Throwbacks are great, like this weekend when I flew in the old Northwest Airlines and I got to throw back some drinks with Samantha Brown in business class. In this post I’ll share how strategically selecting a plane will help your changes for an upgrade. In addition I’ll share some pictures of the A330 business class product.

The A330 Flight In Business Class From A Coach Ticket

I originally booked my return flight from LAX on Delta’s 767 red-eye. However a sudden change of plans required an adjustment to my return flight. The best return option for my ticket was either Delta’s A330 or Delta’s 777 planes. The A330 has 32 “lie flat” angled seats with 176 degrees of recline but was only showing a few available for upgrade. Since I already flew the 777 on my way to blog world in November, I decided to take my chances with the gate lottery upgrade on the A330.

I called the Diamond desk and got a same day confirm onto the flight and into the available coach seat. The flight was showing me as number 2 on the upgrade list with only 1 seat available. Fast forward to the Delta SkyClub, the flight was now showing 1 available seat and me at on top of the upgrade list. I cleared into business class for the 4 hour flight and off I went to ride in style with my angled “lie flat” pod.

We passed the usual line up of planes at LAX including a United 747. Take off was smooth and we quickly banked left to begin our journey back east.

United 747

Take Off

CA Coast Line

The Seat & Cabin

The old Northwest airlines A330 has two cabins in the business class product. The seats are “pods” that recline at an angle. While I really enjoyed the upgrade, this is my least favorite Delta business class product. The seats recline at an angle so you constantly get the feeling you are sliding down and have to “stand” while you sleep.

I find the best seat setting in the pod is to recline fully, then un-recline for about 3 seconds. This will give you a slightly cradled seat which is more comfy than the angled recline.

Seat

Lounge Position

Full Recline

The entertainment system didn’t work at first but a reboot and we were in business. This plane has an extra large screen and offers movies, music, games, moving maps and other information. The cool part about this moving map is that you can navigate the globe to plan your next destination.

Explore Your Own Map Option

The Meal

Samantha Brown joined me for beers in business class. Well not really, but her show about 2 day excursions was easy to watch before service started. The meal service had an option of pizza or a steak and potato salad. Both my seatmate and I chose the steak salad which was very tasty. I confirmed that Delta does not have holes in their napkins.

Cheers Samantha! I enjoyed your tour of the London pubs. The funny part was when she jokingly asked for a “apple martini” in a London pub. The bar tender gave her really funny look and asked “what’s that?”

I look forward to the next time we can grab a drink in flight together.

Drinks With Samantha Brown

Steak & Potato Salad

The mini cabin was a quite place during the flight. There are only 2 rows of 6 business class seats in this cabin.

Only 2 Rows In The Mini Cabin

It was great flying Delta’s acquired Northwest product on a coach ticket. This was my first time to experience the product and I’m glad I did before they convert the product to their new business class.

Rest In Peace NW

Bottom Line

Booking a coach ticket on a larger plane with premium seats will increase your changes for an upgrade. In my experience a premium seat on a coach ticket is always better than a coach seat on a coach ticket. Hope you enjoyed the throwback.

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