Background
I booked a flight on Delta from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to New York (LGA) after completing a great cruise on Virgin Voyages, which I will be reviewing shortly. I chose Delta as it was the most economical compared to the other airlines. And, a perk of flying with Delta was that I could access the Fort Lauderdale Sky Club which opened in 2021. You can check out my full review of the FLL Sky Club here if you’re interested. While the plane and seat were quite nice, the no Food & Beverage in Delta Economy was the low point of the flight.
Flight Details
Delta Air Lines Flight 1538
Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to New York (LGA)
Seat: 15E
Cabin: Main (Economy)
Aircraft: Airbus A321
Silver Medallion Upgrade Stats
I currently have Silver Medallion on Delta, which expires at the end of this month as I did not qualify for the next cycle. I feel it’s so hard to even get an extra legroom (Comfort Plus) seat on Delta, so I didn’t feel like it was worth chasing status. In terms of First Class upgrade chances, I ended 24/29 on the list and 4/8 for Comfort Plus.
At the Airport
Fort Lauderdale is not a nice airport in my opinion, and the terminal that JetBlue utilizes (Terminal 3) is outdated and crowded. Delta uses Terminal 2, and the TSA Pre line at Terminal 2 wasn’t too long, but the checkpoint itself is super small, cramped, and outdated.
Thankfully after passing security, Terminal 2 has a newly renovated atrium, and a new Sky Club that opened in 2021. I spent most of my time at the Sky Club which was nice, and headed down to the gate right before boarding which was conveniently near the Sky Club.
Boarding
Our flight started the boarding process 40 minutes before departure. The boarding took a while as they said it was a “payload” optimized flight and we would need to fit all carry-on bags on the flight and no bags could be gate-checked. I wonder if they sold cargo space.
I had Main Cabin 1 Boarding with my Silver Medallion Status and had to put my carry-on 5 rows behind me. It’s never fun when that happens. People had to walk past their seats to find carry-on space and then walk back to their seats which stalled the line. Perhaps the flight should have boarded from back to front.
Anyway, it was a bit messy to board and it took the whole 40 minutes.
The Seat
The Delta Main Cabin (Economy) seats on the A321 have 30-31 inches of pitch. We were one row behind the Comfort Plus seats, and being 5’9 I thought the legroom was perfectly adequate for the 2.5-hour flight.
In-Flight Entertainment and Wi-Fi
The most impressive part of our plane was the crisp seat-back entertainment system. On the flight, there was a good selection of movies, TV shows, live TV, games, and Spotify playlists.
Additionally, there was free Wi-Fi provided for Skymiles members. The Wi-Fi worked fine at first but wasn’t too good towards the end of the flight.
Power ports were located in between the seat in front, and USB charging on the IFE screen was also available.
The Flight & No Food & Beverage on Delta Economy
We then left the gate 5 minutes after and took off relatively quickly just 15 minutes past our scheduled departure time. The captain let us know that the flight would be 2 hours and 11 minutes in the air. The flight attendants passed out complimentary headphones which was a nice touch.
There was some turbulence after reaching cruising altitude, and so the captain kept on the fasten seat belt sign.
I got distracted utilizing the Wi-Fi and watching TV which was nice, and about an hour before arrival, they announced that no cabin service would be offered. That was a bit of a bummer since I was starting to get thirsty. Our flight ended up taking a total of 2 hours and 47 minutes, and not having a cabin service was quite shocking to me. Our JetBlue flight to Fort Lauderdale had much worse turbulence, and they still managed to do a full cabin service. I’ve only had no Food & Beverage in Delta Economy on really short 1-hour flights, but 2 hours and 47 minutes is a new record for me.
I feel like if the turbulence wasn’t that disruptive, the least the flight attendants could have done was walk down the aisle offering water or snacks. An abbreviated service would have been much appreciated.
On the bright side, we landed 18 minutes before our scheduled arrival time and then got to the gate 6 minutes early.
The Verdict
Overall, the aircraft was fine, but no food & beverage in Delta Economy made me feel like I was on an ultra-low-cost carrier. I’m all for safety but I feel like the flight attendants could have at least tried a bit harder. Again, another flight of mine on Delta that doesn’t live up to the “premium” experience that people give Delta credit for. On the plus side, the flight was on time, and at the end of the day, that is one of the most important metrics.
Have you been on a flight where they completely skipped the food and beverage service on a 2.5-hour flight? Comment and share 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!
If the crew was told to stay seated because of turbulence. The crew stays seated. Period . End of sentence.
I never board any flight without a water or soda. The air on the plane dries me out so bad. If you were in the lounge, you could have just grabbed something on your way out. Its called being prepared for your flight.
The safety of not only the flight attendants but the passengers as well is not worth you getting a drink on a less than 3 hour flight.
A “perk for flying with Delta” was a visit to their FLL SkyClub.
And you didn’t eat all the food and drinks possible before your flight?
And then complain no beverage or “food” was served in your economy seat during turbulence?
What??!! The absurdity of your whine. I would NEVER expect a crew member to RISK life or limb to fetch me a Coke and pretzels.
The Verdict:
NEVER
So you were sitting in 15E which means you were forward of the wing. Any turbulence the AC encounters is minimized in that area because that seat is basically in the very center “ In an airplane, the center of gravity is usually located forward of the wings. The distance between the CG and the neutral point of the aircraft is called the static margin.”. You mentioned there was turbulence during cruise. Did you feel how bad it was in the back of that AC? It is very long and the turbulence can be much worse than where you were… Read more »
Sometimes they tell us to stay seated due to anticipated turbulence and then the turbulence ends up being nothing or very light. It’s hard to know in advance exactly how bad it’s going to be. It’s out of an abundance of caution that we stay seated when the pilots tell us to and there is no service.
It seems to have become very common that service is suspended or none because of ???so called turbulence??
That route does not offer food, but does have snacks and beverages.
Furthermore, those carts are about 250lbs and maybe sitting you might not feel the turbulence;but especially the 321 you do feel the turbulence. Sometimes it is much turbulent in the back, then instead of the mid front. Keep that in mind and consideration.
Hello – This behavior is becoming rather rampant in my experience. There is the “flight attendants will be seated (immediately)” or “service won’t begin until we are through the XX area of YY Airspace, flight attendants and passengers should remain in their seats until we have notified we are safe to do so”. Most of these come from the Pilot or co-pilot. What happens after that is at the discretion of the flight attendants. I’ve seen one FA serve a full dinner service to an entire cabin of 20 first-class seats quicker than I could have taken orders myself. She… Read more »
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences!
I have been disappointed in Delta recently We flew first class from Dayton to Atlanta to New Orleans. The flight from Dayton crammed us into small seats with little legroom. No food or beverage. The flight from Atlanta to New Orleans was the best, with decent seats and seatback TV. Snacks and drinks were given. Our flight from New Orleans to Atlanta offered decent seats with seatback TV. Once again the flight from Atlanta to Dayton offered small seats with no legroom, no TV. We were offered a drink when we boarded but that was it. No other drinks or… Read more »
I primarily fly Delta for a variety of reasons. And you can tell that their hiring has been diluted the last couple of years. I have literally heard flight attendants prior to take off say “oh I think we’ll have to have too much turbulence so we don’t have to do second service…. Haha”. PRIOR TO TAKEOFF. I’m not saying all FAs are like this. I’ve met amazing Delta crew but generally they are a little more senior. The newer ones seem to find any reason not to give service at all or if it’s a long flight, they’ll do… Read more »
Not even water? Catering issue?
I’d say no. I am a flight attendant and I don’t know why some just do not want to do the service required. It happened to me just yesterday on my own airline! The seatbelt sign was OFF and the crew in main cabin said no service due to turbulence!! The reason boils down to lazy. Sorry to be so blunt, but as I said, I am a flight attendant and I know lazy when i see it
At my airline if the cockpit says stay seated and no service, then that’s it. Do you know how many injuries FAs get from turbulance? Not worth injuring myself. People have plenty of food and drinks available in the terminal. I never board a flight without snacks and a big bottle of water.
Thanks for reading and sharing!
Thanks for sharing your point of view! It’s interesting!
Has nothing to do with laziness Shelly. Don’t use your experience to speak for all flight attendants. As one myself, I hate not being able to do my job because I know there’s at least a few people who would like their Diet Coke or what not but if the captain says to stay seated. I’m staying seated. Injuries have occurred more frequently in the last 5 years due to turbulence and it’s only going to get worse, it’s proven. So before we ASSUME they’re lazy, let’s remember, we weren’t there and WE didn’t talk to the pilots.
Nope no water. I don’t think it was a catering issue. Thanks for reading!