food and drink service commenced. There was no complimentary food served in economy on this flight. However, there was a buy on board menu which included a choice between a Protein Box and a Turkey Maple Sandwich. Since I had already eaten in the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse and I was headed to an all-inclusive resort I decided to pass on buying a meal. However, the flight did include Delta's standard complementary snacks including Biscoff cookies, Kind bars, snack mix, and peanuts. Service Service on this flight overall was friendly. There were a total of four flight attendants working economy. The flight attendants were firm but not mean making sure that passengers sat down during turbulence. When they came by for snack service the flight attendants offered two snacks and chatted in a friendly manner with passengers. The flight attendants made several announcements to keep passengers informed and were friendly each time. While the cabin was kept dark for most of the time during this morning flight the flight attendants did come by with a water service with about 20 minutes left in the flight. Take Away My flight on Delta's 737-800 non-stop from Washington Dulles to Cancun provided a newly upholstered and comfortable seat coupled with friendly service. However, the boarding process was slow, the IFE system needed to be refreshed, there was no USB power, and the IFE selection was limited. Despite several drawbacks including the age of the plane I would choose to take this flight because of the convience of taking a non-stop versus a connecting flight. By RamonRamon is the creator of Travelling Companion. He focuses on flight review, hotel reviews, and helping stretch your travel dollars, miles, and points further. Lounge Overview This lounge featured great, decor, a relaxing atmosphere, a wide variety of alcoholic drinks, and was the best domestic Priority Pass lounge I had experienced. Pros-Impressive Decor, Relaxing Atmosphere, Great Tarmac Views, Wide Variety of Alcoholic Drink Options, Private Bathrooms Cons-Limited Hot Food Options, Limited Amenities, Restricted Priority Pass Hours Relaxing in Cancun Report Relaxing in Cancun Overview Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Washington Dulles Review Delta 737-800 IAD-CUN Flight Review Hyatt Zilara Cancun Review Location I cleared security quickly and headed towards the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at Washington Dulles. This lounge is located next to Gate 22 in the A Concourse. Dulles has four Concourses A, B, C, and D. The A and B Concourses house all non-United Airlines flights. The airport was empty and very quiet as I headed to the lounge and I found the lounge relatively easy to find.  Dulles Airport A Concourse Access and Hours Normally this lounge serves Virgin Atlantic Upper Class passengers along with some elite members of Virgin Atlantic partner airlines including Delta, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Australia, and Air France/KLM when traveling on a Virgin Atlantic flight. However, I had access to the Lounge through my Priority Pass membership a benefit of my Chase Sapphire Reserve Card. The lounge is only open to Priority Pass members from 6 am-1:30 pm. This allows the lounge to bring in additional revenue from the lounge outside of the hours it serves Virgin Atlantic and partner airlines flights.  Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Entrance Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Dulles The lounge contains two levels all set in a circular pattern with the bar and food stations at one side, a variety of seating at the center, and bathrooms at the end farthest from the check-in desk. The lounge had a few amenities including a luggage storage area and a modest business center with computers, telephones, and a printer.  Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Dulles I was very impressed with the decor and design of this lounge. Everything in the lounge felt upscale and refined. The lounge also had great views of the tarmac and our group decided to sit down at the comfortable brown leather chair and take in the view of the tarmac. I really appreciated that while the lounge was small it never got cramped and had a relaxing atmosphere.  Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Dulles Food and Drinks The lounge offered a variety of cold food options for breakfast including fruits such as melon, pineapples, apples, pears, and oranges. Moreover, the lounge offered vanilla yogurt parfaits, packaged cereal, assorted muffins, assorted pastries, assorted bagels, and croissants. Where I think the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse really shined for breakfast was the wide selection of self-serve alcoholic drinks available during the Priority Pass hours. Despite the early hour Virgin Atlantic offered two types of red wine, including my favorite Malbec, sparkling wine, three types of beer. Given the early hour and the fact that the lounge was only serving Priority Pass customers Virgin Atlantic could have skimped on the alcohol and I appreciated that they did not. On the non-alcoholic side the lounge offerings included orange juice, cranberry juice, flavored water, and coffee.  Cold Food Options The lounge also offered one hot option which was a made to order breakfast sandwich. This sandwich came with egg, American cheese, dijon aioli, and the option of sausage on an English muffin.  Breakfast Sandwich Option I ended up ordering the breakfast sandwich without sausage and having a piece of chocolate bread. I enjoyed the chocolate bread and found the breakfast sandwich to be fresh but too spicy for my taste which I believe was due to the dijon aioli. While I wished there were more hot food options I liked that Virgin Atlantic offered a hot made to order option something that it not typical for breakfast in a Priority Pass lounge.  Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Dulles Breakfast Overall, I found the food and drinks options for breakfast to be good for a Priority Pass lounge and above average compared to domestic airport lounge options.
Take Away On my trip to Cancun The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse lounge at Washington Dulles was the best Priority Pass airport lounge I had experienced. The lounge has a relaxing atmosphere, impressive decor and design, great tarmac views, a wide variety of seating, and a relatively large alcoholic drink selection. I would recommend going to this lounge for breakfast and if I pass through Washington Dulles during its Priority Pass hours I plan to check it out again. |
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