Let’s review a Delta Airlines Economy long-haul flight together. 2025 has been Delta’s 100th year, so it felt appropriate to fly them during this trip. I even wore my Delta t-shirt that I purchased at the Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta. (Check out my Delta Flight Museum post to see the museum and tour a Delta Boeing 747.)

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This trip (NYC to Tokyo – Tokyo to Seoul – Seoul to Minneapolis, MN – Minneapolis, MN to NYC) I flew only full-service airlines. When you’re flying this long, you need a full-service airline. Budget airlines won’t cut it. Delta is one of my favorite full-service airlines. So, congrats Delta on 100 years!

Delta Airlines Long-Haul Economy Class- Airbus A350-900

There was a 3-3-3 layout. The seats were comfortable. However, both the seats and aisles are quite narrow on the Airbus A350-900. The leg room was not that great.

I flew the Cathay Pacific version of this plane two years ago when I visited Japan. (Check out my Cathay Pacific Economy Review to see that version of the plane.) I prefer the faux leather seating choice of the Delta version.

Surprisingly, at the seat were slippers, a pillow, and a blanket. Flight attendants passed around earbuds as well. I flew Delta on an international long-haul flight in 2014. That was my first trip to South Korea. I don’t remember receiving slippers. It was a nice touch.

The tray tables were the ones where you can fold them in half. They’re perfect for snacks when you don’t want the whole tray blocking you.

In-flight Entertainment (IFE)

The IFE included a good selection of Western shows and movies. I liked the Spotify audio section. I listened to an Arabian Nights audio book.

Also, there were music playlists. In these you could select which song you wanted to hear next. This was different from United Airlines (See my United Airlines Economy Boeing 787 Dreamliner review.), which did not allow you to do anything with the playlist. It just played songs in a random order.

My landing song was “It Must Have Been Love” by Roxette.

There was free WIFI available, which was a welcome surprise. Unfortunately, when I tried to use it, I was not able to get any pages to load.

Food

Drinks were served shortly after we reached cruising altitude. I had water, which came in a paper cup. I am spoiled with getting small plastic bottles of water from non-U.S. airlines. However, the paper cups are no doubt better for the environment.

Even wine comes in small individual glass bottles on airlines such as Lufthansa and SWISS. (Check out my reviews of Lufthansa Economy and SWISS Economy.)

The food was served shortly after the drinks. I had the chicken and mashed potatoes. (Due to my digestion issues the day before, I only ate the mashed potatoes.) They tasted like regular powdered mashed potatoes.

My sister had the pork and rice. It included Korean kimchi. She enjoyed it. She did note, however, that some of the rice was hard.

My sister ate the chicken from my meal. She said it was dry and chewy. (It was just like the Korean Chicken Bulgogi I had on my Delta flight to South Korea 11 years ago.)

We also received a pizza twist as a snack. Then there were snacks available in the galley for passengers to help themselves to throughout the flight.

Bathrooms

The bathrooms were a decent size for a plane used for a Delta Airlines long-haul flight. I used the bathroom in both the center and outer sides of the plane. Generally, the ones in the center of the plane are larger. And that was the case, though the center ones weren’t that much larger.

It was a standard bathroom. There was no hand lotion or facial spray, as you might find on a long-haul flight with a non-U.S. airline.

Flight Attendants

The flight attendants were helpful and responsive. They moved throughout the cabin frequently, serving things like cups of water. I never felt like they were hiding from passengers in the galley.

Conclusion

Full disclosure, I was supposed to be on a Korean Air flight. At the last minute I had to change my flight (See my post about ending up in the ER in a foreign country.) and I was bummed about not being able to review Korean Air (the so-called 2025 best airline in the world by Airlineratings.com). That time will come. I was glad to review Asiana Airlines before their merger with Korean Air. (Check out my Asiana Airlines Economy review.)

The food could use some improvement. It does not compare to non-U.S. long-haul carriers such as Lufthansa, SWISS, Cathay Pacific, or Emirates. I could go on. Unfortunately, most U.S. full-service airlines have a lot to work on when it comes to food. I think this comes down to the food culture and lack of food quality within the U.S.

I enjoyed their service and the plane interior compared with the Cathay Pacific version of the Airbus A350-900.

Despite my last-minute change of plans, I’m glad I flew Delta. I was originally only supposed to fly with them on my second flight from Minneapolis, MN into NYC. However, I enjoyed my Delta Airlines Economy long-haul flight. It had been 11 years.