Review: Delta Comfort Plus DTW – ICN on Boeing 747-400

Thanks to a recent voluntary flight bump on a Delta award ticket, I had a chance to fly Delta again. Having recently enjoyed Air Canada’s Premium Economy product, I was keen on trying Delta’s equivalent – Delta Comfort Plus.

Delta 159
 Detroit (DTW) – Seoul (ICN)
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400
Friday, October 7
Duration: 13hr 40min
Seat: 23K (Comfort+, Window)

Delta Comfort Plus benefits:

• Sky Priority Boarding
• Extra Legroom
• Amenity kit

Check-in and Boarding:

I had chosen to accrue miles in my Alaska account (MVP Gold status). With reciprocal benefits like priority check-in, boarding and preferred seating for Alaska elites, check-in was smooth and easy.

Boarding Gate: A36

Boarding, as expected was a bit chaotic with everyone crowding the zone lanes regardless of priority. Sky Priority passengers were promptly called to board after premium cabins had boarded. I was one of the first to occupy the Comfort+ seats in the section.

Seats and Amenities

Delta’s 747-400 are equipped with 3-4-3 configuration even in the Comfort+ section which made for a really tight squeeze. I was shoulder to shoulder with my fellow passenger and the thin seats were not helping either.

Comfort+ Seats

The seats came with a blanket, pillow and a menu for the meals on board. The entertainment unit looked shiny new and was equiped  with a USB plug and a headphone jack, while the power outlets were placed under the front seats.

Entertainment unit

In seat power outlet

Leg room/knee room was truly impressive and allowed for a luxurious leg stretch.

Leg Room

Push back from the gate and taxi to the runway was prompt and on time. No pre departure drinks were offered in this service class.

Gate A37 with another Boeing 747

Push back from gate A36

Taxi to runway

Flight Service:

Flight crew efficiently brought out hot towels for Comfort+ passengers followed by headphones and amenity kit. The amenity kit included eye mask, tooth brush and ear plugs. Nothing worth talking about to be honest. Seemed pretty pedestrian both in selection and presentation.

Comfort+ Amenity kit and Headphones

Amenity kit contents

While I appreciated a menu to refer to the meal choices, I didn’t understand the need. Food and beverage trolleys were brought out promptly within an hour of take-off. Food being offered to Comfort+ class was the same as Economy and even the service was not distinguished.

Food menu options

Menu and service layout

Beverage list

I picked the Korean bibimbap option for my meal. The food was well presented in plastic trays and cutlery.  The veggies, fruits looked and tasted fresh while the kimchi and the Korean hot sauce were the highlight of the meal.

Bibimbap meal

The second meal (snack) was served half way into our flying time and consisted of a pretzel bun sandwich, an apple and dark chocolate cookies.

Mid flight snack

The final meal of the flight was a breakfast, served 2 hours prior to landing. It consisted of cheese omelette, hash brown, fruits, orange juice, bread roll and a kitkat.

Pre landing Breakfast meal

The only in-flight meal I ate was the bibimbap, which was delicious. The other two meals were only photographed, hence can’t provide feedback on taste worthiness. Unfortunately the “flight food smell” always gets the better of me and I end up eating just fruits and candy.

In-flight Wifi

The flight was equipped with gogo Wi-Fi and promised connectivity during the trip. A card was placed in the front pocket that explained the procedure to connect. Unfortunately, I was not able to connect the three times I tried during the trip. It was very frustrating not being able to connect on a 13.5 hour flight!

Wi-Fi instruction card

gogo wi-fi coverage map

Comfort+ Seats:

3 hours into the journey, the seat started to feel rock hard. My ass was numb and I had stopped enjoying the wafer thin seats with extra leg room by hour 4 of the flight. A 13.5 hr flight,no shoulder room with 3 people crammed in, there was little comfort, let alone ‘comfort+’.

Arrival at Seoul

I was happy to hear the landing announcement and that the flight was on-time. Landing, as expected on a 747 was smooth and seamless. Our arrival gate was 122 at Incheon international airport.

Approach to ICN

ICN landing

Landing at ICN

Take Away:

Extra legroom was the only thing better than economy. I was really looking forward to this flight since enjoying other Premium Economy products. However, it didn’t turn out to be a positive experience. Unless Comfort+ tickets were cheaper than economy (that happens sometimes), I will likely not choose the class fare. I do have to fly them back from ICN to DTW soon and have no reason to believe my experience will be any different. Delta’s Comfort+ failed to impress on this long haul flight.