Delta Airlines to Europe

[BarbaraB2]

We have flown Alitalia, United, US Air, and now Delta to and from Europe. Our experience with Delta was the best! The flight attendants were outstanding and the food, especially on the return from Barcelona was a pleasant surprise (especially the Hagen Das dixie cups). We tried to upgrade to Business class but they were sold out but we were pleasantly surprised with their economy class.

I would not hesitate to fly with them again!

[cabo de hornos]

Thanks for the updates Barbara and Deniuh. It's nice to start off with optimism. One week from this evening and we'll be on our way to MXP.

 

Cabo

[bellelinus]

deniuh or anyone else that might be knowledgeable: We're flying Delta next Sunday PM to BCN. You said the food was acceptable and there was a menu. I am guessing this is a pay for meal type thing as it shows on the flight schedules. Do you remember how much $ it cost and did it seem reasonable. We only have 1 hour between connecting flights in JFK and may not have time to buy food in the airport. Thanks for your help.

 

I flew Delta coach JFK-Berlin Tegel RT in March, and there was no charge for the food (except for alcoholic beverages). They did serve real meals, if not exactly super-gourmet in style and taste! I don't remember a menu, though -- I think there was a meat entree and a vegetarian entree, and you just told the flight attendant which you wanted. Things might have improved since March, though.

[deniuh]

deniuh or anyone else that might be knowledgeable: We're flying Delta next Sunday PM to BCN. You said the food was acceptable and there was a menu. I am guessing this is a pay for meal type thing as it shows on the flight schedules. Do you remember how much $ it cost and did it seem reasonable. We only have 1 hour between connecting flights in JFK and may not have time to buy food in the airport. Thanks for your help.

 

PoohB: The food was free of charge so that should make your day. That was the shocking thing, we got menus with good food, headshets and complimentary alcohol for free. Call Delta if you are uncertain to make sure that your food will be free or you can look at your itinerary and it should indicate whether or not a meal will be served. Have a blast!

[Poohb]

Wow, free stuff...amazing. The Delta flight info shows a knife & fork with a $ next to them. I'll take your advice and call. Thanks for the info. And..becuz you said so I will "have a blast!"

[BarbaraB2]

We just returned from BCN on Friday. The only charge was for alchoholic drinks after the first one! The $ sign could indicate drink fees. We had a choice of a pasta or chicken (the pasta was very good), a salad, and cookie. Then a few hours later, were offered ice cream. Then about an hour before we arrived in Atlanta, we had a vegetarian pizza and cookie! Not bad!

The flight attendants were great. They kept coming through the cabins offering water and drinks throughout the flight.

As for the seats, we were in the first section behind first class, on the side. We noticed that the center seats, in this section, had more leg room than we had.

[cusyl]

In business class we were given nice kits with tooth paste, tooth brush, socks and other items, nice touch.

[Globaliser]

In business class we were given nice kits with tooth paste, tooth brush, socks and other items, nice touch.

On better airlines, you get a kit like this in economy class.

[cusyl]

On better airlines, you get a kit like this in economy class.

Several years ago we flew coach British Air to London and didn't get one, but this was our first Internation flight in quite some time.

[Globaliser]

Several years ago we flew coach British Air to London and didn't get one

You should have done. On each economy class seat, there is a pillow, a blanket, and a pack. The pack contains a pair of headphones, a Change for Good donation envelope, and a smaller amenity pack. The amenity pack contains eyeshades, a pair of slipper socks, and a toothbrush/toothpaste unit. This has been exactly the same for many years, now - certainly since before September 2001.

 

The big pack is produced for BA and loaded as one unit, so if you had headphones you should have had everything else too. It would be very rare for something to happen that prevents the packs from being loaded.

[ZZROX]

Mavis,

Thanks again...We've decided to sit in coach...At this point, the inbound flight is still unavailable. I don't want to risk using 50,00 pts and paying an additional $500 pp. I'll use the extra money to buy myself something nice, in one of the ports.

When you get back, please let me know how the Hotel Continental Palacete was. I booked 2 Sun-Sol rooms.

 

ZZROX

[gmka]

I have been reading the boards for sometime now, but have never posted before. I would like to thank everyone for all their help & advice. I have used Delta only once in the past and I did not know what to expect on a transatlantic flight. After reading all the positive comments, I feel much better about the decision I had made booking Delta. :)

[DOTTYCAN]

Delta paid my mortgage, so to speak, for 32 years. Most of those years, I felt Delta offered an excellent product. The meals were more than decent, too. Delta is no longer the same airline, in many respects, but she's still trying! With the price of fuel and wages, pension problems and pilot unions, most of the major carriers have had to cut back on product, whether that be dinnerware, food, freebies, etc. And it shows!

 

It's no secret that airline employees and retirees fly for free or for small service charges when there are available seats. However, there are some cities like Barcelona and Venice that are so fully booked with full-fare passengers that a "Non-Revenue" passenger isn't going to have a seat available. For those (and other) cities, we purchase full-fare tickets. We could choose any carrier, but we always choose Delta. WHY? Because we trust Delta. We know the regulations and restrictions for maintenance of the aircraft. We know Delta takes extra efforts to do the background checks on all employess. We know there is random drug testing. When I step onto a Delta aircraft, I know it's in tip-top condition.

 

Frankly, I don't know how well other countries maintain their aircraft. One could argue that any aircraft flying into USA cities is subject to the same regulations. I just can't prove they follow them like Delta does. In this day and time, I want to feel as secure as possible, particulary when I'm flying to Europe. I've flown an Italian carrier into Venice and Milan a few times, but I didn't feel comfortable.

 

For our next trip, we've accumulated enough frequent flyer miles that we were able to get business class tickets into BCN. Looking forward to those cushy seats, upgraded food service....not standing by worrying if my name will be called to board.... :D

 

I'll continue to fly Delta over other airlines until I'm given a good reason to change. :)

Interesting conversation about DL - would you have any information on itineraries - is this something that happens where a passenger can use the ff miles for a ticket to Europe - Venice. We have been on a wait list since July and no word yet. I call weekly but nothing seems to be available. We would be leaving from Baton Rouge to Atlanta to Venice in May 07.

 

Thanks for such an interesting board.

 

dottycan

[Balliett]

I just today booked delta from venice to usa through JFK. Two years ago, we flew round trip to VCE on delta, but through Atlanta. Check out your best seat choice at www.seatguru.com ! If you are a "silver" delta member, you can now reserve exit row seats, which would help if you fly coach. Delta to Venice has good 60 inch pitch business class seats, with fine service. Not lie-flat, but good. ... If your luggage doesn't arrive in Venice, send someone to the lost-luggage line with your information, right away. Delta sent our luggage the next day, via water taxi. Must have cost them a bunch! ... You can check the availability of awards tickets daily at www.delta.com. This is the same info your reservations person sees. ... I've just used "upgrade" awards to book travel from VCE, from "selected fares," which means M class, to book business class tickets. You can't do this online, but you can check availability of awards tickets. Check daily. If you find one ticket available, call Delta and beg for the second. Couldn't hurt. Good luck! Jim