On a recent trip back to Austin from North Carolina, the ATX Jetsetter crew had the chance to fly Delta’s Boeing 717-200 in First Class from Asheville to Atlanta. Delta typically uses these aircraft on short, regional routes and, while I’ve flown them many times, I felt I was overdue for a proper review.
Booking Our Delta Boeing 717-200 First Class Flight
Since we were traveling over Labor Day weekend, flights between Asheville and Austin were extremely expensive. Fortunately, I had a Delta companion certificate that was expiring at the end of the month and I was able to find First Class availability in the proper fare buckets.
I booked a round trip ticket from Austin to Asheville and back for $813.37 via the Delta website and used the companion for my wife which cost an additional $50 in taxes and fees. Once the flight was ticketed, I called Delta to add our son as a lap infant. While not the subject of this review, I was very happy with the value of that redemption.
Check-In and Pre-Flight
Our flight to Atlanta was scheduled to depart at 7:45a so, with bags to check and a car seat to pack, we arrived at Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) around 6:30a local time. Asheville has just opened a gorgeous new terminal (with more on the way) and we easily found the Delta check-in counters.
There was no line in the Sky Priority lane and after getting all of our boarding passes issued and bags tagged we were on our way to security five minutes later. Since ATX Jr. was in a stroller, we were directed towards the Special Assistance lane, though the General Boarding and TSA PreCheck lanes all fed to the same checkpoint and all had little to no line.
With all of our extra gear it took us a few minutes to get through security but we found ourselves airside, in the beautiful new concourse, just before 6:45a. With boarding scheduled to begin at 7:05a, and the fact the airport has no lounge, we grabbed a couple of coffees and headed towards our gate.
Boarding Our Delta Boeing 717-200 First Class Flight
While the new terminal in Asheville is open, it hasn’t been completed yet. Delta departs from the far end of the concourse and is still utilizing ground boarding positions. The last gate area covers three different gates but, thankfully, only our flight to Atlanta was using the space, otherwise it may get crowded.
Our scheduled boarding time came and went as the gate agents worked to complete some last minute paperwork. A few minutes later, boarding began with preboard passengers and active duty military personnel.
After that, Group 1 was called and we made our way to the podium and out onto the ramp to the tarmac. I was able to spot N608AT, the 24 year old Boeing 717-200 that would be transporting us over to Atlanta.
Delta Air Lines
DL 2853
AVL-ATL (Asheville Regional – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International)
Seat: 1C (First)
B717-200 (N608AT)
Scheduled: 7:45a-8:53a
Actual: 7:38a-8:42a
After a long walk down the covered walkway, where the lady in 1A’s “service” Yorkie stopped to poop halfway, we made it to our waiting aircraft. While I’ve had the opportunity to do it quite a few times overseas, there’s something I love about boarding an airplane via airstairs or ramp.
Delta Boeing 717-200 First Class Seat
The First Class cabin on Delta’s Boeing 717-200s features 12 seats spread across three rows in a 2-2 layout. I assigned us seats 1C and 1D, the bulkhead seats on the right side of the aircraft (the photo below is of the left side of the plane). Bottled water was waiting for us at each seat.
The 717, like the A220, is narrower than most of Delta’s narrowbody fleet so the First Class seats are a little tighter than normal. Legroom in the bulkhead was decent but it wasn’t great. Fortunately Delta primarily uses these planes on short routes from its hubs in Atlanta, Detroit, and Minneapolis/St. Paul and our flight was roughly an hour long.
A literature pocket is affixed to the bulkhead and held the safety card. Unlike seatback pockets, the ones in the bulkhead row don’t stretch and even sticking my phone in here was tough. A laptop or tablet would have been impossible.
Unlike the rest of its fleet, Delta doesn’t offer seatback in-flight entertainment (IFE) screens on its Boeing 717 fleet. However, planes are equipped with Wi-Fi which allows you to stream content to your laptop or cell phone.
Between the seats is a small tray that could be used to hold beverages.
The tray table is located in the armrest and can either be fully extended or folded over in half depending on your needs. This particular aircraft was beginning to show its age with some significant fading on the tray.
Underneath the center armrest, you’ll find 110v and USB-A power outlets.
The button to recline the seat is located on the armrest closest to the aisle, though I didn’t recline my seat during the flight.
Finally, above the seat, you’ll find reading lights and individual air nozzles. The flight attendant call button is also located here.
Departure
While boarding was underway, the flight attendant working First Class came through the cabin offering pre-departure beverages. Since we brought coffee from the terminal, we declined.
We ended up pushing back from the gate seven minutes ahead of schedule and started our taxi out to Runway 17. We had a brief pause on the taxiway due to flow control into Atlanta but, fifteen minutes later, we were airborne and headed towards Atlanta.
In-Flight
We took off to the south and made a right turn towards Atlanta. With an in-air time of under an hour, the Captain turned off the seatbelt sign as we crossed through 10,000 feet. With the sign off, I headed to check out the forward lavatory, which was on the smaller side.
Aside from staining in the sink, the lavatory was clean and remained that way throughout the flight.
While similar to the lavatories at the rear of the plane, there are a couple of differences to the first class lav. First, there is no changing table in the forward lavatory, those can be found in the rear lav. Second, Delta stocks Grown Alchemist branded lotion and hand cream in its First Class lavatories.
Back at my seat, the flight attendant working First Class was just beginning the in-flight service. Beverage orders were taken and I ordered a coffee (yes I drink the airplane coffee). This was served a short time later in a paper cup.
After the beverage service, the flight attendant came back through with the snack basket. I wasn’t particularly hungry but grabbed some Biscoff cookies and Cheez-It crackers to have for later.
Though a second round of beverages wasn’t explicitly offered due to the short flight, the few passengers that wanted refills received them. After less than ten minutes at our cruising altitude, we started our descent into Atlanta.
Arrival
In order to get lined up for arrival we flew west, past Atlanta, and out near the Georgia/Alabama border before circling back around to land on Runway 8L.
We arrived at Gate C33 over ten minutes ahead of schedule and, after waiting for ATX Jr.’s gate checked stroller, we headed off to the Sky Club to pass the time before our connecting flight to Austin.
Summary
Overall, our flight in First Class on Delta’s Boeing 717-200 was fine. Since the aircraft is smaller and used on shorter routes, you won’t get the full Delta in-flight experience, like seatback IFE, but for an hour long flight it was perfectly adequate.
If you keep your expectations in check and think of the 717 as a large regional jet, you should be just fine on this aircraft. However, the airline does operate the 717 on some longer routes, like Atlanta-Dallas Love (DAL), which isn’t as pleasant. Given the routes that it operates, I’ll no doubt fly on a Delta 717 again and it is certainly better than flying on a CRJ.
Nice review.
As you pointed out, the main thing to keep in perspective is generally the 717 acts as a small mainline stand-in for what otherwise would be served by a Delta Connection RJ.
Given the engine location, it doesn’t get much quieter than first class in a 717.
It’s very quiet up in the front. As someone who grew up flying on MD-80s and 727s, I always enjoy getting the chance to hop aboard a 717 even if it isn’t the newest or nicest aircraft.