Delta Comfort Class and 737-800/900 or 757

[NOSaints1]

Were looking at flying from Toronto to San Juan with a stop in ATL or JFK, is Comfort class worth the extra money for around 4 and half hour flight and what do you get? Last year we flew United Premium economy to San Juan and had problems with the commuter flight there and back, plane went mechanical both times and they booked us on Delta which we normally fly. So what's your experience on either aircraft, last year it was on the 800 and I know the 900 is newer and the 757 is older, last time I flew on the 757 which was the late 90s and I worked for a airline that had the 757, 767, and 727 all freighters. So what place is better for comfort class.

[FlyerTalker]

Were looking at flying from Toronto to San Juan with a stop in ATL or JFK, is Comfort class worth the extra money for around 4 and half hour flight and what do you get?

Specific information can be found at the....drumroll....Delta website! LINK HERE. And FWIW, it is Comfort+, and is not a separate class of service.

Last year we flew United Premium economy to San Juan

What UA offers is Economy+, which is NOT Premium Economy. Neither UA, AA or DL offer a Premium Economy product, which has a specific meaning in the airline industry.

So what place is better for comfort class.

There have been anecdotal reports that the new seats on the 737-900 are thin and uncomfortable. I would suggest that you look at SeatGuru for details on pitch and seat width. Especially about the 757 - IIRC, DL has NINE different versions of that model.

 

Mostly remember...you are buying a couple of inches of extra pitch, a bit of extra recline, complimentary drinks and priority boarding. Your seat will still be the same width as in regular coach.

[NOSaints1]

Doesn't DL have 31 inches for Economy and 34-35 for Comfort plus

[FlyerTalker]

Doesn't DL have 31 inches for Economy and 34-35 for Comfort plus

Depends on the aircraft. Which is why you need to check both the DL website for aircraft details AND SeatGuru.

 

Some coach seats are as little as 30 or up to 34. Comfort+ varies as well, with some going up to 36, IIRC.

 

So I can't go along with a blanket statement - YMMV depending on the aircraft.

[fbgd]

is Comfort class worth the extra money for around 4 and half hour flight?

 

All personal preference but I think it makes sense to think of the economics of things sometimes when it comes to upgrades. Case in point, my girlfriend and are flying to a wedding this week in the USVIs (from NYC).

 

She flew down this afternoon on AA in Y, I'm flying there tomorrow in F. We are flying back together in F.

 

At the time of booking it was about $480 return in Y, my F ticket was about $900. The girlfriend is a non-elite at the moment on AA and wanted Group 1 boarding which requires paying Main Cabin Extra (their version of a more comfortable economy experience). On the JFK-MIA flight it was $51 for that, the MIA-STT was $46. Do that both ways and you're tacking on an extra $200, throw in a checked bag for those who pack light and you're now at a somewhat upgraded economy experience being $730 and F return at about $900. For about 12hrs of "in seat" time you're looking at $14/hr for F over Y.

 

Now sure the prices vary but I've had to check flight schedules during involuntary reschedules and the like and for F and Y it was pretty steady right up until today.

 

When you add up the cost of doing things a la carte a lot of the time F really isn't that far away in price. This does assume you're non-elite where you get most of these perks for free.

Edited November 13, 2015 by fbgd

[waterbug123]

is Comfort class worth the extra money for around 4 and half hour flight and what do you get?

 

Is it worth it? That's highly subjective. If you are 6'2" and they are offering it for $39, I'd say it's a no brainer. If you are 5'4" and they are asking $279, I'd say no way in hell.

 

What you get is a few extra inches of seat pitch (essentially leg room), a tiny bit of extra recline (not enough to matter in my book but again, it's subjective), and free drinks. You also get zone 1 boarding, but understand that on DL, Zone 1 is actually the 4th or 5th group to board. They do pre-boards first, those with children in carseats/strollers, sometimes military, then first class and elite medalliions. THEN zone 1. Many people seem to be of the impression that comfort+ is almost like being in first or business class, but it is nothing close to that.

[NOSaints1]

So what plane do you find better to fly on? As working for UPS, Westjet as a baggage handler and a cargo airline the type of plane is how I usually book my flights. Boeing over Airbus planes.

[wowzz]

The actual manufacturer makes little difference IMHO. What really matters is the cabin configuration and the calibre of the cabin crew. I don't care what aircraft flies me TA, as long as it a European rather than a US carrier, as in my experience the service levels on European services are superior. In an ideal world I would only fly with Far Eastern carriers (Cathay, Singapore etc) but unfortunately this is not always possible.

[Ashland]

Definitely cabin configuration is something I take into consideration when booking....I hate those 3's when there's only two of us...will I pay a little more...of course....

 

Have on occasion taken a chance and booked the window/aisle (hoping no one books that middle) but more often or not someone does....most have been happy to make a switch for our aisle or window...but we had one gentleman that was VERY hesitant (:confused:). So best to avoid that situation if possible....I do now.

[NOSaints1]

How good is the wifi and is it free if your in Economy comfort?

[FlyerTalker]

How good is the wifi and is it free if your in Economy comfort?

Depends what you mean by "wifi".

 

If you are talking about internet connectivity off the aircraft, that is a paid service in all classes/cabins. The only exception is to the Delta website and occasionally to particular vendors that are doing a promotion - I remember that you could at one time browse on Ebay - but only Ebay - during a sponsored promotion.

 

Now, the other use of "wifi" is to connect to the Delta Studio product, where there is intra-aircraft streaming of entertainment content to passenger devices. This is free in first/business and Comfort+. There is a limited amount of free stuff streamed to coach, with the rest being a paid service. Wifi details can be found HERE.....at the....drumroll please....Delta website!!

[NOSaints1]

Doesn't work on my phone, otherwise I would. Don't have a computer.

[waterbug123]

Doesn't work on my phone, otherwise I would. Don't have a computer.

 

What doesn't work on your phone? :confused:

[NOSaints1]

Somethings on the DL website, how do you find how much is it for the Comfort plus and if you book your airfare in CDN dollars, will the comfort plus charge you in CDN dollars or US. After looking at seat guru I would prefer the 900 just for the fact you have tvs in the back of your seat rather than the 800 where it's overhead, but on UAL it was in the back of your seat on the 800.

[NOSaints1]

What's your thoughts on the Air2Sea program and can you upgrade your seats or do you have to go on the DL website?

[waterbug123]

Somethings on the DL website, how do you find how much is it for the Comfort plus and if you book your airfare in CDN dollars, will the comfort plus charge you in CDN dollars or US. After looking at seat guru I would prefer the 900 just for the fact you have tvs in the back of your seat rather than the 800 where it's overhead, but on UAL it was in the back of your seat on the 800.

 

When you go to select your seats, which you can do before completing your purchase, if you choose a comfort+ seat it will tell you how much it is. Keep in mind that the price is for that particular segment only. The upgrade price varies from segment to segment. You may need to make sure your phone is not automatically directing you to the DL app; some things are easier if you make sure you are actually on the full html website instead.

As for currency I don't know for sure but I would imagine if your ticket is being charged in CDN, any upgrade would be as well.

[NOSaints1]

What happens if you haven't paid off your cruise?

[FlyerTalker]

I posted a lot of info about Comfort+ in a different thread on another board.

 

Rather than repost it all, take a look, especially at post #15, which summarizes a lot.

 

THREAD HERE

[waterbug123]

What happens if you haven't paid off your cruise?

 

You were asking about the DL website. If you are booking through DL, it makes no difference whether you've paid for your cruise in full or not. Anyone at any time can book a flight at delta.com.

[waterbug123]

I posted a lot of info about Comfort+ in a different thread on another board.

 

Rather than repost it all, take a look, especially at post #15, which summarizes a lot.

 

THREAD HERE

 

 

Some of what you've previously posted will indeed change, as Delta is rolling out Comfort+ as a separate fare class for flights next May and after. I'm told more details will be released today.

[PRWeezer]

Some of what you've previously posted will indeed change, as Delta is rolling out Comfort+ as a separate fare class for flights next May and after. I'm told more details will be released today.

 

Press release announcing the changes now online:

http://news.delta.com/delta-comfort-now-available-fare-domestic-flights

 

For what it's worth, press release says the new rules are in effect for the U.S. and Canada. Trying a dummy booking after 5/16/16, the YYZ-JFK/ATL flights give C+ as a booking option, JFK/ATL-SJU do not show C+ as a separate fare class, but do have a buy-up offer to C+ seats later in the booking process.

 

As to whether or not it's worth it, IMHO that's an individual decision based on the fare/buy-up difference and the OP's value of the amenities offered in C+ as compared to the cost.

[FlyerTalker]

This is going to make things interesting, but from a airline-nerd point of view.

 

SkyTeam has worked hard to get an alignment of fare codes among all of the partners. Took a number of years, but it's pretty standardized with the Euro partners (AF/KL/AZ). Now, it looks as though the new "Comfort+ class" tickets being sold for May2016 and later flights are booking into "W".

 

However, "W" is the booking code for Air France's true Premium Economy. So "W" will be Comfort on DL and PE on AF. How that's going to shake out for both upgrades and purchased fares in those classes - I have no idea.

 

Perhaps that is why "international" tickets will still have C+ as a post-purchase seat option and why "W" will apply to domestic routes. But then, figuring out what happens on Virginia Avenue and why has become the modern version of "Kremlinology".

[waterbug123]

This is going to make things interesting, .

 

Biggest question in DL frequent flyer circles that remains unanswered is how to request the UG to C+ without risking getting UG'd from a window/aisle seat in economy to a middle seat in C+. All seem to agree that an aisle/window in row 39 is far superior to a middle seat in C+. Frankly, I'd be inclined to NOT request the UG, and then just call them, inquire as to actual seat availability and ask a live person to process it once I've confirmed that I can UG to another window/aisle. Now imagine thousands doing just that......:eek:

[NOSaints1]

My DW would take the window, and I would take the middle. How do you know if the -800 has video in the back of the seat like the-900 I know the 57 doesn't have it.

[Brighton Line]

Now offering Comfort+ as a fare you also have to pay US 7.5 percent tax on domestic tickets on that where as an add on with seat selection you weren't taxed.

 

I guess you can now use miles to get Comfort+, couldn't do that before but is the price worth the mile?

 

Another issue is that you have to buy comfort+ for all the legs of your trip instead of upgrading a longer leg if you had a short hop and did't want comfort+ for an hour trip on an RJ.

 

I wonder if others will follow?