In a nutshell: It was enjoyable to experience a wide-body aircraft and be offered free food and drinks flying Delta transcontinental Comfort Plus, but there were a couple aspects of the experience that left me less than satisfied, including slow WiFi and a poor boarding process.
Back in December I took a quick trip to the east coast and back for work. Unlike many other trips, I opted to fly through JFK instead of Atlanta, as this put me aboard one of their Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. Like both American and United, Delta has select routes that offer premium service, including the very popular JFK-LAX trek.
My favorite airline moved to operating exclusively 767-300 aircraft on the route, providing a consistent experience for all customers. Their business class aboard their 767s isn’t their most cutting-edge, but all seats are lie-flat and offer direct aisle access. With Delta Platinum status at the time, I was quickly able to confirm myself in Comfort Plus for the trek across the country.
Airport Experience
I arrived in JFK on a connection. With a few hours to kill, I headed to the Delta Sky Club in Terminal 4. I usually try to plan a connection of less than 90 minutes, but this was an exception since I wanted to have ample time to hang out at JFK. It had literally been years since I’ve passed through this airport.
The Delta Sky Club in Terminal 4 is a large lounge with plenty of seating and nice views of the tarmac. There is a Sky Deck as well, but it was closed, likely due to the snow that covered it. Still, I enjoyed spotting planes for a while.
The lounge was under renovation at the time (not sure if it still is), and I was actually impressed how well the noise and disturbance were contained. You can read my full review of the Delta Sky Club JFK Terminal 4.
Boarding
Following a pleasant lounge experience, I headed downstairs into a total disaster. There was a giant group of people crowded around the gate area. One Delta agent finally came out and did her best to organize everyone, but it was little use.
Talk about a mess. You may notice the sign says pre-boarding. Essentially none of the people all crowded around pre-boarded. But every one was obviously afraid the airplane would leave without them. It always irks me when people crowd around the gate well before their group is called. I make a point of staying seated (or stand against a wall across from the gate in this case).
I’d held out fleeting hope that I might score an upgrade, but this route is *so* competitive. Even after recently picking up the Delta Reserve American Express for Business (personal referral link), I was the “fourth loser” on the list of Delta One upgrades as a Platinum Medallion. I’d started the day at the second on the list with one seat left, dropping a couple more places through the day. Comfort Plus it is.
I did notice an excellent offer to pay for an upgrade a couple days before departure. Only another $860 one-way. That’s like $175 an hour. Totally worth it! #not
I had to push through the mass of passengers when Comfort Plus boarding was called. Walking through the business class section along the way, I took a longing look at the lie-flat seats. It sure would have been nice to enjoy one of these for 5 hours. But a few extra inches of legroom is all I really need for a cross-country flight. Delta transcontinental Comfort Plus would do just fine.
The guy seated in 19B arrived just moments after I got settled into my seat. His first comment to me was regarding my “slender build” (LOL). He was a pretty large guy, and I can only imagine the shared discomfort if I was his same size. At only 155 pounds, I admittedly fit well in economy.
Delta Transcontinental Comfort Plus Experience
Like essentially all Boeing 767s, Delta Comfort Plus and Main Cabin are arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration. I don’t typically pick the window seat for a cross-country flight, but I mind this less in a pair of seats rather than the typical 3-3 configuration. One the transcontinental configuration, there are less than 30 Delta Comfort Plus seats, which seems small for a plane of this size.
Delta 767-300ER Comfort Plus offers 35 inches of pitch, which is 3-4 more than standard economy. Given that I had a full-size carry-on bag already, I had to stow my backpack at my feet under the seat. But there was still sufficient legroom. There are no blankets or pillows provided in economy.
Menus were passed out to those who wanted them. Delta transcontinental Comfort Plus and Main Cabin both offer a complimentary meal. Delta has expanded their free meal service to a dozen different domestic transcontinental routes, which is super cool. United and American have competing elevated service on competing routes between California and NYC airports, as well as a couple others.
The meal choices were simple: the turkey sandwich or the cheese plate. I settled on the sandwich.
The meals are cold, which makes them easy for the flight attendants to distribute. I wouldn’t call the turkey sandwich bad, but the Luvo wraps you can get on other flights (for purchase) are honestly better. The sandwich included grapes, veggies, and a chocolate square. Since I was flying Comfort Plus, I also received a complimentary alcoholic beverage. Per usual, I went with the Prosecco.
Late on during the flight the attendants came around with a snack basket to tide you over before the arrival into Los Angeles.
In-Flight Entertainment and WiFi
I was happy to see that Delta’s 767-300ER aircraft have IFE either identical or highly similar to what you can find on their Boeing 737 and other aircraft. It sure beats the older IFE on their non-retrofitted 767-400 birds that we experienced on our flight in 2018 to Beijing.
Another touch I really like in Comfort Plus on some aircraft is the device pocket. Makes your phone easily accessible and is conveniently near the at-seat power outlet.
While I was able to keep my phone charged, the WiFi completely refused to work on my phone. It was a nightmare. I like to be able to at least message, but I was unable to even do that. After trying everything I could think of, including different gogoinflight URLs and forgetting and re-adding the network, I gave up.
The WiFi worked for my laptop, however. But it was atrociously slow. I couldn’t even go a Google search without it taking most of a minute to load. I finally gave up trying to be productive and just plugged in my noise-canceling headphones and watched a movie. My seatmate was snoring by this point.
I also enjoyed the views. Sometimes I forget how nice the wing view is. I typically don’t get one quite this good, as I generally avoid the exit row.
The Verdict: Delta Transcontinental Comfort Plus
Overall, Delta transcontinental Comfort Plus is a fine way to cross the country. The little extra legroom makes a big difference. A free meal and beverages in the cabin are a nice touch, even though some of their other, standard offerings are a bit better. The service was thoughtful, and the experience enjoyable. My two complaints this trip are the madness at the boarding gate and the inoperable WiFi. You’d think that Delta would do its best to provide the best WiFi it can on this competitive business route, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
