DL30

ATL is the home to a number of global brands including the United Postal Service (UPS), Coca-Cola, and of course, today’s carrier Delta. Today’s obligatory lounge review is at the newly opened Centurion lounge in Terminal E.


While I did not consume alcohol on this particular visit, those who enjoy a nightcap or a bit of government-regulated moonshine will find solace in the “Reserve”. Located in a separate room from the main bar area, more than 20 classic and new American whiskeys can be tasted in the speak-easy-like atmosphere. There are two primary buffet-style serving areas at the end furthest of the lounges entrance. The staple chocolate chip cookie and brownie were the only desert options tonight, and the warm options for dinner included pasta, chicken, and vegetarian options. Fresh vegetables, hummus, and salads separate the solid from liquid meals, which today was a Baja style chicken enchilada soup. While branding is essential to Amex, their lounges often embrace the locations culture. In the Atlanta Centurion Lounge, hospitality and a southern twist on the food ensure visitors leave feeling welcomed and full. Three additional smaller self-serve food stations are situated throughout the lounge space. A selection of indulgent treats are available at two of the three smaller food stations, which are also home to self-serve coffee and tea. Located at the center of the lounge under the black olive tree is a fresh vegetable and hummus bar. The roasted beet hummus was excellent. Restrooms are located at the end of the lounge nearest the main buffet tables and were spotless when I visited.


With my boarding time nearing and eager to get an eye on tonight’s ride, it was time to find my way to the gate. Luckily for me, the Centurion lounge was located in the same terminal as my departure gate, but things don’t always work out that way. If you’re new to traveling, curious to see what airports look like across the globe, or are an AvGeek and just need some background noise, check out my Rollaboard Diaries series. You’ll get a suitcase’s perspective of the inside of various airports and have a better grasp on how to navigate the airports with free airport maps.


Unfortunately, the gate tonight’s aircraft is parked at has zero windows, so a simulated image of the plane will have to do. Delta’s 747s were retired in 2017 and the pandemic spurred an early retirement of the airlines 777s. With no 787s, the only wide body Boeing aircraft that remain in Delta’s fleet are 64 767s. Tonight we are on one of Delta’s 21 767-400s, all of which were purchased brand new and delivered between 2000 and 2002. The 400 series are in a three cabin layout with 34 lie-flat Delta One suites, 20 premium select seats, and 184 economy suites, 28 of which are branded comfort+. While not designated a comfort+ seat, I’ve found my way into a seat with arguably just as much legroom as delta one.


Yes, flight time is 8 hours 11 minutes and we will cover a distance of 6,762 km or 4,200 miles. Rather than pushing the tail north to taxi between Terminal D and E, we ended up taxiing around terminal F and passing all the other terminals on our way to the active. The winds this afternoon favored an eastern departure off runway 9L. As the busiest airport in the world, the afternoon rush at ATL can see around 250 departures an hour, meaning takeoff clearances are given soon after the departing aircraft leaves the ground.


With dinner out of the way and into my gut, let’s see if Delta’s dinner passed my economy food requirements before looking at the seat. For those foodies out there, this is your warning that my bar is lower than low for an acceptable meal. As for taste, my taste buds recognized each constituent of the meal as edible, and therefore my brain told me it was ok to continue eating. The most important aspect of my food requirements is whether or not food poisoning occurred, and I’m happy to say that both meals onboard this flight passed. Finally, I didn’t hear or feel any complains from my gut after the meal, which signaled to me that enough fuel was added to the tank to get me through the night.


Even though the economy food passed my threshold with flying colors, I do have one strong critique. Sure, other airlines may provide better looking, better tasting, more filling, higher-class meals for economy passengers, but none of that matters if a bit of rough air sends your meal on its’ own flight. The thing that really should be addressed is the serving tray the meal was set on. There was no grip on the bottom of the tray. If there were any sort of turbulence, there’s a solid chance that serving tray and what was seated on it would slide right off onto the floor or your neighbor.


I mentioned I was in the exit row at 41G. As you can see there is amply leg room in front of me. Of course there is the emergency exit and then as my wife would say, the “oh shit” handles. Then we have the crew seats for departure and arrival. Tray table pops up out of the arm rest. To the right of the seat recline button are two illuminated buttons, one of which is the attendant call button and the second is most likely the reading light. It’s hard to see, but the symbol covering the lighted button is completely warn off. In flight entertainment screen slides forward out of the lower arm rest, extends up, and rotates. In case the plane is ditched into a body of water, a personal flotation device is underneath the seat, but I’ve got first dibs on the inflatable raft in front of me. Just kidding, I’d probably be dragging people out of the plane. A single universal power outlet located underneath the seat nearest the aisle is shared between both passengers in economy, while passengers in comfort plus, premium economy, and delta one have access to at least one power outlet each. The standard wrapped airline pillow and blanket were set atop each seat. While standard, they made attempting to sleep slightly easier than not having anything.


I’ll take a walk around the cabin and see if there is anything worth noting, but in the meantime, I’ve been entertaining myself with the views outside trying to spot the other aircraft headed east to Europe. On that note, let’s actually take a look at some of the numbers related to flights from the US to Europe. Since I’ve never hoped across the pond, my internal aviation nerd curiosity got the better of me. Specifically, I was keen on the amount of flights that go west to east non-stop into LHR. I knew from the multiple posts online from FlightRadar24 and the like that the skies between North America and Europe resemble a freeway more so than an empty place in space. What was shocking to me is just how many seats on direct flights from the US to London are available on a weekly basis. Expectedly, most aircraft carrying passengers are widebodies, with the 777 accounting for 85,000 seats, followed by the 787 (48,000), and the A350 (30000). The A330, A380, B767, and A321neo bring a combined 64,000 additional seats. Think about that for a few seconds. On this week of travel, nearly a quarter of a billion seats are theoretically available for purchase on direct flights from the US to LHR. That’s damn impressive.

 

If you’re into aviation, you’re probably aware that Airbus’s upcoming XLR variant of the A321 is anticipated to begin service this year. JetBlue is currently the only airline operating narrowbodies on scheduled nonstop service between the US and LHR, with departures from JFK and BOS. Considering range limitations and passenger comfort, many aviation gurus anticipate the prevalence of narrowbody aircraft connecting the two continents to increase in coming years. American, United, Frontier, and JetBlue each have orders for the A321XLR, so it is reasonable to assume a portion of the 80,000 seats on widebodies bringing passengers from the US to LHR will transition into narrowbodies.

 

The UK has two primary international airlines; British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. I originally expected most of the flights I was looking at to be operated by both carriers, but it turns out that American sold more seats than Virgin Atlantic. Virgin Atlantic and British Airways did dominate the available seats between the Northeast and LHR with 51,183 compared to 32,728 by the US carriers, but Virgin Atlantic’s network excludes the Midwest and South-Central US.

 

I can go on about all the interesting findings I uncovered, but you probably didn’t click on the thumbnail for a data analytics rundown, so let’s get back to the flight.

While I just described an average weekly trend of direct flights from US origins to LHR, I think my past self had some time for shut eye, so let’s get back and see where we are on our flight. Breakfast time indicates we are quickly approaching our destination and in terms of sleep, I am still trying to learn how to do so on an airplane. With around three hours of broken sleep however, the Mediaerranean breakfast calzone and soon-to-be rising sun breath new life into my bones. As mentioned earlier, the breakfast meal also passed my three food-specific requirements. I will note that there was not an option provided for this round of food, so it’s a take it or leave it meal. 


Having refused to close the window shade for the duration of the flight, I noticed the black expanse of emptiness outside was slowly becoming blue. This gave me a new opportunity develop a stiff neck for the remainder of my trip as I couldn’t resist laying eyes for my first time on the United Kingdom. After spotting some fellow Heathrow-bound planes out the window and noticing we had made a unique turn, I turned to FlightRadar24. My suspicions were confirmed. ATC likely instructed us and the other aircraft to perform some sort of holding pattern to provide for proper spacing on all of the heavy morning arrivals. Lucky for us however, it was a brief delay to our final approach and we were quickly lined up and passing over downtown London. While the sun hadn’t fully popped over the horizon to illuminate the landscape, I was able to identify a few notable landmarks before we touched down. 


As this was my first trip across the Atlantic, I’m not going to provide any significant summary comparing Delta’s product to their competitors. Rather, I’ll comment on general thoughts on the flight. In terms of timing, London is one of the busiest long-haul routes from the states. This means that getting a flight across the pond at any time of the day is relatively easy if you’re willing to make a connection. The demand for seats to LHR is high, which on paper would make prices competitive. However, flights to London are very popular among business travelers who are not as concerned with price as someone taking a leisure trip. The seats themselves were comfortable, and the food offered on-board passed my test, so no complaints there. The blanket and pillow provided were useful, but not something I would rely on for routine use. I’ve used Delta’s in-flight entertainment numerous times and didn’t bother to show it in this video, but the airline does offer a strong catelogue of entertainment and one of the better in-flight maps out there. Where Delta stands out, currently in terms of entertainment, is free on-board WiFi, which I did make use of. Once connected, browsing the web, sending emails, or even streaming content on your own device open up a new world of in-flight entertainment, and the fact that the service is free to SkyMiles members can arguably put Delta at the top of the list for IFE. Having touched down and made our way to the gate, I’m glad the channel has finally added an Atlantic crossing. If you’ve flown on other airlines across the Atlantic and experienced much better, or worse flights, let me know in the comments. With all that said, it’s time for past me to get out of the airport and be a tourist for five hours before my next adventure. Until then, thanks for watching, C’ya.