Review: Delta First Class, Las Vegas to Salt Lake City - Airbus A321

This is a review of Delta Air Lines’ First Class on the Airbus A321 from Las Vegas, Nevada to Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States.

I needed to get from Las Vegas to San Francisco. While it would’ve been quicker and far simpler to fly direct, the prices were astronomical, and it worked out cheaper to fly through Salt Lake City instead. This was my first time on Delta, and it would act as a good comparison to my First Class experience on Alaska Airlines. I’ll do this review a little different to most and focus on the positives and negatives of Delta’s domestic First Class service.

Las Vegas airport experience

Las Vegas is not on my list of favourite places. Equally, the airport is not going to be breaking any records for world’s best airport either. The experience closely resembles what you expect from any nineties film that takes place at or around an airport - dark, glum, and overcrowded in many respects.

Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS), formerly known as McCarran International, has no Delta Sky Club lounge available. We visited the American Express Centurion Lounge and The Club Lounge instead.

Our flight boarded and departed from Las Vegas on time despite some of the gate chaos where several flights leave from a small area.

What is good about Delta First Class?

Coming from European business class, first class feels like a step above - at least when it comes to the hard product such as the seats. The biggest difference is clearly dedicated recliner seats that are wider and more padded than their European counterparts up front. The centre armrest is double width and ensures you do not have a tug of war with your neighbour for space while it also features a dedicated space to hold a drink. I also quite like the design of the seats with the attention to detail in branding, such as the embroidered logo, even if they look a little dated.

Legroom at the very front of the plane was good despite being 188cm tall. I could stretch out my legs easily and without disturbing my neighbour.

The seats also feature a sturdy table that appears from the central armrest and is supported on both sides. This makes it easy to work on a laptop from here without the table moving around all too much.

All seats, even those in Economy Class, feature personal in-flight entertainment (IFE) displays and it is truly excellent. It must be a decade since I last saw any form of IFE on European short haul aircraft, and it is great to see from Delta - providing a differentiator from competing low cost carriers. The screen size is around 10 inches diagonal, and the interface caters to fifteen (!) languages despite only operating on short haul routes which are only likely to encounter English, French, Spanish and Portuguese-speaking destinations.

The breadth of content available was equally excellent for a short haul aircraft over ninety films, forty different TV series, as well as live channels - in particular, news networks. Music playlists sponsored by Spotify could also be found.

Extensive information is also available on both the aircraft - a five year old Airbus A321 - as well as the avgeek favourite, an interactive route map.

The drinks service on-board Delta was enough even if a little basic. Options included wine, beer, soft drinks and water as well as hot drinks such as coffee and tea.

What’s not so good about Delta First Class?

Food. It’s non-existent.

While this was just a two hour flight, and I have clearly gone longer without food, it still isn’t great that you are paying a significant premium to travel up front. Only a small snack selection is offered consisting of a crisps, chocolates or biscuits on 251+ mile journeys. Selected flights over 251+ miles do offer hot food, but this is only on longer routes such as transcontinental domestic flights.

Bathrooms on-board this aircraft are not particularly large either - a symptom of the lack of cabin space available - however the airline has chosen to include premium amenities from Malin+Goetz.

Conclusion

Delta First Class is excellent in some ways but a little disappointing in others. I love the emphasis the airline has placed on their hard product from the excellent seats to the inflight entertainment offered. These are second to none and should be applauded over their competitors, including Alaska. As with other US airlines, the food offering is dismal but there is no incentive for Delta to do so if no one else is - other than increasing their cost base.

It feels like the US First Class on short haul is the inverse of European Business Class. In a perfect world we would have the good catering of European airlines such as British Airways combined with the hard product of Delta. While this is unlikely to catch on any time soon, what would I prefer? Delta’s hard product any day. You can stock up on a meal before or after but the comfort on board is something that makes a real difference to the experience.

If you can get yourself a half decent fare, then I wholly recommend Delta First Class on their short haul routes.

On Thursday, I will be covering the connecting experience at what I feel could be the America’s best airport - Salt Lake City International.

Extra: I know some people like seeing the safety cards…so here it is.