Delta 1st class

Robmill70

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Has anyone flown the Atlanta to JNB route on Delta flying first class?? If so, is it worth the money?
 
Never first…Delta has business only on the flights I have been on. I have only flown premium economy….sure doesn’t look like it is worth the extra $$ to me, but I can say from experience…United is definitely not worth the $$ for their Polaris Business.
 
True international first is pretty much a thing of the past. It has been nearly a decade since I have flown on an aircraft so configured with any airline. I am usually willing to pay the premium for business class for an overnight flight. Some are better than others. Currently, the Qatar Q suite is the best. I also don’t mind Polaris. The big advantage on any of them is the ability to sleep horizontally. My personal least favorite business class is American closely followed by Delta. But they all beat steerage on a long haul.
 
Has anyone flown the Atlanta to JNB route on Delta flying first class?? If so, is it worth the money?

Thats up to you to decide, I wouldnt spend money on 1st class tickets. Not sure about the US carriers but I have flown 1st class with Lufthansa several times (I didnt pay..), and yes-it was really good. But I would rather spend that $$ on more hunting days
 
I flew Delta's b-class for six years while living in Lagos, Nigeria, a 12 hour flight between Lagos and ATL. While certainly better than economy or even economy +, Delta's b-class isn't all that great.

Just for fun and grins, I went onto Delta's website this morning and checked what a Delta One ticket from ATL to JNB costs. Over $11k or about 800,000 miles. There are other better and cheaper options.

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It’s not called first class, but yes, I have flown it a number of times. I have never paid for it, it was always a complementary upgrade. For me personally, it is not worth the cost. Delta’s premium for business is one of the highest in the industry. Qatar is an entirely different story. A much higher class of service at a much lower premium.
 
Has anyone flown the Atlanta to JNB route on Delta flying first class?? If so, is it worth the money?
Its only for people with points or more money than sense. It is $10K round trip! That said Delta One is a fine product. It is a real suite similar to Qatar with an actual door. We can only dream!
I am contemplating Delta for my safari groups for next year. Sadly the price of Premium Select is just about as insane as Delta One. We will be rowing in the back!
 
True international first is pretty much a thing of the past. It has been nearly a decade since I have flown on an aircraft so configured with any airline. I am usually willing to pay the premium for business class for an overnight flight. Some are better than others. Currently, the Qatar Q suite is the best. I also don’t mind Polaris. The big advantage on any of them is the ability to sleep horizontally. My personal least favorite business class is American closely followed by Delta. But they all beat steerage on a long haul.
But have you experienced the new Delta One? I have not but by all accounts is very good.
 
I flew the Delta One ATL-JNB in July of 2019, yes you can lay flat besides that not worth the money. I have flown Qatars Q Suite and Lufthansa 1st Class. Lufthansa was better than Qatar however Qatar was good also.
 
Lufthansa first or business? Their old first had both a captain’s chair and full bunk. I have flown their business on their two class configured planes quite a bit and it is nice ride - comparable to KLM. I personally find the experiences on Qatar currently better.
 
Lufthansa first or business? Their old first had both a captain’s chair and full bunk. I have flown their business on their two class configured planes quite a bit and it is nice ride - comparable to KLM. I personally find the experiences on Qatar currently better.

No bunk it was the nose of the main level of the plane. I can’t remember aircraft model.
IMG_4932.JPG
 
But have you experienced the new Delta One? I have not but by all accounts is very good.
No. I last flew anywhere true first when I was still flying international for my corporation. The United 777 first was a vey comfortable way to get out to the Middle East or Europe. Emirates first was amazing.
 
Lufthansa first or business? Their old first had both a captain’s chair and full bunk. I have flown their business on their two class configured planes quite a bit and it is nice ride - comparable to KLM. I personally find the experiences on Qatar currently better.

I am in Qatar Q Suite next Wednesday to Tanzania via Doha. I have flown this route before not a bad option compared to KLM’s Amsterdam layover.
 
Not many First Class long hauls available: BA, Lufthansa, Emirates for sure. To me not worth the extra money or points or both depending on how I am paying. Business with a lay flat seat I will spend the extra for points or money.
When flying to Europe, I try to fly Business over so I can sleep and transfer to Eco for the continuing European flight. I do Premium Eco on the return and stay awake the entire return flight to put me back in my normal sleep pattern.

Going beyond Europe I would make it Business all the way, along with the return.

About the only long haul that I would not pay for Business is to Australia, that’s just too expensive on Qantas. I will suffer in Premium Economy for those flights and they are long from DFW.

Asia, Business. China Southern is cheap, you get a A380 from LAX over and back. Not sure I would fly them right now, with the CCP saying they are going to start WW3 if Nancy goes to Taiwan.
 
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Here is my mini review of Delta. Delta business was alright. I flew it in June to Joberg. The year before we flew Qatar business. It was fantastic in my opinion. Food was better, the qsuites are better, the staff helping you was way better, and it was a ton cheaper. That was during the covid chaos though and they were basically giving away those seats. Still now they are quite a bit cheaper. I saw that the dates I was looking at next year they are about 8k instead of the 11.5k that delta is charging.

I will be flying delta one next year though, but that is only because of the free upgrades. It's just too damn expensive. I also felt like the delta one walls were too short. It was not great privacy overall when people walked by. The Qatar suites I felt like had much higher walls so as people walked by, you'd usually not be bothered too much as you only saw the tops of their heads unless really tall. On my flight to Joberg, I had a window seat on Delta. This seat was set up where it's the seat close to the window and not offset away from the window. Basically it staggers left and right for each row. The armrest on the right next to the plane exterior was pure crap. It was so short and completely uncomfortable. I was baffled by the design. I changed my seat for the return flight, still a window seat but I made sure to get the seat that was offset away from the window this time. This setup is way better since the armrest towards the plane exterior is now also built into the area that is your shelf for drinks, etc. It wasn't a tiny little protruding armrest like before. I know I'm nitpicking but it seriously bothered me on that long of a flight.

Food going to Joberg was OK. I picked a lamb something or other and it was good. It was one of their special regional choices. The meal coming home was alright, nothing great but nothing bad either. Some type of chicken. Here is where I think Qatar is better by far. They basically have a dine at any time setup. You push the attendant button and ask for dinner, or breakfast, or whatever is on the menu. I don't know how often you could have had a meal but that was a great setup. I had a couple meals that easily could have been served in any fine dining setup and were fantastic.

If I had to pay for business class, I'd pick Qatar hands down. If you are kind of stuck like I am with delta because of miles and global upgrades, then go with whatever airline you can to get into business. It's still way better than coach.
 
To be able to lay flat with a little privacy and space is heaven compared to cattle class. Almost all business classes give you that these days. You can only appreciate so much luxury, beyond that is extreme.
 
I am in Qatar Q Suite next Wednesday to Tanzania via Doha. I have flown this route before not a bad option compared to KLM’s Amsterdam layover.
I am flying this route next month - American (first class) from Tucson to Dallas, Dallas to Doha connecting for Arusha (Q Suite) and Charter to camp. This was not as expensive as I thought it might be - about $6700 return, not including charter. I booked quite a while ago through TWG.
 

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