Delta One Suites Re-review. Detroit to Seoul and back

In 2018, I flew Delta One Suites from Detroit to Tokyo and back. Now, six years later, I flew Delta One Suites from Detroit to Seoul Korea and back. The A350-900 aircraft was the same. And the seats were the same other than being more scuffed up than before. Below you’ll find my bottom line review…

Delta One Suites A350-900 Bottom Line Review

When Delta launched their Delta One Suites in 2017 it was an industry leading business class seat. In fact, Delta One Suites and Qatar’s QSuites, which were released around the same time, were the first business class seats with doors. Since then, many airlines have introduced their own business class suites. As a result, the Delta Suites didn’t wow me the way they once did. Still, I enjoyed the flights and slept comfortably thanks to new lumbar pillows that convert to cushy mattress pads. I would gladly fly Delta One Suites anytime (and certainly prefer them over Delta’s other Delta One options), but I wouldn’t seek out Delta over other airlines that offer good business class seats.

Now (2024) vs. Then (2018)

Overview

In my 2018 review, I wrote the following:

The Delta One Suites are terrific. I loved the suite privacy, ample near-seat storage, wider seats (wider than Delta’s old Delta One seats, not necessarily wider than competition), enormous and bright video screen, and high ceiling. I also liked the fact that they provide every Delta One passenger two pillows (one large, one small), and a cushy blanket.

In 2024, I’d say that most of my words from 2018 still hold, but with less enthusiasm. Since the introduction of Delta One Suites in 2017, competitors have leapt ahead of Delta with even better offerings. As to specific details of the flights, the biggest change is that instead of offering a second small pillow as they did before, my latest flight had a very comfortable lumbar support pillow which turned into a mattress pad for sleeping. This was awesome. Without the mattress pad, I find the seats to be too hard to sleep on, especially as a side-sleeper. With the mattress pad, I was perfectly comfortable.

The bad stuff then vs. now

In my 2018 review, I listed the things I didn’t like. Below I’ve added updates:

• The seats are hard
  • 2018: Delta should really provide pads for when the seats are laid flat. Yes, you can use the provided Westin bedding for this purpose, but then you may be cold without a blanket on top.
  • 2024 update: The new mattress pad (which starts out as a lumbar support pillow) was an awesome addition. With the fitted mattress pad in place, I found the seat to be comfortable to sleep on.
• The headphones aren’t very good.
  • 2018: I found that they hurt my ears over time and would buzz if I used the A/C power plug at the same time (to charge my laptop, for example). Worse, when I tried to use my own headphones (without a two-prong adapter), I could only hear on one side. I recommend traveling with your own headphones, but make sure to bring an adapter for in-flight use. I had a cheap adapter with me, but I discovered it was broken.
  • 2024 update: The headphones worked fine on this trip.
• Window seats can feel a bit claustrophobic.
  • 2018: This was a very minor issue for me, but could be big for others. I didn’t feel this way at all in a middle seat, but the window seat made me feel a little uncomfortable due to having walls close and all around, and a ceiling not too far away. The ceiling is much lower over the window seats due to the curvature of the plane plus the fact that there are luggage bins above the window seats, but not above the middle seats.
  • 2024: This time we sat in the middle seats. These don’t have luggage bins overhead and so they feel much more spacious. On the outbound, I flew on the side where the seat is closest to the aisle and on the return I sat where the seat was closer to the middle. I much preferred the latter because it offers a tiny bit more privacy, but also because there’s a small area within the suite to stand next to the seat when laid flat. I was also able to use this area to keep my backpack nearby when lying down. That’s convenient for grabbing things that I may have forgotten to get out.
• Touch controls aren’t very responsive.
  • 2018: This is a very minor issue, but it’s hard not to notice that you may have to tap the controls a number of times to get the lights to dim properly (for example).
  • 2024: I didn’t notice this issue on the latest trip. I don’t know if this was fixed or if I simply didn’t use those controls often.
• Some doors are hard to open.
  • 2018: The doors to my suites were fine, but my son’s suite on the return flight proved to be very difficult to open. He was in a window seat where the seat is up against the window instead of the aisle. I don’t know if that had anything to do with the issue, but it is another reason to consider avoiding that particular configuration.
  • 2024: I didn’t encounter this issue.

Videos

Lumbar pillow / mattress pad

My favorite new Delta One Suites feature (only offered on very long flights):

How to open and close the door

This video was recorded on one of my 2018 flights:

How to turn on the reading light

It seems silly, but it wasn’t at all obvious how to turn on the suite’s reading light! This video was recorded on one of my 2018 flights:

Photos

Seat / Suite

Amenities

Food

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