Flight Review: Delta Comfort Plus Seat New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX)

Background:

I flew in the Delta Main Cabin (Comfort Plus Seat) from New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) after I was downgraded from my paid Delta One ticket due to an equipment swap. The new plane had 10 less Delta One seats, so we were booted to the Main Cabin. My fellow seatmate was in the same exact situation as me. I’m assuming they probably just downgraded whoever paid the least amount for the Delta One tickets.

Flight Details:

Delta Airlines Flight 2801
New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX)
Scheduled Duration: 6h 25min
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300 (76K)
Cabin: Main Cabin (Comfort Plus Seat)
Seat: 31A

Plane:

So this particular 767-300 is updated across all cabins. It also comes with the addition of a “Premium Select” Cabin. It’s referenced as the “76K” variation. I did notice the seats looked nicer, with fresh upholstery. Usually, this plane is used on international routes.

Even after being downgraded, I still kept “Delta One” boarding. First, I passed the Delta One Cabin. The seats looked newer which was nice, but it was still the old Delta One seats that they’ve had for a while on the 767. They seem to need larger seat-back screens and more privacy.

Next, I passed the “Premium Select” Cabin, which is in a 2-2-2 configuration. The seats looked nice and roomy.

Then, I entered the Main Cabin and arrived at my “Comfort Plus” Seat. On this particular 767, there are 3 rows of Comfort Plus in the front of the Main Cabin. They just have extra legroom, with 34 inches of pitch versus 31-32 inches in the Main Cabin. The seats are in a 2-3-2 configuration. I got assigned 31A, which is the second row of the Main Cabin window seat on the left side.

It seems like on domestic transcontinental flights, the “Premium Plus” cabin is sold as “Comfort Plus” and the “Comfort Plus” seats are just normal Main Cabin seats. The cabin service on this flight was the exact same as the Main Cabin.

I thought the seat was relatively comfortable for the Main Cabin, so no complaints there. There was also USB charging on the IFE screen and power plugs between the seats, so that was nice.

Lavatories:

The lavatories were pretty nice and updated with automatic sinks. Although when I went towards the end of the flight, it seemed like it hadn’t been cleaned in a while and there was a lot of TP on the floor.

The Flight Service:

I could tell the FA’s were tired or overworked. They weren’t particularly happy, but nothing bad. Shortly after takeoff they served a beverage + snack service. For snacks you could choose from almonds, sun chips or biscoff cookies. I got the sun chips, but boy was that package small. Not sure if they have shrunk over the years.

About one hour before landing, they came by with another beverage service + snack service. Thankful, because both my seat mate and I were getting quite hungry and thirsty.

Wi-Fi:

Well this one shocked me. I thought $29 on American was crazy but Delta is charging $39.95 from JFK-LAX with Intelsat Wi-Fi. Are you insane? United is $11 on this route, and JetBlue is free! At least Texting was free. And thankfully they have a free Wi-Fi for T-Mobile customers which saved me! Delta has announced free Wi-Fi starting February 1st, 2023 on domestic mainline aircraft (Viasat-equipped flights). Unfortunately, since most of the planes serving the JFK-LAX route are international planes, they won’t have free Wi-Fi until the end of 2024.

IFE:

The seat back screen was nice and clear. But sadly the function I wanted to use was the flight map, and it was not working on this flight. But at least I could watch a movie if I wanted as there was a large selection of movies! I was going to watch Bullet Train, but then got distracted on my phone with Wi-Fi.

The Wi-Fi worked pretty well and only cut out about 15 minutes prior to touching down.

We ended up arriving at our gate a few minutes early which was nice, especially for LAX.

The Verdict:

Despite getting kicked off my Delta One paid ticket, the Delta Main Cabin (Comfort Plus Seat) experience on the 767-300 was not a bad way to get from coast to coast. That being said, the only true selling point I see flying Delta’s 767 in the Main Cabin is the “2” configuration if you’re just traveling with one other person so you don’t have to sit with a stranger. Otherwise, the other airlines serve this route with their premium planes as well for the most part (and charge less for Wi-Fi as of now). Also luckily, this particular 767 (76K) was recently refreshed, which is not currently the case for most of the 767’s serving the New York to Los Angeles route (the 767 Z or L variant).

Have you flown on the Delta 767-300 (76K) aircraft before in Comfort Plus seat? Or, have you ever been downgraded before? How was your experience? Comment below!

Cheers,

Ty

Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!