More widebody airplanes are now being deployed at US domestic hubs and on dense routes, as international travel is very restricted. Delta has been using their B767-400 to fly between Las Vegas and Atlanta (also between Atlanta and Salt Lake City or Orlando).
I rarely fly on Delta as I am a mostly United flyer in the US, due to their network and loyalty status. However this time, I made the jump simply because Delta is currently the only carrier operating the B767-400; a rare stretched model of Boeing 767 at that. United is the only other carrier that has the B767-400, but these planes are currently grounded (although the United B767-400 may make a come back, given that most of their B777's, with Pratt and Whitney engines, are currently grounded)
My Delta B767-400 flight was operated by ship 1810, registration N834MH, a 21 year old B767. It is interesting to note that the B767-400 was brought in to replace the L1011 in Delta's fleet.
Video of my Delta Flight
The cabin has been completely refurbished. I think Delta have done a great job in keeping up their cabins appearance, despite flying older planes.
As per Delta's website, the 767-400 has 4 classes and has a total of 238 seats as follows:
I spoke with the pilots before we departed. They showed me the differences in the cockpit compared to B757/B767. Although the B767-400 has the same type rating as the B767, the category is different. Pilots do not interchange their flights on other B757/B767 models. Watch the video review for the differences.
We took off from runway 26R of Las Vegas, making a left 180 turn heading towards East shortly after. Flight time was 3 hours and 20 minutes.
My Delta One suite 8A was an inner window seat. However when seated it is very close to the TV monitor. The privacy however is excellent, even if it doesn't come with a door like those available with Delta One on the A350.
On their narrow body's, Delta is currently blocking all middle seats and the seat next to you in domestic First Class. I think this strategy has resulted in a fare premium and more loyalty.
The flight attendant passed out water and snack bags to all passengers. This is the Economy Class snack bag
Delta Snack Bag for Economy and Comfort Delta Snack Bag for Economy and Comfort
For Business Class, you get an additional snack box. It came with 3 choices (Tapas, Hommus or Salami).
Delta One Domestic Snack Box Delta One Domestic Snack Box
Perhaps the biggest drawback was the limited selection of beverages. There was only water, beer or wine. No hot beverages, sodas or juices were available.
I feel like Delta need to bring back more selection as soon as the other US Major carriers do, such as United offer a full beverage selection. United also brought back hot sandwiches on flights over two and half hours.
I enjoyed free Wi-Fi onboard as a T-Mobile Customer.
The rest of the flight was spent listening to music, relaxing and looking out the window view as we flew Eastward.
I also tried out the flat bed, which is, as predicted, a little narrow. The length is excellent for my height (6' 0" or 185cm).
The landing was slightly early and performed with a very quiet and clear night at Atlanta Airport.
During my transit in Atlanta, I visited the Delta SkyClub. A limited selection of pre-packaged snacks and other nibbles were on offer. The bar was open, however the whole scene was rather subdued.
My next Delta flight was on a B757-200 from Atlanta to Orlando.
An incident happened on the jetbridge during the boarding. An elderly lady was feeling unwell on the jetbridge and the cabin crew at the door were first to assist her, while they waited for the paramedics to arrive. The crew did a great job to recover the situation (which could have gone wrong very quickly without a fast reaction).
It is not an everyday situation but I happened to catch the crew's reaction to the incident. Well done to the crew on handling such a situation calmly and professionally. Watch the video on how crew reacted to the incident.
My flight to Orlando was eventless, but it was good to see Delta keeping their older planes up-to-date.
There were two things that I observed of Delta; when compared to other US airline carriers it seems that the Delta staff are more stable, proud and passionate in their jobs, also that Delta do fly older planes, some more than 20 years old, but they do look after them. On my B757 flight to Orlando the plane was nearly 30 years old but had received a new Boeing signature cabin interior, along with renovated bathrooms and bulkheads.