I just traveled down to Tulum to ring in the new year and flew down from Austin to Cancun on a Delta Airbus A320 in First Class. This was a pretty typical Delta flight, but highlights why they are my preferred domestic carrier.
Booking Our Delta A320 First Class Flight
My home airport of Austin has seen a dramatic increase in routes over the last few years and, with Delta and Southwest duking it out for supremacy after American pulled back, it has made for some very attractive fares.
Since we were traveling over the New Year’s holiday, prices were on the high side but, with American, Delta, and Southwest all operating flights within an hour and a half of each other, it really came down to personal preference and the onboard experience.
Since we were traveling with ATX Jr. as a lap infant, we knew we needed First Class seats. That eliminated Southwest though they did have the best timing. Given a choice between American and Delta, longtime readers will know that it was an easy choice. I’m not a big fan of the direction AA has gone in recent years, though they are working to turn things around.
We ended up booking our roundtrip tickets between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and Cancun International Airport (CUN) directly through the Delta website for $1,145 per person, including taxes and fees.
Pre-Flight
With a 7:25a scheduled departure time, Delta scheduled boarding for 6:30a. Because we had bags to check, we arrived at the airport around 5:15a local time. The Austin airport is currently undergoing a massive expansion project which has led to delays at security so I was a bit anxious about the timing.
Since we had FIVE bags to check, we first made a stop at the Delta ticket counter where there was a queue of roughly 10 people in the Sky Priority lane. It took about 10 minutes for us to reach the front of the queue where our documents were confirmed, boarding passes issued, and bags tagged down to Cancun.
Boarding passes in hand, we headed off to security. Both the TSA PreCheck and CLEAR lanes were short and, unfortunately, we chose the much slower CLEAR lane. PreCheck moved 5x faster but we were still airside in a matter of minutes. From there, we headed to the Delta Sky Club to grab a quick breakfast before our flight.
Boarding Our Delta A320 First Class Flight
Boarding was scheduled for 6:30a and we left the lounge a few minutes later, thinking we would find boarding already underway. When we arrived at the gate there was no queue and the Delta agents were busy helping passengers. We ended up boarding 15 minutes late with pre-boards followed by Group 1.
Delta Air Lines
DL 2509
AUS-CUN (Austin-Bergstrom International – Cancun International)
Seat: 4C (First)
Airbus A320-200 (N353NW)
Scheduled: 7:25a-11:05a
Actual: 7:17a-10:44a
I boarded first with our bags and gate-checked stroller while Mrs. ATX joined me on board with ATX Jr. towards the end of boarding. Our flight was relatively empty with 80% of First Class and only 30% of Economy full. We were traveling on New Year’s Eve which likely played a factor.
Delta Airbus A320 First Class Seat
Delta has an extremely consistent hard product across its narrowbody fleet and this flight was no exception. Our flight was operated by N353NW, a 27 year old Airbus A320 though the interior felt like a brand new jet. The First Class cabin on Delta’s Airbus A320-200s feature 16 seats spread across four rows in a 2-2 layout.
I assigned us seats 4C and 4D, the last row on the right hand side of the aircraft. While I personally prefer bulkhead seats, those seats aren’t great for traveling with kids as all bags need to go in the overhead bin.
While the legroom in First Class isn’t great, there was enough space that my knees didn’t touch the seatback, I’m 6′ 2″ for reference. There were multiple seatback pockets, large and small which provided plenty of storage, and we ended up using all of it.
Though the plane was 27 years old, Delta has done a great job of refreshing the interior of its aircraft (looking at you United). Seatback IFE was available at every seat and the plane was also outfitted with free Wi-Fi for Delta SkyMiles members.
USB power outlets were located under the IFE screens and 110V power outlets were in the center console of the seat in front. It seems that the cleaners missed a spot here.
Reading lights, the flight attendant call button, and individual air nozzles were located overhead.
The tray table was located in the center armrest and could be folded over in half or fully extended depending on your needs. When fully extended there was still plenty of room for my laptop as well as beverages and snacks.
Departure
Waiting at each seat during boarding was a bottle of water. Our Austin based crew also came through the cabin during boarding taking pre-departure beverage orders. Both Mrs. ATX and I opted for a mimosa which was served in a paper cup.
After the PDBs were served, the flight lead came through taking breakfast and drink orders for once we were in the air. This came as a surprise as Delta didn’t show a full meal on this flight and we were never given the option of ordering in the app. We weren’t the only ones as the entire cabin hadn’t preordered anything. We were given the option of the waffle, omelette, or quiche. I took the quiche while Mrs. ATX ordered the waffle.
Boarding was completed in under 15 minutes, though the they had to wait an additional 15 before the door was actually closed. While we officially departed at 7:17a, we had to wait for some traffic in the alley to clear.
We ended up pushing off the gate at 7:29a and started our taxi out to the runway. The Captain announced a flight time of 1h 55m. With nobody in front of us, we were quickly airborne off of Runway 36L and made the turn southeast towards Cancun.
In-Flight
We had a few bumps on the climb out but the fasten seatbelt sign was turned off fifteen minutes after takeoff. I took this time to go and check out the forward lavatory which was large enough for a narrowbody jet.
Delta features Grown Alchemist toiletries in first class and hand soap and hand lotion were both available in the lavatory.
Back at my seat, the meal service began thirty minutes after departure with tablecloths and drinks being handed out. I kept it simple and went with another mimosa.
Meals were served ten minutes after the service began but, with ATX Jr. sleeping, we decided to stagger our service. I had the quiche which was surprisingly good, I haven’t had great luck with egg dishes on planes, and the croissant was warm and flaky.
Once he woke up, Mrs. ATX and ATX Jr. had the waffles which was also very good. It was on the sweet side however.
Refills were offered proactively throughout the flight and the Austin based crew did a great job of checking on us. As we approached the coast of Mexico, descent was announced roughly 30 minutes prior to landing. The crew buttoned up the cabin at this time which seemed a bit early.
Arrival
On approach, we flew over Cancun and out over thr Gulf of Mexico before circling back to land from the east. Weather was partly cloudy but we still got a great view of the beaches and resorts.
We touched down on Runway 30R at 10:38a local time and started our taxi to the terminal. Along the way we passed a couple of Boeing 727s and a Douglass DC-3 that were slowly being reclaimed by the jungle.
We pulled into Gate 41 at 10:45a local time, 20 minutes ahead of schedule. We were off the plane quickly though I had to wait on the jet bridge for a few minutes while we waited on ATX Jr.’s gate-checked stroller.
We arrived at the same time as Mrs. ATX’s parents’ flight from Dallas and were through passport control in a matter of seconds thanks to the children/handicapped lane. Once we were in the terminal we had a long wait for bags before heading out to meet our transfer for the ride to our resort.
Summary
Delta has a remarkably consistent hard product on its narrowbody jets. Regardless of age, all of the planes feel new and modern on the inside. We had great service from our Austin based crew though not having the ability to pre-order meals in the app was confusing.
Delta is my carrier of choice in Austin and this flight reinforced why I continue to fly with them. I’m looking forward to my next trip in Delta’s First Class cabin on the Airbus A320!