So I’m heading to Las Vegas, but not for fun. Yes, this is a work trip to sin city. I don’t much care for Las Vegas, too fake for me, for the same reason I don’t enjoy Disney I don’t much enjoy Las Vegas.
I am a little excited about this trip though, I’m flying on and reviewing a Delta 767-400 with the updated first class cabin. Delta is running a good number of these on popular domestic flights with the low volume of international flights due to covid.
When I booked this flight I did something rare, I paid for a first class upgrade. It’s a long flight and the cost was reasonable, I really wanted to try out these new Delta One seats, even if it’s just domestic first class service. Flying late on a Friday for work isn’t my ideal schedule, but for a few reasons this is where I ended up.
The first leg of my trip from GSP to Atlanta is on a Delta 737-900, I’ve ridden on several of those lately so not super exciting, but still more than adequate for this short hop to Atlanta this evening.
This is the outbound flight of a trip that includes 2 different hotels, the Las Vegas Monorail, and then another Delta 767 Economy flight back home.
In This Trip
1: Trip To Las Vegas: Delta 767-400 First Class (Delta One Suites) Review
1 :Trip To Las Vegas: Delta 767-400 First Class (Delta One Suites) Review
1.1: Greenville-Spartanburg Airport
1.2: Delta First Class 737-900er Review: Greenville to Atlanta
1.3: Atlanta Layover and Delta E Concourse Skyclub
1.4: Delta 767-400 Domestic First Class(Delta One Suites) Review: Atlanta to Las Vegas
1.5: Delta 767-400 Delta One Suite Seat Features
1.6: Delta 767-400 Domestic First Class Service
1.7: Final Thoughts
2: Trip To Las Vegas: Hilton Elara Las Vegas Review
3: Resorts World Las Vegas: Conrad Review
4: Las Vegas Amex Centurion Lounge Review
5: Trip To Las Vegas: Delta 767-300 Economy Review
Greenville-Spartanburg Airport
Walking to the terminal through the short term parking lot. This is my normal route these days. It’s a nice day for a walk, not a cloud in the sky and a nice view of the airport tower.
It’s Friday evening and there’s not much of a security line. I walked through the PreCheck line with ease, I don’t think I even stopped moving.
After passing through security I went to sit outside in the courtyard. The weather in late September is beautiful here in South Carolina.
I didn’t have long until I got the ping on my phone that we were boarding.
Up the escalator into the B concourse.
When I arrived at the gate I was a little surprised to see no one boarding. Seems like we’re running a little bit behind today. Hopefully it’s not too long, I have a 767-400 flight to catch!
Ok, I’m starting to get a little worried, we’re 20 minutes from departure and we haven’t seen anyone board yet. This is a 737-900, these are very slow to board and Greenville isn’t exactly fast.
Delta First Class 737-900ER Review: Greenville to Atlanta
We finally got the boarding announcement 18 minutes before departure, we’ll probably board on time, I’m really hopefully that we can get out on time. I’ve not flown up front on the Delta 737-900 in a while, and while it’s not a bad ride, I don’t like it as much as the other narrow body aircraft.
The leg room is enough and the seat has features you would expect like power and a nice large IFE. We were told it would be a 32 minute flight down to Atlanta this evening.
The flight attendant made his boarding announcement but no hand sanitizer wipes anymore. I wonder if that has ended or was just omitted for this flight.
The flight attendant was very friendly with people boarding, saying hi to kids, helping people find seats, storing a suit for a gentleman traveling with a hang up.
The sun was just setting as the last people boarded. They did a great job getting this plane out and the door closed 2 minutes early.
Looks like we’ll be taking off to the South West today. Perfect for our short flight to Atlanta. No delay this evening on the Delta 737-900.
Almost as quickly as we went up, it was time to head back down. This flight is very short, especially when we take off to the South.
The pilots came on and told us we’d be landing soon and that the weather in ATL was almost exactly the same as GSP. No surprise there, it’s 200 miles.
We got a great view of Downtown Atlanta as we passed just to the South.
We then made our turn back to the East and approached the airport as we got a view of a beautiful sunset.
I have a 1:20 for my connection in ATL, shouldn’t be an issue. I’d like to grab a sandwich while on the ground, my LAS flight is late enough in the day I’m not expecting a meal to be served and I didn’t eat before leaving home.
Atlanta Layover and Delta E Concourse Skyclub
We arrived into the B terminal and my next flight was departing from the E terminal. So I headed for the train. The 767-400 has a wide wingspan and doesn’t fit at all gates, The E terminal can accommodate large planes as it’s usually used for international flights.
I had about 40 minutes to kill before boarding my flight so I stopped into the E concourse Skyclub for some dinner. The lines at the restaurants were very long this Friday night so I’ll be making a meal out of the Skyclub buffet.
I found a nice seat in the corner of the lounge and grab a bite to eat.
This is a large Skyclub, it doesn’t feel as big as the new one in the B Concourse, but it’s still very large. I wish it had a Skydeck, but it’s still very nice.
It was soon approaching our boarding time so I decided to head to the gate. The E Concourse is unique in that it has 3 separate piers the other concourses are just one long hallway, E is broken up a bit differently but everything is easy to connect to.
I approached the gate as the agent was making an announcement and then opened the door in preparation for boarding.
Delta 767-400 Domestic First Class(Delta One Suites) Review: Atlanta to Las Vegas
Our regal looking Delta 767-400 waiting to take us over to Las Vegas.
Boarding was a bit of a zoo, as soon as the agent called for people needing extra time, it was a crush of power. They soon called for first class and I boarded towards the end of the group. Because the Delta 767-400 has a mid cabin door, I get to do one of my favorite activities, turn left when boarding. The best part about that is no one will be standing over you and walking by.
I will say the new Delta One cabin on the 767-400 is great. A very welcome improvement over the old 767 seats. It’s been a while since I’ve ridden on a 767-400 and I’ve been looking forward to this for a few weeks.
Because this is just a domestic flight, this cabin is sold as First Class, not Delta One. These same seats are sold as Delta One on international flights and the premium domestic flights.
Delta 767-400 Delta One Suite Seat Features
The Delta One Seats on the refitted 767-400 are very fitting of the cabin. The head rest is adjustable and very comfortable when sitting upright or lounging. There is also a shoulder strap that must be used during take off and landing. It detaches from the lap belt when in the air.
The in seat entertainment screen is huge. It’s also fast and full of features. It’s the best IFE screen I’ve used.
When sitting, there is plenty of leg room. I’m in an even numbered window seat, these seats are closer to the window and are my preference.
The seat has two sets of controls. These are the main controls. They included the seat position, lighting, do not disturb setting, and the feature light options.
Right next to the seat there is a smaller set of controls that can control nearly everything, but not quite. The lighting isn’t all or nothing here, it’s a dimmer.
In the seat there were 2 USB power ports, a 110v universal power port, and the standard airplane headphone jack. If you want to use your own headphones, make sure you have an adapter.
In the seat there is a remote for the IFE, a small mirror, and the flight attendant call button.
The overhead panel had 2 air vents. These are the good ones too, not like the dinky ones that exist on the 737-900, these ones really can cool you off.
To use the tray table, you push here and the table then comes out at an angle. It’s a pretty slick system.
Once out it unfolds into a full sized tray table.
Delta 767-400 Domestic First Class Service
The door was soon closed nearly 10 minutes early. Perfect, just what I wanted to see. A few more announcements and we soon pushed back.
The flight attendants passed out water bottles and collected our sanitizer wipes. They also made the standard boarding announcements as I plugged in my phone and put on my headphones.
I chose a movie to watch, The Hangover seemed appropriate for the destination. These new screens are fantastic, responsive and clear.
They seemed to be having and issue with the safety video, it started and stopped a few times but eventually they decide to just do a manual safety presentation. Once completed they dimmed the lights and we headed for the runway.
We took off following a lovely a330 to the east. We then made a nice circle to the left circling north of Atlanta. The climb out was very smooth.
As I settled into movie I reclined the seat, enjoyed the view from my window, and the mood lights in the 767-400 cabin.
As we crossed the Alabama line the flight attendant came around and offered a snack box. Nothing fancy, I wasn’t even expecting to have that. I’m not super hungry as I had a pretty heavy snack in the lounge. I took the Bistro box, I might save it for later or even when I’m in Vegas or the way back home.
The ride was a little bit bumpy as we headed west. Nothing major, but enough that they kept the seat belt sign on still. The lovely view I had of the various towns soon vanished, there must be some cloud cover below in the darkest.
The flight attendant was great, super friendly and took our drink orders. I had a Sweetwater 420, it’s really one of my favorite beers in the air or on the ground. Time to kick off my shoes and relax with a drink, it’s Friday after all.
The ride was a little bit bumpy as we headed west. Nothing major, but enough that they kept the seat belt sign on still. The lovely view I had of the various towns soon vanished, there must be some cloud cover below in the darkest.
As we crossed from Mississippi into Arkansas the seatbelt sign was turned off and the cloud layer below dissipated. The flight attendant was really on her game, passing through and collecting trash and offering refills.
Over Oklahoma things started getting a little rough again and the pilot turned the seatbelt sign back on. He said it would probably be 15-20 minutes before he could turn it off again. No worries from me, I was very comfortable and more than pleased to just relax and finish my movie.
I fell asleep while watch an episode of parks and rec and awoke with about 45 minutes left in the flight. I went to the bathroom and came back and started an episode of the office. Very smooth flight at this point as we passed over Arizona.
In the daytime there’s lots of dramatic scenery below, but at night there’s not much to see. Hopefully on the way home I get a better view.
The pilot then came on and told us we’re starting to decend into Las Vegas. Weather was pleasant and that we should be landing about 15 minutes early. Seat belt sign came on and the flight attendants started prep for landing.
Unlike on most aircraft, when an announcement is made, the announcement doesn’t come out your headphones. It pauses what’s on the IFE but the audio is just silent and tells you to remove your headphones. This is very welcome as lots of the time the volume balance is way off, the announcements will blow your ears off.
I brought my seat up a little bit and felt pretty good, I’m tired, but a nice little nap was very helpful. As we descended the lights of the Vegas Strip came into view.
After landing we taxied to the gate area and unfortunately there was a plane in our gate. So instead of getting to the gate 15 minutes early, the pilot estimated we’ll be about 5-10 minutes late. Shit happens, this is one of the more frustrating things to happen, but it’s not the end of the world. That’s the downside of the 767-400, it doesn’t fit in all the gates. It’s fancy wingtips save fuel but are wide, and we need a big gate.
Our spot while waiting for the gate. Well it’s been 40 minutes of waiting for a gate. We’re now 15 minutes later than our scheduled arrival time. I’m usually pretty forgiving, but this is starting to grind my gears. I understand planning an airline is complicated, but not having a gate for 40 minutes is frustrating.
Finally we made it to the gate.
Final Thoughts
This was a late flight but very pleasant. Apart from waiting for the gate here in Las Vegas, absolutely everything was on time.
The Delta 767-400 Delta One Suite is amazing. The service on the late night flight to Las Vegas was very good from the flight attendants. This was just Domestic First Class service on this route, not Delta One service. I was a little bummed there wasn’t at least a small pillow to get comfortable during my nap.
I’d gladly ride on the Delta 767-400 again. It’s a great aircraft with a great seat. The older ones were getting a bit worn out and these new ones are amazing.
Hopefully soon I can try out the Premium Select product on the Delta 767-400. My flight has home is on a 767-300 but in Economy. Very few of the 767-300s have been retro fitted with Premium Select.
Anyway, time to get to work. Yes, this trip to Vegas, on a Friday, is a work trip.