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Since 2024, Delta has operated their A330-900neo with Delta One Suites on their daily nonstop service from Buenos Aires (EZE) to New York (JFK), which makes perfect sense as the route is nearly 11 hours and serves plenty of business travelers between the two cosmopolitan cities.
As part of my EuroBonus Millionaire challenge, I had to fly Delta, and found some great promotional prices on revenue tickets for booking nearly last minute. Hence, it was a great option to start off my itinerary! Here’s my recent experience on Delta One.
| Route | EZE-JFK |
| Flight | DL114 |
| Cabin | Business (Delta One Suites) |
| Equipment | Airbus A330-900neo |
| Aircraft | N409DX (3 years old) |
| Flight Time | 10h 50m |
How I Booked This Flight
This one-way revenue ticket was at a “promotional” price of $1690 USD, which was non-refundable but flexible w.r.t. changes. I found this ticket when planning my itinerary for the SAS EuroBonus Millionaire challenge ex-Buenos Aires.
There were several attractive aspects that pushed me to book this ticket:
- It allowed me to start off a long trip in a fresh and comfortable way.
- It connected well with a Virgin Atlantic flight to London, with plenty of margin for delays.
- It’s expensive to fly out from Argentina even on Economy tickets. Paying the premium for Delta One was worth it.
- It’s rare to find these fares. Typically one-way tickets like these end up in the $3k+.
- I wasn’t able to find good cabins for the dates I needed using EuroBonus points.
- I could finally try Delta One Suites 😊.
Check-In & Security
The flight departed at 22:25, so I arrived at the airport around 3 hours before departure. The airport was busy, as it is common with evening departures. Luckily, the check-in with Delta agents was very smooth and efficient. The conveyor belt for the luggage wasn’t working so there was a pile of bags waiting to be dispatched, which didn’t interfere with the process. On the bad side, it’s been common for Delta agents put a sticker on the back of your passport to state that documents are OK (DOCS OK), which is annoying!
After checking in, I went straight to security and passport control, which took about 50 minutes! The new airport terminal (Terminal B), which looks stunning, was beautiful with the holiday decorations.
LATAM Buenos Aires Lounge
I had about 40 minutes left before boarding, so I headed to the lounge to grab a quick bite. There’s no official Delta Sky Club or Lounge at Buenos Aires. Instead, Delta uses LATAM Lounge (as they own a stake in LATAM). I was curious, as it was also my first time trying out this lounge. I tend to prefer the Amex Centurion Lounge.
The lounge was spacious and almost empty, which was definitely an advantage compared to other lounges at that time. There are multiple ‘living room’ areas with different seating options. On the downside, most of the seats were uncomfortable or too low.
The buffet was served with plenty of options: cold cuts, fruits, yogurt and granola, a salad bar, hot meals, and dessert/candy. There were also plenty of drinks and beverages.
I still think the Amex Centurion Lounge is better when it comes to food quality and comfort in the seating areas, but the Amex lounge can become quite crowded at peak hours. Overall, the LATAM lounge was a solid option, it feel cozy, quiet and relaxing right before the flight.
Boarding
At boarding time, I headed straight to the gate, which is about 100 meters away. I found out they already started boarding a few minutes ago. Luckily, I managed to snag a picture of the plane. There’s always a second security screening at the gate for all US-bound flights, which is annoying and delays the boarding process. It also feels unnecessary as the staff doesn’t really look thoroughly and only does a quick scan.
Cabin & Seat
A few minutes after that, I was crossing the plane’s frame and heading to my 3A suite. The cabin is bright and feels clean and tidy. The suites have a sliding door that adds extra privacy, although it is not as tall as the Qatar Airways Qsuites. On Delta One, if you are sitting, the crew can still see your face. My seat was a window seat, but one of those further away from the window, with the armrest on the left side. The door, in this case, feels very close to you. The even-row seats have the door touching the armrest instead.
The suite is large, with plenty of legroom and a huge IFE screen. There are also storage spaces under the armrest and a dedicated space for the shoes. At the seat, a bag with a blanket and pillow, headphones, a bottle of water, and the amenity kit were already waiting. Here’s a close look at the headphones and slippers at the seat.
The suite controls have access to plenty of seating and lighting configuration. There’s also a do not disturb sign (which is very easy to turn on accidentally, watch out!). Something very handy is the easily accessible dual power outlet right above the armrest, like on SAS seats, unlike other airlines, which have it below, and it always ends up unplugged.
The bedding set includes a large pillow and a comfortable duvet. However, similar to our experience on the route to Tokyoo, this flight does not come with an extra mattress pad.
Lavatory
There were two lavatories, front and rear of the cabin. The rear toilet was pretty much a standard economy class toilet, no difference. The front lavatory had some extra touches, such as hand cream and cups. It also had nicer decorations. The following picture is from the rear lavatory:
Dinner
The service started with a pre-departure beverage, sparkling wine.
Menus were handed out in both English and Spanish. As I had received an email several days ago recommending that I choose my main dish beforehand, the crew had already written down my selection and confirmed it. The menu I was shown online was the exact same menu on the plane.
I went for the breaded chicken as main. Along that, the whole service includes a hot towel, drinks and nuts, sallad, soup, bread, and dessert (Sundae).
Overall, it was a solid meal and very tasty. IMHO, Delta still wins (by far), compared to American Airlines and United when it comes to food.
Internet & IFE
This flight offered free messaging on its long-haul flights. If you need full internet access, the “Flight Pass” option was $15 for the full flight, and you could pay with Apple Pay. They warn you, tho, that there might not be coverage in all areas.
Regarding the IFE, the screen was very responsive, large, and there were 400+ movies available, quite many of them recently released. I watched a couple of movies wearing the given headphones.
Amenity Kit
The amenity kit was Missoni branded and had good (but standard) contents: an eye mask, a pen, a toothbrush, cream and lip balm, and ear plugs. The pouch was a hard case leather, which is a nice touch.
Sleep
After dinner, I still had plenty of time for sleep. You get almost full privacy in your cubicle as you close the suite’s door. The seat cushion is quite hard; it would be nice if they added an extra sleeping mattress on this flight, too.
The crew handed out a second (big) bottle of water and dimmed the lights, preparing the cabin for rest. The cabin looked beautiful with the dimmed lights.
I managed to get a solid 5-6 hours of sleep before the crew started preparing the breakfast service before arrival into JFK.
Breakfast
The breakfast service was nothing out of the ordinary, but well made and solid. A cheese-filled omellete, with some fruits and a croissant. You could get as many coffee refills as you’d want.
Before landing, the crew handed out a goodbye chocolate and thanked us for flying Delta.
Video Review
Summary
Overall, I had a great time on my Delta One flight to the US. The service was great, the food was solid, and the Delta One Suites were much better than other hard products out there with less privacy. I wish the seats were softer, and the doors were taller; more meal choices would be nice.