Review of Delta Air Lines flight from Washington to Miami in Domestic First

Quick Trip to the Beach

Much like the previously leg, this flight was also booked only a little before departure–about 36 hours this time.  Surprisingly the prices were reasonable and I even scored a first class upgrade for a very reasonable cost (a little over $100).

I haven't reviewed a Delta domestic first class flight since 2020, so I figure I'm overdue for a comparison between Delta, United, and American (which I last flew in F at the end of 2022).

Delta Sky Club (DCA)

Mid-day on this particular Tuesday, the security lines were relatively empty.  I was through CLEAR/Pre-Check very quickly.  The Delta Sky Club can be found walking straight ahead into the B Gates.  To the right is where most of the United flights are, whereas the Delta flights are straight ahead.

Immediately as you enter, there is a small semi-enclosed area with different seating than the rest of the lounge.

The main areas of the lounge as standard Sky Club seating throughout.  There were a number of passengers throughout, but unlike major Delta hubs, the lounge was far from packed.  I reviewed this lounge once several years ago and not much has changed.  You see a well-lit lounge with a variety of seating.  Importantly, there are outlets everywhere.

There are also wonderful views of the B and C gates.

As you might expect, the Sky Club here offers slightly better food than its competition.  I didn't take a picture of the hot buffet options because there were several people getting food before and after me.  I got a slider as well as the chicken and rice–all were okay.

I went to the bar and got a complimentary glass of the sparkling wine.  Here's the full menu:

DL1444

My ride to Miami was on N352NW, a 26-years old A320-200.

Boarding began on time at 1:15pm.

Delta offers 16 domestic first recliner seats in a standard 4-row, 2-2 configuration.

There isn't much to say about these seats: 36 inches of pitch (a little short, but fine for me), an IFE screen, power outlets available in front (as opposed to under the armrest),  A bottle of water and headphones were waiting on the armest.

As you can see, at 5'8, plenty of leg space for me.

So there was an interesting situation with my seatmate on this flight.  When doors closed at 1:44pm, the seat next to me was empty, which I thought was odd.  There are definitely enough elites in DC where it's highly unlikely someone wasn't going to be upgraded to fill an unsold F seat.  I found out later that the passenger was actually boarded, but chose to sit with whoever he was traveling with for most of the flight, only returning to the seat to eat lunch.

We pushed back at 1:51pm, 4 minutes early and took off at 2:05pm.

Service began roughly 20 minutes after takeoff.  The FA informed me that they were out of the chicken option (I had forgotten to pre-order before 24 hours because of how rushed everything was).

You can see the lunch menu below:

Here's the drink menu:

Since chicken wasn't available, I went for the beef lasagna.  It was alright, but the salad wasn't very fresh.

I had a whiskey and coke with my meal (as did my seatmate).  One thing I appreciated on this flight was that trays were cleared very fast after the meal.

Delta started offering free Wifi to all SkyMiles members (no status required) in 2023.  I hadn't actually flown a Delta flight in all of 2023, so I was only now able to test it.  It had pretty good download speed, though don't expect to be uploading anything in-flight.

It was a fairly quick flight and soon we could see the South Florida coastline.

We landed at 4:15 and reached our gate 7 minutes later (more than 20 minutes early).