Trip Report: Delta One, Atlanta to Buenos Aires

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Recently I flew between Atlanta, Georgia (ATL) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (EZE) in Delta’s Business Class cabin, Delta One, for just 45,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles and $5.60.

Here’s the series index for all posts related to this trip:

• Atlanta Delta SkyClub, Concourse F review: Where I spent some time before the flight
• Anatomy of an Award: 45k Virgin Atlantic miles for Delta One to Argentina: How and why I chose to redeem Virgin Atlantic miles
• Trip Report Delta One, Atlanta to Buenos Aires: The in-cabin experience (this post)

Delta Flight 101
Atlanta (ATL) – Buenos Aires (EZE)
Depart: 10:17 PM
Arrive: 9:20 AM next day
Duration: 10 hours
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Seat: 5A 

I booked this award within a week of departure, so the only seat left on the Airbus A330-300 was C4. The middle aisle seats are ideal if you’re traveling with someone but not very private if you’re flying solo.

Lucky for me and them, the man sitting in 5A approached me to ask if we could switch seats, which would mean he could sit next to his wife and I could have a solo window-facing seat.

Win win! And we’re off to a good start.

Once settled in my seat, I noticed a friendly welcome note from the crew and a flight attendant offered me a glass of champagne.

I sipped my welcome beverage and began poking around my seat.

Everything in the control panel functioned. All those arrow buttons allow you to adjust the seat back and foot rest slants to varying degrees, from sitting upright to laying down totally flat.

Both charging outlets worked, so I was able to arrive with fully charged devices.

I plugged in Delta’s headphones to test them out. While I’m sure much better than the little earbuds they hand out in coach, these headphones were nothing to write home about. If you travel often, I think an investment in Bose’s noise-cancelling over the ear headphones is 100% worth it. The noise-cancelling technology reduces the intense white noise in the background of every flight significantly. I bought mine on Amazon Prime Day a couple years ago on deep discount. They’re now my must-have travel accessory, not to mention my must-have accessory when working outside my home.

I noticed the flight attendants were taking orders from other passengers, so I opened the menu to choose my main course. I’d get all three starters…

…but needed to choose one main course.

I eat corvina relatively often in South America, and always enjoy it, so I chose the fish option. That turned out to be the wrong choice, unfortunately.

The beverage menu was extensive.

I opted for a Spanish red blend of Tempranillo and Graciano that was enjoyable.

While waiting on food to arrive, I broke into the amenity kit. I like the fact that it’s a hard-sided kit; I can store more fragile items in it for future travel. This one won’t get trashed like the majority.

Inside was a pair of long socks, tissues, a pen (especially useful for filling in those customs/immigrations papers arriving to a foreign country), eye mask, toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, ear plugs, hand sanitizer, Kiehl’s lip balm, Kiehl’s hand cream, and a 15% off coupon for a TUMI item. There was also a small piece of leather that looks like it could replace the TUMI detailed leather piece on the front of the kit, empty of any logo so as to allow a personal engraving.

I used everything in the amenity kit except for the eye mask which was pretty crap quality. I actually still carry my United Polaris Business Class eye mask, which came from the amenity kit on this trip and is padded, contoured, and much more durable than Delta’s.

The flight attendant brought out the first course of mixed nuts and the wine I ordered in place of the margarita that came with it. After the plane leveled off at cruising altitude, all the starter plates came together on one tray.

The tomato soup was my favorite of the appetizers. It had a tasty and unexpected kick! Totally not what would be served in Argentina (they think black pepper is spicy), as the menu suggested that it was, but tasty nonetheless. The pretzel bread was also quite good.

The salad was terrible… by far the most disappointing course. The dressing was super sweet, and I find palm hearts to be pretty tasteless.

While none of I what I was served would traditionally be served in Argentina, the shrimp are the closest thing from the meal you could tie to the country. Argentines as a people don’t culturally consume much seafood but their long coast, especially in the southern cold waters, produces fantastic shrimp. I’ve seen seen them for sale all around the world. Who knows if these are actually from Argentina, but they were really tasty.

The corvina (drum) was cooked fine, but was way too salty. I remember liking the potatoes that came with it as being much better than the fish.

Next came the dessert cart, loaded with a cheese platter, fruit, and ice cream sundaes. Looks like there was something else offered on the bottom of the cart but I can’t remember what it was.

A detail I particularly liked about the meal service was that after dessert, flight attendants came around with another bottle of water. I (as many do) get super parched on flights and have had to walk into the galley more times than I can count to request a water bottle. Even as a Business Class passenger. It was nice not to have to do that.

During the meal I perused the entertainment options of which there were plenty. I landed on 2 Dope Queens’ HBO standup special. If you’ve never listened to these ladies podcast or seen their HBO show, I highly recommend them! Their material is socially relevant and always make me laugh.

After I finished up eating and the very kind and attentive flight attendant–who was good at refilling my wine glass–had cleared all the dishes, I brought out the bedding.

I found both the bedding and seat to be spacious and comfortable. Delta One’s seats on the Airbus A330-300 are 21 inches wide. I am 5’7″ and had plenty of extra room with my legs extended all the way in front of me. Pitch is 80 inches, which is about 6.5 feet. The cushiness of the seat wasn’t extravagant, but it was fine. I got a full nights rest. It seemed very similar to United’s Business Class seat which I have flown various times between North and South America.

I noted in my phone that the cabin temperature throughout the flight was pleasant, which may seem like a small detail but if you’ve traveled enough you know it’s not. Most flights are either too warm or too cold, and both can seriously affect your rest. I woke up the next morning feeling great and didn’t need a nap that day. A huge perk of flying a premium cabin overnight is that you’re much less likely to lose the next day to fatigue, whether that be to the benefit of your vacation or career.

I don’t like being woken for breakfast on redeye flights, so I told the flight attendant my preference before falling asleep and they abided. I awoke with just a few minutes before landing, with a new bottle of water (these people GET me) and a mint.

Being at the front of the plane means you’re also at the front of the immigrations line. I was out of the airport in record time and back to my apartment in Palermo Soho before lunch.

Bottom Line

I more accustomed to flying United Business than Delta One between North and South America, so that it was what I was I find myself comparing this experience to. Unsurprisingly, it was all quite similar. I haven’t flown United’s Polaris Business hard product between North and South America yet, only the soft product (meaning updated amenity kits, bedding, different menu, but not updated seats or lounges).

These aren’t Middle Eastern or Asian carrier premium cabins, so don’t expect to be too impressed. Don’t lose sight that it is a flying bed in the sky with movies and better than decent food/booze. I’m not complaining.