JFK-LAX on Delta One

At T-45, I headed out for the short walk to Gate B39.

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I got stuck in 1D on this plane due to a DL schedule schedule change and DL's dishonest schedule padding designed to inflate their on-time performance numbers.   I was only able to change back to the flight when I arrived 60 minutes ahead of schedule from YUL.  Unfortunaely, by that time, better single seats were gone.  Then there is the annoying DL practice of pre-boarding "people that need a little extra time to board" and "families with children".   And then Business Class.

Good leg room.

But partially in the galley.  Not good on a flight like today when the crew doesn't give a whit about customers and yaps away most of the flight.

God forbid we spend money of real headphones.  Let's take free crap ones in exchange for promoting their product.

Yuck.

Nice Tumi amenity container.

Meh.

Yeah, this relic has seen better days.

Nice job of cleaning controls.  LOL.

Todays's menu.

Looks impressive.  

Very nice Westin Heavenly Bed duvet and pillow.

Showtime, Delta One style.

The Marinated Chicken with hazelnut, raisin, saffron and green apple was OK, although it didn't seem marinated not did I see any green apple.  More like a chicken salad underneath the chicken.

The Celery Root and Pasnip Soup was tasty although a little heavy.

The salad was quite good, although more than two leaves would have been nice.  Perhaps the plan was to have more leaves as there was way too much dressing for a nothing salad.  Race to the bottom comes to mind.

For my main, I had the Ricotta and Winter Truffle Cannelloni, with mushroom ragout and parmesan brodo.  It was not my first choice they'd run out of the salmon as I was the last to be asked for my choice as FA followed FEBO and went down the AB aisle from front to back, but then figured it was easier to just go back to front on the CD side.  It was actually pretty tasty.

For dessert, I opted for the Vanilla Fudge Swirl Ice Cream, with blood orange and cardamon caramel sauce, and ginger bread crumble.

It was delicious.

About 90 minutes, luke warm chocolate chip cookie... after sitting on the galley counter for 15 minutes.

Although we landed 30 minutes early, it took 30 minutes to get to our gate, after waiting to be towed the last bit.

A good crew can make or break a flight.  My experience has been that Delta is the most likely of the majors to have good crews.  Not today.  This crew was going thru the motions, alternating between lazy and loud as the yapped away in the galley, oblivious to the rest of the world.

jetBlue Mint vs. Delta One: The Verdict

jetBlue by a mile.   Delta wins on lounges... since jetBlue doesn't have any.   But after that, jetBlue wins every category, from new and clean planes, to cabin layout, seats, seat comfort, space, IFE, food, drink and above all service.  Certainly the Delta experience will vary based on the type of plane.  The 763/763s are pure garbage while the A330 would be better as would the 757 if you are travelling with a companion.  But I pick jetBlue over Delta in a heartbeat.