I FINALLY Flew Delta One Business Class (most requested review)

Today I am finally reviewing Delta 1. There has been no more requested review on my channel than this. I'm finally making a video in one of the newer Delta 1 seats and I cannot wait to share my honest self-funded opinions as always. Good morning from London Heathrow where I am about to hop on a Delta 1 flight. That was not part of the plan at all and I'll tell you guys exactly what happened to make me end up here but this is the first time I'm reviewing Delta 1 on a transatlantic flight and given the amount of comments I get saying, dang you gotta review Delta, they're so underrated man. I am very excited to see what I think with my admittedly pretty high standards. We landed at Terminal 5 yesterday morning when our next flight was cancelled so we decided to keep it easy and stay in the Sofitel Terminal 5. Now we have to make our way to Terminal 3 but first there's a few stops I want to make because Oscar and I have been traveling around the UK for almost a week and we traveled around Scotland with our friends Claire and Peter. That's going to be a fun vlog on Oscar and Dan but now we're going to go to Terminal 3 with a quick stop to buy probably my favorite beverage discovery of this trip. So this drink, this ginger beer, is so incredibly delicious. I am a bit worried about drinking it on an empty stomach because it does have quite a kick but I think we have to get one last one. It is very gingery. Yeah so if you're coming by the UK I mean I already love M&S so much but you have to try this if you like gingery stuff it's so good. Okay let's actually focus on the topic at hand. Sorry I get really easily excited especially about food and even more so about British snacks and stuff considering I lived here until I was nine. Now on to the Heathrow Express. Okay found two good seats for us. No actually for our ginger beers. Yeah perfect. So as we make our way to Terminal 3 let me tell you what happened yesterday because we were both so excited to be flying Virgin Atlantic. It was Oscar's first time on Virgin Atlantic and he really hyped them up. Yeah I was like let's do this A350-1000 but as we're taking off from Glasgow to fly down to Heathrow where we were going to connect a little later in the day I get an email that our flight has been cancelled and I can't believe it because I have this bad luck with British Airways but now I'm starting to think that British Airways really is not the problem which I'm going to get into in a different video but anyway Virgin Atlantic basically said we'll rebook you on anything. They offered to rebook on BA but he was like yeah I was like excuse me no one books Virgin Atlantic to end up on BA but that's besides the point. Of course Virgin Atlantic flies many times a day between London and New York but they are also owned 49% by Delta and Delta is a far more difficult airline to redeem points on especially on long haul routes so I was like you know what we'll fly Virgin Atlantic another day and we'll get a Delta Transatlantic flight for very very cheap considering what I paid for these Virgin Atlantic tickets although I already know this flight won't be as good I'm excited to see what Delta has in store. Yeah there's always a silver lining isn't there? The Heathrow Express isn't the most frequent train in the world so we end up arriving at Terminal 3 somewhat later than expected. So 30 minutes later we made it to Terminal 3 get to use the beautiful kind of exclusive check-in for Delta and Virgin Atlantic over here so let's go check that out. I haven't used this in like eight years. The line for check-in is shockingly long but luckily we still have time and we get to stand under this vibey Virgin-esque lighting. So we had a lovely check-in agent from Virgin Atlantic, great service. The one alarming thing is that she said our special meal request is not in the system and the whole reason I rebooked a flight leaving the next day more than 24 hours after our rebooking was so that our special meal could be requested. I got confirmation that it was but now it's not in the system so let's see. That's not the biggest deal in the world and it ends up working out for the better as you'll see. We speed through the exclusive security lane for priority passengers and head into the chaos that is Terminal 3 looking for some food. So this is so funny obviously since we might not get a meal I'm still not sure the meal could be on board in the end. I was like I wonder if they have fuel somewhere in the airport like I bet they don't but I wonder if they do because now we're basically just drinking a meal very easy to bring on a flight and then literally I turn around and I see a fuel vending machine so I mean honestly this is like a genius airport thing because you could be taking a flight you just have a full meal in a bottle like I'm not normally into these complete meal substitutes but I think in this situation it's a great backup. Once we have our meal replacements to drink in business class, life goals, we head straight to the gate because suddenly we're only 50 minutes from departure. So when flying Delta out of Heathrow you usually get access to one of the best business class lounges in the world the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse. Unfortunately we don't have time to go there today which is such a bummer and sort of breaks my heart because that was one of the main reasons I planned a really long layover ahead of our Virgin Atlantic flight yesterday but anyway I feel like in a way it's kind of unfair to include the best lounge pretty much that you have access to when flying Delta but it's only one of their destinations and all the other cities they apply to you can usually go to some other partner lounge or a Delta Sky Club which obviously is quite different from the Virgin Clubhouse. After a small wait for people to pass before we reach the gate if you know you know Heathrow struggles we're let in and get to enjoy this view. Today I'm flying Delta's stunning 767-400. I know there are bound to be comments saying but Dan I told you to fly the A350 not this. Besides being someone who cares far more about the soft product like service foods and amenities than your average business class flyer, Delta also doesn't have its A350 seat on close to the majority of its wide-body aircraft. Today's seat on the 767-400 is still better than most of their seats especially the older A330s and 767-300s so I think this is a fair middle ground. A quick comment on the 767-400, Delta is one of just two operators of this lengthened version of the massively successful Boeing 767. This version not only debuted much later than the 2 and 300 models but since its first delivery in 2000 only 37 models have been delivered so getting to fly one is quite the treat. This rare beauty comes in a three cabin layout with 184 economy class seats of which 28 have extra leg room. There are 20 premium economy seats and then at the very front 34 business class slash Delta 1 seats. When I was rebooked the only available seats were 1A and 1D, not bad last options. These seats are actually not preferable though because if you look closely you'll see the even numbered rows are closer to the windows than the odd numbered rows. Choose the even numbered ones if you have a chance since they are far more private. One alarming thing we learned during pushback, one of our laboratories is inoperable so there is one laboratory for business class shared between 33 passengers on our sold-out flight, the pilots, and at least half a dozen crew. I can't wait to share my impressions of Delta with you so let's hop on board. With all the different priority groups like US carriers and people's eagerness to board, Oscar and I are somehow the last passengers on board even 40 minutes prior to our scheduled departure. That makes it difficult for me to record but my first impression of the cabin is great. Here you see the seats alternating between being closer to the windows and closer to the aisle and finally up in front my seat 1A. You've gotta hand it to Delta for having by far the sexiest cabin colors and finishes of any US carrier. For some reason I'm also obsessed with their logo being engraved on the seat like this. It's something we rarely see and I like it. So I have to say on first impression it's so amazing what Delta manages to do with really old airplanes. This aircraft is 23 years old but you would never know boarding it and the cabin is beautiful. They have mood lighting, big points for Delta, and it's also impressive how both United and Delta manage to install such flashy cabins on these old aircraft that are really very narrow. You know it's 2-3-2 back in economy but here I also feel like you don't really notice that but granted I'm in the bulkhead so I have like extra generous space over here. I choose orange juice over sparkling wine for my pre-departure beverage and I gotta ask do you think airplane orange juice is good because I feel like 95% of the time I regret choosing it. In quite the heat throw miracle we push back 10 minutes early and I end up thinking how it's pretty cool you've tuned in because by the end of this video you'll be a little more of an expert when it comes to different airline products so next time someone tells you hey I've just flown Delta's business class or I'm considering flying Delta's business class you'll know what they'll experience. If you're considering flying Delta 1 I also hope this video is helpful in that decision because seeing you guys have a good flight after taking my advice is the whole reason I've been doing this for so long and the reason I pay for all my own flights so I can be completely unbiased. Okay as we taxi to the runway why don't we have a look at the menu so here is the menu today as you can see quite a few options for starters three options for main and we have the wines here on the side the pre-arrival meal up there in the right corner and soft drinks and spirits pretty cool I guess if you like Starbucks the Delta serves Starbucks including decaf. We blast out of Heathrow with views that make my avgeek heart feel all warm and fuzzy after takeoff the crew announced we're excited to commence our dining experience shortly this better be good to call it an experience before I know it we're being served drinks and nuts well first we get scented hot towels my favorite part of any flight just because it's so unnecessary I choose a dye coke to drink which almost the entire cabin seems to choose from what I hear so here is the meal situation since there's no special meal I'm pretty much getting the normal meal one thing that's so great about US carriers that surprisingly isn't very common in many other parts of the world is that they all have allergen lists so I could actually check on the menu and I found out that the mushroom red wine tart thing is completely plant-based the side salad of course is plant-based bread is fine so I'm kind of having a bit of a hybrid meal but I get to try things from the menu which is really awesome so I'm reviewing the the tart from the menu or the pie or whatever it is the salad and uh yeah let me show you my tray so this is the regular tray everything is just served together here it looks kind of funny to have this served without the mean like in the middle it just looks like something's missing but the mean is coming later on I guess so here's the salad and the side of prawns I will say the bread looks pretty good next up my main course from the regular menu okay you know what I'll admit I was pretty skeptical of this dish at first sight but it tastes pretty good as I eat I put my headphones on and try to watch WALL-E which I haven't seen since it came out they have one of my favorite movies ever HER but I don't really feel like crying today Delta's entertainment system is massive and has more than enough entertainment to choose from so for dessert as much as I hate on Heathrow I'd say that they have probably the best food selection of any airport definitely in Europe but maybe even in the whole western world in my opinion and I'm personally a huge fan of Pret I have to show you what I bought so they have this let's see it this is called their very berry croissant oh my god it is so good as I snack on that the crew bring around the dessert cart I'd love to hear what you guys think about this meal in the comments because it always cracks me up how people are so mixed on whether they think US airline catering is fine or absolutely vile so that was it for the meal nice dessert I have to say the food was pretty much in line with what I was expecting it's not inedible but it's also nothing special but no one really expects that on US Airlines I know Delta is supposed to be the premium of the three this really wasn't too bad I'm so glad there was something on the menu that I could try and now I still have the window shade open I'm in a bit of a food coma how about we recline the seat I'll show you guys the bed I also want to show you Delta offers slippers in Delta One which I think is actually very impressive I don't think at least I've never seen United and American do this on a transatlantic flight I'm a huge fan of this little touch you know it really helps if you need to go to the bathroom it's sanitary it's good before reclining I need to dump all my stuff somewhere by the way I just have to show you here that down to my left there's this great storage compartment and that's kind of a behind the scenes view of how messy it gets on most storage compartments on planes at least when I'm involved so bedtime it's always a pleasure sleeping on US carriers since they consistently have individual air vents to keep you cool doesn't this look so cozy all right so I have a few thoughts to share about the bed before that a quick disclaimer if you haven't watched many of my videos I'm incredibly grateful every time I get to be in a lie-flat seat but part of what's fun about being self-funded and always being able to be honest is that I can kind of complain about some things too so this is one instance where you notice how narrow the 767 fuselage is because I don't have the widest shoulders on earth but my shoulders are basically touching the sides on both sides if I lay on my back so it's really like quite cramped in here and the other interesting thing is that US airlines have really caught up with Delta I would say United now ranks number one you get two pillows a mattress pad a beautiful blanket from Sykes Fifth Avenue American Airlines with their Casper's bedding comes in number two also great and ironically Delta is now in last place that's not to say this is bad bedding but it's kind of crazy how fast things can change this is a good opportunity to unbox our little amenity kit I love when amenity kits have pens so I appreciate that and I also like this brand partnership thanks Juan for making my kit I spend the next hour just taking a break watching friends and chatting with my friends on the free wi-fi yes Delta has free high-speed wi-fi for all passengers that applies on pretty much all transatlantic flights these days and is so freaking awesome while I'm on the topic of Delta's awesome in-flight wi-fi one thing I have to remind you about and I keep having to say this over and over again if you're using airplane wi-fi or any public wi-fi you want to be protecting yourself and you can do that using a VPN which basically hides your IP address which people can use to track you and your actions and makes people think you're either some other person or you're in a completely different country I use Nord VPN today's video sponsor to do this because they allow me to change my location to dozens of different countries and they have the fastest VPN in the world by changing my location I can access online streaming content from other countries than the ones I live in for example there are many more ways changing your location can benefit you Nord VPN also includes threat protection which checks any file you download from malware it checks different websites and pop-ups and actually blocks them to make sure that nothing sketchy is making its way from the internet to you so Nord VPN offers all-around protection and they also offer an amazing deal if you go to nordvpn.com slash non-stop dan there you can get four months free on a two-year plan plus a massive discount and it's risk-free to try it out with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee halfway across the Atlantic the crew come by with Delta's signature heated chocolate chip cookies I take this chance to walk around a bit and show you guys the lavatories on US carriers no one is responsible for cleaning the lavatories during the flight so considering that everyone has been using one lavatory I think the state of it is not too bad I spent the rest of the flight working and about 90 minutes out were served another round of drinks I'm sorry my selection isn't too exciting I blame it on Delta for not having many exciting drinks but actually I think it's more of a me problem anyhow this is the food oh my god what anyone hungry this is the most unimportant comment ever but why is it the US airlines always seem to have table cloths that are smaller than the actual table before landing the business class service leader comes by thanking us for flying with Delta and so does the economy class service leader Christopher who I have a quick chat with we are approaching JFK I think we're touching down in about a minute so I'm vlogging very late these seven hours have flown by so so quickly and I can't wait to share my conclusion in a minute I just have to show you this neat piece of I don't know if I should call it tech but I like that they write this does is generally thought to have the friendliest service of the US3 and I will say my experience on this flight somewhat matches that at the same time the business class crew wasn't exactly very professional either here are a few examples of the interactions I witnessed and this is just before takeoff when I was taking notes I know this is fuel for the haters but I also know many of you guys appreciate high quality service just as much as I do which is of course why I share this so what do I think about Delta on their newly refurbished 767-400 as someone who values the in-flight service food quality and luxury elements over just the seat quality so what do I think about Delta as someone who has flown a lot of airlines well I will say this Delta is not a bad airline just like United it's not a bad airline American is not bad every day but it's also not good every day I love that some people love Delta I love that some people are super obsessed with Delta they you know tell everyone you got to try Delta you got to try Delta I think that's awesome to have an airline you're so passionate about that you love I think the thing is for those of us who don't live in the US Delta just sort of fades in with the other US airlines every time I've flown them I know I say this is the first time I've flown them transatlantic I've flown them at first class on all types of routes in the US to Latin America also flew them to South America in Delta one every time I'm just kind of like meh for me personally I don't feel like there's a huge distinguishing factor between them and other US carriers and I think on a global scale for me Delta is not a carrier I necessarily seek out but also not a carrier I would avoid I think just in general when it comes to flying US airlines if I leave the flight thinking hmm I would do this again that's pretty much as good as it gets so let's talk about how I paid for this well as I said in the beginning I actually booked Virgin Atlantic so that is what I paid for I paid about $1,350 one way from London to New York in business class that's not cheap that's not something I necessarily do in many cases but it's very expensive in general to redeem from London to New York comparing that to cash prices though this ticket is $10,000 one way absolutely crazy the ticket on Virgin Atlantic or Delta so I saved quite a bit I saved over 80% compared to paying cash which is just incredible and how did I do that I did what I always do I bought points and then redeemed them for this flight instead and you guys can do the same if you want to fly Delta from the US to Europe there's sort of a unicorn award a unicorn way to do it where you can get it for $600 one way but that's not so common more generally there's actually space during the summer from New York to London in Delta 1 through another frequent flyer program not Virgin Atlantic's for less than a thousand dollars one way New York to London if you want to fly Virgin Atlantic some other examples you can do if you want to buy points and redeem them is Shanghai to London 15 hours for less than $900 then you have Dubai to London for about $850 all of this is in business and I teach you how to do this and how to fly over 70 other airlines in every major alliance in my points master program now here's a little tip there for you if you've watched this far and you're watching today's video I'll be launching what I'm calling a late planners sale next week this is for people like me it's gonna be a huge discount for everyone who hasn't really made their summer plans yet and thinks hmm I would really like to fly business for 80 50% or even 30% off cash price there's so much award space right now in so many markets if you're a late planner like I am so this is really a great chance to hop into points master and learn how to do this the thing is I'm launching this on an unknown date next week and it will be announced first to people who enter their email at the QR code here to get the free mini course which you can get started with or at the link at the top of the description you enter your email there and then suddenly I'll send that out and there will be 100 spots available at this late planners price so only 100 spots if your email is not entered there might not be any available by the time I post my next video hopefully there will be but if you want to be one of the first to get it and fly long haul or wherever you're going this summer in comfort on some of the world's top airlines like Singapore Airlines Qatar Airways ANA there's so many more you can learn about points master right now and consider joining next week when I launch this sale so on that note guys thank you so much for watching I can't wait to see you for my next video very soon and until then fly safe