Delta Airlines, a US-based airline which also happens to be one of the world's largest, was our airline of choice throughout our US trip. We flew with Delta Airlines on several segments, and I must say I was very satisfied with all of them. I originally had misgivings about flying with Delta, as I had heard so much about US-based airlines prior to flying with them--rude flight attendants, ridiculous charges for checked-in luggage, the lack of complimentary food and entertainment on domestic flights--but I am happy to say that Delta Airlines managed to exceed my expectations. I had a really great experience flying with them, and I wouldn't hesitate flying with this airline again when the opportunity arises.
First flight: DL172 Manila-Tokyo Narita (MNL-NRT)
Our first flight with Delta was flown on a Boeing 747-400 aircraft, which had already been reconfigured with newer-generation seats that had personal in-flight entertainment. We were attended to by mostly Filipino flight attendants, who made sure the passengers were comfortable throughout the four-hour flight. It was a full flight that day, and yet the boarding process was organized and was carried out quickly for the most part--the first part of the boarding process seemed to take longer than usual as there was an unusually high number of elderly passengers who needed assistance and had to be escorted to the plane on a wheelchair by airport personnel. Departure, unfortunately, was delayed for almost an hour because of an incident at the runway involving a small aircraft, but this isn't really the airline's fault.
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| Each seat was equipped with personal screens for our in-flight entertainment. They had a pretty good selection of music, TV shows, movies, and games. For some reason though, some of the games weren't really working. |
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| The in-flight safety video with English and Tagalog subtitles being played prior to departure. For this flight, announcements were carried out in English, Tagalog, and Japanese. |
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| Breakfast was served halfway through the flight. Breakfast consisted of potatoes, omelet, and bacon, accompanied by a fruit cup, a muffin, and a small cake for dessert. They also have a wide selection of drinks. They also served snacks shortly after take-off, which consisted of a small pack of peanuts and pretzels. |
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| Our aircraft parked at the Narita airport in Tokyo, shortly after landing. We would be using the same plane for the Tokyo-New York flight, which is a continuation of the Manila-Tokyo flight. |
Second flight: DL172 Tokyo Narita-New York JFK (NRT-JFK)
The flight from Tokyo to New York was the longest out of the flights we had taken during the trip, with a flying time of around 13 hours. This was my first-ever long haul flight, which meant I had a lot of adjusting to do.
Though this flight was a continuation of our previous flight from Manila, they brought in an entirely different set of flight attendants for this flight. This time, the flight attendants now consisted primarily of Americans and some Japanese. Most of the Filipino passengers, too, had disembarked at Tokyo and had connections to other Delta flights headed to other US cities. The passengers were now mostly either Japanese headed for New York, or Americans who had spent some time in Japan and were now returning to the US. Of course, there were also Filipinos who were flying all the way to New York from Manila.
When we boarded the plane (we disembarked after landing in from Manila for additional security checks), most of the passengers originating from Tokyo had already boarded. The flight attendants were pretty busy during this time, distributing headsets, newspapers, and menu cards displaying our meal options for the flight (something we didn't have on the previous flight). We departed on time, though we were about 20-20 minutes late for arrival in New York because of heavy air traffic.
During the flight, food was served four times, and I didn't expect this at all. The Delta website indicated that food was to be served twice on this flight. Shortly after take-off, the flight attendants served snacks consisting of the same peanuts-and-pretzels packs similar to the previous flight. About an hour later, the first main meal was served, which consisted of Teriyaki meatballs and green bean salad for our appetizer, and roasted chicken in thyme sauce with assorted vegetables and pasta as one of the main course options (which I had selected). The main course was accompanied by a bread roll, a salad, and a small cake on the tray. As were flying somewhere over Alaska, a mid-flight snack was served, which consisted of a small sandwich, a fruit cup, and two chocolate chip cookies. I was still quite full from the first main meal and the mid-flight snack when they served the second main meal, about an hour before landing in New York. I don't really remember what they served us (and I also forgot to take a lot of pictures for this flight because of fatigue), but I do remember liking everything that was served to us during this flight. In-between meals, the flight attendants would regularly go around the cabin carrying cups of water on a try, to make sure that the passengers would stay hydrated during the flight.
Since I was unable to fall asleep during this flight (except for a few quick naps which really just left me feeling even more exhausted), I decided to keep myself preoccupied by going through the in-flight entertainment system. Again, they had a decent selection of TV shows, movies, and music to keep me entertained throughout the very long flight.
One thing I noticed, though, was that no amenity kits were distributed to economy class passengers on this flight. As I have heard, other airlines would distribute amenity kits (which included a small toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, sleeping masks, etc.) even to economy class passengers. Apparently, amenity kits were only available to Business Class passengers on this flight.
Third flight: DL763 New York JFK to Los Angeles (JFK-LAX)
After spending a week in New York, it was finally time to head all the way over to California, all the way to the other side of the country. It was a 5-6 hour flight on a Boeing 757-200 plane, and after this flight, I became even more thoroughly impressed with Delta.
Initially, I was under the impression that in-flight entertainment wouldn't be for free. It is indicated in the Delta Airlines website that passengers would have to pay for every movie or TV show they watched, or for every song they played on domestic flights. I also thought that we would be charged $2 each for the headsets (again, since it said so on the website and on the in-flight magazine), so I was a bit hesitant to accept the headsets that the flight attendants were distributing while we were boarding. I also thought that snacks and beverages weren't complimentary, but I was wrong.
I was pleasantly surprised when the in-flight entertainment system was activated after take off, and I could watch movies and TV shows and listen to music free of charge, though there fewer movies and TV shows to choose from. The flight attendants announced that snacks and beverages were complimentary (beverage options included a selection of Coca-Cola products and Seattle's Best Coffee). True enough, we were served a pack of peanuts and a Biscoff cookie shortly afterwards, along with our choice of drink. The same snacks were served again about an hour before landing in Los Angeles.
The flight attendants on this flight were very professional and accommodating to all the passengers, and all snacks were served with a smile. This was certainly not what I was expecting.
Fourth Flight: DL4602 Los Angeles-San Francisco (LAX-SFO)
The Los Angeles-San Francisco flight was the shortest flight we took, with a flying time of only one hour. This flight was operated by a small, 76-seater Bombardier CRJ900 plane, which wasn't equipped with an in-flight entertainment system. For a short flight, though, I don't think this was really much of a problem.
The boarding process was quick since the plane was barely filled with passengers. Again, a complimentary Biscoff cookie was served along with a selection of Coca-Cola beverages and Seattle's Best Coffee. The flight was uneventful; soon enough, the plane landed in San Francisco without any trouble.
Fifth Flight: DL209 San Francisco-Tokyo Narita (SFO-NRT)
With a flight time of 11 hours, this flight was the second longest flight during our entire trip. A Boeing 767-300ER was used for this flight, and a quick check on Delta's website would show you that so far, only 41% of their 767s had been reconfigured with newer seats with personal in-flight entertainment. This made me a bit nervous, since it would be very boring to sit on a plane for 11 hours without anything to do--I'm not even the type of person who can fall asleep on a plane. I was, however, pleased to find out that the plane we were riding was fitted with newer seats as we were boarding. What a relief!
Just like on the flight to New York, food was served four times. Except for the main meal, however, the food served on this flight was simpler than on the flight to New York--I guess it's because this was a shorter flight and if they served the same type of food as they did on the flight to New York, it would take much longer for the passengers to finish their food. To start off, they again served packs of peanuts and pretzels accompanied with our choice of drink (I chose orange juice, which tasted pretty good). The first main meal consisted of shrimp cocktail for our appetizer, and chicken breast with campestre sauce and mixed vegetables (though it was indicated in the menu card that this would be served with paella rice), a bread roll, salad, and a brownie for dessert. I managed to finish off everything on my tray--the food was delicious. Halfway through the flight, our mid-flight snack, an ice cream sandwich (vanilla ice cream in-between two sandwich wafers), was served. It was absolutely delicious! Our pre-arrival snack (no longer a full meal) was served an hour before we landed in Tokyo--it was a breakfast bagel with egg and cheese, served with a cup of assorted fruits which included grapes, pineapples, and melon. It tasted good, though I wish they had a better way of serving the bagel. My hands were really greasy and smelled of butter afterwards.
Though our flight attendants (who were American and Japanese) on this flight were just as friendly and as accommodating as all the others on our previous flights, I didn't really notice them going around the cabin with cups of water on a tray as often as those on our flight to New York. Again, no amenity kits were distributed on this flight.
Final flight: DL 173 Tokyo Narita-Manila (NRT-MNL)
After our flight landed from San Francisco, we had about two hours before our connecting flight to Manila would depart. An hour of this was spent going through additional security checks at the airport, though we were able to clear security a bit faster this time than before our flight to New York. We still had enough time to go to the bathroom (and to check out the high-tech toilets!) and do a bit of duty-free shopping. We managed to buy some refrigerator magnets to add to our collection at home, as well as packs of flavored KitKats (Uji Matcha, Sakura Matcha, and Blueberry Cheesecake) which are very popular in Japan and have gained some notoriety abroad.
Boarding was a rather slow and painful process. Employees at the Narita Airport seem to like taking things slowly--it took us an hour and a half to clear security before boarding our flight to the US, an hour to clear security before getting to our connecting flight to Manila, and then there's this. Luckily, the airport has free WiFi to make the long wait less boring.
Because boarding took forever, we departed around 20-30 minutes late. We did, however, manage to arrive in Manila ahead of schedule (9:30 pm instead of the scheduled 10:05 pm). Since it was a shorter flight, no menu cards were distributed. Instead, meal options were announced over the PA system. Passengers had a choice between Korean beef with rice and Chicken Teriyaki with rice. I wanted to go for the beef option, but by the time the flight attendants got to our section of the plane, they had completely run out of beef and served everyone the Chicken Teriyaki option instead. The chicken was very tasty and the rice was very soft. This was accompanied by a bread roll, salad, and a small cake for dessert.
Conclusion
After hearing so much bad publicity about US-based airlines, I ended up lowering my expectations for this airline. However, after all those flights, I was thoroughly impressed. Though there were some minor slip-ups (i.e. lack of amenity kits, inaccurate information on their website and in-flight magazine, etc.), they weren't enough to completely put me off from flying with this airline again in the future. I certainly felt well taken care of during all of our flights, and this experience has certainly given me the impression that this airline and its employees take their job very seriously. You know how they say that the first impression is a lasting impression? Well I couldn't agree more--this experience has certainly helped change my perception about this airline. Let's just hope it stays that way.
(Delta Airlines flies regularly from Manila to New York via Tokyo-Narita, and from Manila to Detroit via Nagoya. For more information, please visit the Delta Airlines website at www.delta.com)
When we boarded the plane (we disembarked after landing in from Manila for additional security checks), most of the passengers originating from Tokyo had already boarded. The flight attendants were pretty busy during this time, distributing headsets, newspapers, and menu cards displaying our meal options for the flight (something we didn't have on the previous flight). We departed on time, though we were about 20-20 minutes late for arrival in New York because of heavy air traffic.
During the flight, food was served four times, and I didn't expect this at all. The Delta website indicated that food was to be served twice on this flight. Shortly after take-off, the flight attendants served snacks consisting of the same peanuts-and-pretzels packs similar to the previous flight. About an hour later, the first main meal was served, which consisted of Teriyaki meatballs and green bean salad for our appetizer, and roasted chicken in thyme sauce with assorted vegetables and pasta as one of the main course options (which I had selected). The main course was accompanied by a bread roll, a salad, and a small cake on the tray. As were flying somewhere over Alaska, a mid-flight snack was served, which consisted of a small sandwich, a fruit cup, and two chocolate chip cookies. I was still quite full from the first main meal and the mid-flight snack when they served the second main meal, about an hour before landing in New York. I don't really remember what they served us (and I also forgot to take a lot of pictures for this flight because of fatigue), but I do remember liking everything that was served to us during this flight. In-between meals, the flight attendants would regularly go around the cabin carrying cups of water on a try, to make sure that the passengers would stay hydrated during the flight.
Since I was unable to fall asleep during this flight (except for a few quick naps which really just left me feeling even more exhausted), I decided to keep myself preoccupied by going through the in-flight entertainment system. Again, they had a decent selection of TV shows, movies, and music to keep me entertained throughout the very long flight.
One thing I noticed, though, was that no amenity kits were distributed to economy class passengers on this flight. As I have heard, other airlines would distribute amenity kits (which included a small toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, sleeping masks, etc.) even to economy class passengers. Apparently, amenity kits were only available to Business Class passengers on this flight.
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| The additional security checks at the airport in Tokyo took so much of our time that by the time we had cleared security, our continuing flight to New York was already boarding. |
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| A menu card was distributed as were settling down on our seats. |
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| Snacks were served shortly after take-off. |
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| Delta had a decent in-flight entertainment system which I thoroughly enjoyed during the flight since I was unable to fall asleep. |
After spending a week in New York, it was finally time to head all the way over to California, all the way to the other side of the country. It was a 5-6 hour flight on a Boeing 757-200 plane, and after this flight, I became even more thoroughly impressed with Delta.
Initially, I was under the impression that in-flight entertainment wouldn't be for free. It is indicated in the Delta Airlines website that passengers would have to pay for every movie or TV show they watched, or for every song they played on domestic flights. I also thought that we would be charged $2 each for the headsets (again, since it said so on the website and on the in-flight magazine), so I was a bit hesitant to accept the headsets that the flight attendants were distributing while we were boarding. I also thought that snacks and beverages weren't complimentary, but I was wrong.
I was pleasantly surprised when the in-flight entertainment system was activated after take off, and I could watch movies and TV shows and listen to music free of charge, though there fewer movies and TV shows to choose from. The flight attendants announced that snacks and beverages were complimentary (beverage options included a selection of Coca-Cola products and Seattle's Best Coffee). True enough, we were served a pack of peanuts and a Biscoff cookie shortly afterwards, along with our choice of drink. The same snacks were served again about an hour before landing in Los Angeles.
The flight attendants on this flight were very professional and accommodating to all the passengers, and all snacks were served with a smile. This was certainly not what I was expecting.
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| Inside Terminal 3 at the John F. Kennedy International Airport. It was actually just a pretty small terminal with limited dining and shopping options. |
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| Once again, the boarding process was very organized. |
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| Biscoff cookie, a cup of water, and a book which I never even got to read during the flight (I became too preoccupied with the in-flight entertainment system). |
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| I was lucky enough to snap a photo of this Qantas A380 after landing in Los Angeles. |
The Los Angeles-San Francisco flight was the shortest flight we took, with a flying time of only one hour. This flight was operated by a small, 76-seater Bombardier CRJ900 plane, which wasn't equipped with an in-flight entertainment system. For a short flight, though, I don't think this was really much of a problem.
The boarding process was quick since the plane was barely filled with passengers. Again, a complimentary Biscoff cookie was served along with a selection of Coca-Cola beverages and Seattle's Best Coffee. The flight was uneventful; soon enough, the plane landed in San Francisco without any trouble.
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| Waiting for our flight at Terminal 5 of the Los Angeles International Airport. |
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| Our flight getting ready for the 6:20am flight to San Francisco. |
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| The flight was barely filled with passengers--there were a lot of vacant seats both on First Class and Economy Class. |
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| Biscoff Cookie. |
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| A cup of Seattle's Best Coffee. |
With a flight time of 11 hours, this flight was the second longest flight during our entire trip. A Boeing 767-300ER was used for this flight, and a quick check on Delta's website would show you that so far, only 41% of their 767s had been reconfigured with newer seats with personal in-flight entertainment. This made me a bit nervous, since it would be very boring to sit on a plane for 11 hours without anything to do--I'm not even the type of person who can fall asleep on a plane. I was, however, pleased to find out that the plane we were riding was fitted with newer seats as we were boarding. What a relief!
Just like on the flight to New York, food was served four times. Except for the main meal, however, the food served on this flight was simpler than on the flight to New York--I guess it's because this was a shorter flight and if they served the same type of food as they did on the flight to New York, it would take much longer for the passengers to finish their food. To start off, they again served packs of peanuts and pretzels accompanied with our choice of drink (I chose orange juice, which tasted pretty good). The first main meal consisted of shrimp cocktail for our appetizer, and chicken breast with campestre sauce and mixed vegetables (though it was indicated in the menu card that this would be served with paella rice), a bread roll, salad, and a brownie for dessert. I managed to finish off everything on my tray--the food was delicious. Halfway through the flight, our mid-flight snack, an ice cream sandwich (vanilla ice cream in-between two sandwich wafers), was served. It was absolutely delicious! Our pre-arrival snack (no longer a full meal) was served an hour before we landed in Tokyo--it was a breakfast bagel with egg and cheese, served with a cup of assorted fruits which included grapes, pineapples, and melon. It tasted good, though I wish they had a better way of serving the bagel. My hands were really greasy and smelled of butter afterwards.
Though our flight attendants (who were American and Japanese) on this flight were just as friendly and as accommodating as all the others on our previous flights, I didn't really notice them going around the cabin with cups of water on a tray as often as those on our flight to New York. Again, no amenity kits were distributed on this flight.
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| Checking the screens for our flight. |
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| Among the airport terminals we went through in the US, San Francisco's International Terminal was the nicest. |
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| Our plane being prepared for the 11-hour flight to Tokyo. |
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| Ads were being displayed on the monitors during boarding. |
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| Again, menu cards were distributed. |
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| It was a full flight. |
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| The first main meal--Chicken breast with campastre sauce and mixed veggies, shrimp cocktail, bread roll, salad, and a brownie. |
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| Breakfast bagel with egg and cheese, and a fruit cup for our pre-arrival snack. |
After our flight landed from San Francisco, we had about two hours before our connecting flight to Manila would depart. An hour of this was spent going through additional security checks at the airport, though we were able to clear security a bit faster this time than before our flight to New York. We still had enough time to go to the bathroom (and to check out the high-tech toilets!) and do a bit of duty-free shopping. We managed to buy some refrigerator magnets to add to our collection at home, as well as packs of flavored KitKats (Uji Matcha, Sakura Matcha, and Blueberry Cheesecake) which are very popular in Japan and have gained some notoriety abroad.
Boarding was a rather slow and painful process. Employees at the Narita Airport seem to like taking things slowly--it took us an hour and a half to clear security before boarding our flight to the US, an hour to clear security before getting to our connecting flight to Manila, and then there's this. Luckily, the airport has free WiFi to make the long wait less boring.
Because boarding took forever, we departed around 20-30 minutes late. We did, however, manage to arrive in Manila ahead of schedule (9:30 pm instead of the scheduled 10:05 pm). Since it was a shorter flight, no menu cards were distributed. Instead, meal options were announced over the PA system. Passengers had a choice between Korean beef with rice and Chicken Teriyaki with rice. I wanted to go for the beef option, but by the time the flight attendants got to our section of the plane, they had completely run out of beef and served everyone the Chicken Teriyaki option instead. The chicken was very tasty and the rice was very soft. This was accompanied by a bread roll, salad, and a small cake for dessert.
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| Gate 22 at the Narita Airport. |
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| Our meal during the flight. Again, peanuts and pretzels were served shortly after take-off. |
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| The baggage claim area at Terminal 1 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport was chaotic--and there were just two flights arriving at that time (our flight and a Japan Airlines flight also from Tokyo). |
After hearing so much bad publicity about US-based airlines, I ended up lowering my expectations for this airline. However, after all those flights, I was thoroughly impressed. Though there were some minor slip-ups (i.e. lack of amenity kits, inaccurate information on their website and in-flight magazine, etc.), they weren't enough to completely put me off from flying with this airline again in the future. I certainly felt well taken care of during all of our flights, and this experience has certainly given me the impression that this airline and its employees take their job very seriously. You know how they say that the first impression is a lasting impression? Well I couldn't agree more--this experience has certainly helped change my perception about this airline. Let's just hope it stays that way.
(Delta Airlines flies regularly from Manila to New York via Tokyo-Narita, and from Manila to Detroit via Nagoya. For more information, please visit the Delta Airlines website at www.delta.com)
Delta Airlines, Inc. (DAL) CEO, Richard Anderson, envisioned creating an additional international hub .. Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/mf9pn5b
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