Review: Delta First Class Boeing 737 (MIA-MSP)

For the first segment of my Allegris round the world journey, I flew Delta Air Lines’ Boeing 737-900ER first class on the 3hr20min flight from Miami (MIA) to Minneapolis (MSP).

On balance, the Delta experience impressed me. I appreciate Delta’s excellent entertainment and free Wi-Fi, as well as friendly service. The food was better than I was expecting, and definitely a step up compared to what I’m used to on American. Let’s get into the review…

How I booked my Delta first class ticket

I decided to fly Delta from Miami to Vancouver via Minneapolis, given that the airline had the best first class fare and schedule for my last minute booking. Specifically, I booked the following in first class for $762:

5/01 DL1565 Miami to Minneapolis departing 6:00AM arriving 8:51AM
5/01 DL2489 Minneapolis to Vancouver departing 10:05AM arriving 11:56AM

In this installment I’m reviewing Delta’s 737 first class from the first segment, and in the next installment I’ll review Delta’s A319 first class from the second segment.

Delta first class lounge & boarding

I’ve already reviewed the Delta Sky Club Miami Airport (MIA), which I had access to prior to the flight. While a standard domestic first class ticket doesn’t get you lounge access, there are all kinds of ways to access Delta Sky Clubs.

My Delta flight was departing from gate H8, just a short walk from the lounge. Boarding was scheduled to start at 5:20AM, 40 minutes before departure. Sure enough, that’s exactly when boarding started, with those needing extra time being invited to board first, followed by first class passengers.

Delta 737 first class cabin & seats

Delta’s Boeing 737-900ERs feature a total of 20 first class seats, spread across five rows in a 2-2 configuration. Seats feature 37″ of pitch and 20.9″ of width, so that’s pretty standard for domestic first class within the United States.

I assigned myself seat 2D, the window seat on the right side in the second row (it was the last available window seat when I booked). The legroom on Delta’s 737s in first class is fine — some other Delta jets feel a bit tighter in first class, but that’s not an issue on this aircraft.

I appreciate how Delta has seat back televisions at every seat on 737s, which is quite a contrast to flying with American. You’ll also notice that the 737s have a USB-A outlet right underneath the entertainment screen.

Each seat also has a seat back literature pocket. I like how there are multiple areas where you can place things, since stuff tends to fall pretty deep down if there’s only a single “pocket.”

Each seat has a center console where you can place drinks during the flight, in addition to the tray table, which also folds out from the center armrest.

Underneath the center console, there are two AC power outlets, useful for charging electronics during the flight.

Delta’s 737 overhead consoles feature reading lights and individual air nozzles.

All-in-all, this is about as good as first class gets on one of the “big three” US carriers, so kudos to Delta (Alaska’s 737 first class stands out, as it features significantly more legroom).

Delta first class amenities

Waiting at each seat upon boarding was a small bottle of water. It’s nice how Delta consistently offers this, and that’s only part of the pre-departure service.

During the boarding process, pre-departure drinks of choice were also offered, and I asked for a cup of coffee. I appreciate the consistency with which Delta offers pre-departure drinks of choice, especially in comparison to American.

Complimentary earbuds were also distributed throughout the aircraft (not just in first class). Prior to them being distributed, it was announced that a flight attendant would pass these out, and to “please let her know with your words if you want one, and don’t touch, poke, or grab the flight attendant.” It’s pretty sad that has to be stated, eh?

Delta doesn’t offer any sort of pillows or blankets on standard domestic flights. That’s the same as at American, though I sure do miss those, and we haven’t seen them since before the pandemic.

Delta 737 first class entertainment & Wi-Fi

Delta has among the best inflight entertainment of any airline in the world, in terms of both seat back programming and Wi-Fi.

Delta Studio is the name of Delta’s seat back entertainment, which includes a huge selection of programming, from movies, to TV shows, to live TV, to audio. The selection is very impressive in terms of quantity and quality, and just about everyone should have no issues staying occupied throughout the flight.

As an aviation geek, my favorite feature is of course the map, allowing you to track the progress of the flight.

Delta also offers free inflight Wi-Fi for all SkyMiles members. You just have to log-in with your SkyMiles account information, and then you can connect with one click. Delta uses Viasat for its inflight Wi-Fi on 737s.

I found the speeds to be reasonably good, though not as good as on American. That makes sense, when you consider there’s a lot more demand for Wi-Fi when it’s free, and ultimately bandwidth is a limited resource in the sky.

Thanks to Delta Sync, there’s all kinds of streaming entertainment you can watch through your own device, though I can’t imagine that’s used all that much, given the seat back entertainment options.

So yeah, Delta deserves massive credit for its domestic entertainment selection, as the airline has the best seat back entertainment, combined with the best value Wi-Fi (well, along with JetBlue).

Delta 737 departure from Miami

At around 5:50AM, the captain made his welcome aboard announcement, informing us of our flight time of 3hr20min. A few minutes later, the main cabin door closed, at which point the inflight leader made her welcome aboard announcement.

Boarding was quite efficient, as the plane wasn’t very full — there were around 60 empty seats in economy. I also found it noteworthy that there were only three people on the upgrade list, as it’s rare to see a list that’s so short (since all elite members are eligible for complimentary upgrades).

Unfortunately at 6AM, the captain was back on the PA to announce that due to lightning at the airport, we’d be delayed, as the ramp had been shut down.

I was a little nervous at this point, given that my connection in Minneapolis wasn’t terribly long, and my entire trip was dependent on being able to get to Vancouver the same day (I know I was taking a risk here, so that’s on me, but I can only build in so much of a buffer on these trips).

Fortunately within about 25 minutes the weather conditions improved. At 6:25AM we began our pushback, and then at 6:30AM, we began our taxi. At that point the safety video was screened.

We had a roughly 15-minute taxi and wait for takeoff, and at 6:45AM we were cleared for takeoff on runway 8R.

The views after takeoff were gorgeous, thanks both to the sunrise, plus bad weather often makes for great views.

The climb out was smooth, and the seatbelt sign was turned off around 25 minutes after takeoff.

Delta first class breakfast service

Breakfast was served on this morning flight. Delta first class passengers can pre-order their meals, so I did that before the flight. Below is what the menu looked like for this flight — it’s nice just how many options there are when pre-ordering, and I’ve gotta say, they all sounded pretty good.

Below you can find the Delta first class drink list.

Around 30 minutes after takeoff, the first class flight attendant passed through the cabin to distribute tablecloths.

Drinks were then distributed. I ordered a cup of coffee and some water, with the water being served in a bottle. Delta basically exclusively serves water in small plastic bottles. On the one hand, I appreciate that, since you can keep a cap on the water, so don’t have to worry about spills. On the other hand, it seems kind of wasteful.

For breakfast, I ordered the ricotta avocado omelet, with hash browns, mushrooms, and roasted tomato. This was served with a side of fruit, plus an actually tasty croissant.

I found this to be a materially better breakfast than I’m used to on most other US airlines. For one, as someone who doesn’t like bacon or sausage (or any meat for breakfast, for that matter), I was delighted to find a vegetarian egg dish, for once. I was also happy to see the omelet wasn’t totally swimming in oil or doused in cheese. And it’s not often you’ll find avocado inside an airplane omelet, so I loved that as well.

Big thumbs up to Delta on the food. The crew passed through the cabin frequently to see if anyone wanted anything. There was also a snack basket in the galley, with all kinds of snacks that passengers could help themselves to. This was also passed through the cabin several times.

Delta 737 first class lavatory

Delta’s 737s have a lavatory located at the front of first class, right by the cockpit door. While the lavatory is modern, unfortunately it’s one of those painfully tight lavatories that you’ll nowadays find on many 737s. Even worse than the size of the lavatory as such is how small the sink is, as it’s hard to wash your hands without splashing.

Delta first class service

The crew working this flight was friendly and attentive. Interestingly, the flight attendants were Miami based. I didn’t realize that Delta has a Miami base nowadays. I got the sense that the crew was really junior, as they were all quite young.

Service wasn’t anything memorable, but it was about as good as you can realistically hope for on a domestic flight.

Delta 737 arrival in Minneapolis

I spent most of the flight working, and the flight passed very quickly. At 8:35AM Minneapolis time, the captain announced that we’d be landing in around 30 minutes. The seatbelt sign was immediately turned on, and at that point we began our descent.

The weather in Minneapolis wasn’t very good this morning. It was cloudy and super windy, so we had quite a bit of chop on the approach. For a second I thought we were going to have a go around, but the 737 stabilized at the last second, and touched down on runway 30L at 9:05AM.

From there we had a short five minute taxi to our arrival gate, where we pulled in at 9:10AM. I also found it noteworthy how the crew made the announcement after landing about completing the post-flight survey — “it would mean a lot to your Miami based crew if you let Delta know just how amazing we were this morning.” Heh…

Fortunately we only arrived around 20 minutes behind schedule, so that meant I’d make my connection. Upon deplaning I headed straight to the departure gate for my Delta A319 first class flight to Vancouver.

Bottom line

I had a lovely flight in Delta’s Boeing 737 first class. I appreciated the great entertainment, free Wi-Fi, tasty breakfast and snacks, and friendly service.

Delta first class is definitely a cut above American first class, when you factor in the whole experience. Would I go out of my way to choose Delta over American? No, probably not. I’d choose whatever airline offers the best value and schedule, because the difference isn’t that significant to me. But still, I appreciate the effort Delta puts into the passenger experience.

What do you make of Delta’s Boeing 737 first class?