Update, 1/18/21: Delta’s schedules now show the A330-900 with Delta One Suites operating through 10/29/21 on their late evening flights 234/235 to/from JFK and Tel Aviv! The earlier flight 232/233 is still operated on the A330-300 with the older business class product and no premium economy seats.
Update, 9/30/20: Delta has removed the A330-900neo from their JFK-Tel Aviv schedule after March 26th. It seems strange that they plan on running the plane on the route for just 2 winter months, but everything is up in the air at this point and Delta may not want to commit the plane to the route for the long-term as of yet.
Currently, suites and premium economy can only be booked from JFK-Tel Aviv from January 15th-March 26.
Originally posted on 8/23/20:
Even with Israel’s borders closed for the foreseeable future, airlines are jockeying for position to cash in on the lucrative US-Israel flight market.
Delta has long trailed El Al and United with an older business class product and no premium economy section. With American adding JFK-Tel Aviv flights in 2021, Delta had to respond.
Delta will finally rectify that by flying a daily A330-900neo between JFK and Tel Aviv starting on January 15th!
They currently fly an A330-300 with 34 business class seats, 40 comfort seats with extra legroom, and 219 economy seats, for a total of 283 seats.
The A330-900 will feature 29 business class closed suites, 28 premium economy seats, 56 comfort seats with extra legroom, and 168 economy seats, for a total of 281 seats.
I flew Delta A350 suites to Amsterdam last year.
The A350 is several feet wider than the A330, so the A330 suites will be narrower than the A350 suites as they both have the same 1-2-1 configuration. I would have loved to see Delta put their A350 flagship on this route, but JFK isn’t an A350 base for Delta.
The A330 has a 2-4-2 configuration in coach, which many find preferable to the 3-3-3 configuration found on the wider A350.
The Delta One Suites cabin is certainly aesthetically pleasing:
The flipside is that due to the lack of overhead storage over the center section, there isn’t enough room for everyone’s carry-ons.
The suite walls add some level of privacy, though they don’t go very high. The seat itself is not very wide, so there may be some level of claustrophobia.
Personally I don’t like that Delta uses leather seats in business class, which I find to be very uncomfortable for sleeping. Delta also doesn’t provide a mattress pad as airlines like American and United do. In general I found United’s Polaris seat for be more comfortable for sitting and sleeping and to have better bedding than Delta, but the privacy door is certainly a nice addition to a business class seat.
Overall this is definitely a nice improvement over the older A330 with the addition of a premium economy cabin and the Delta One Suites.
However it is striking that United has more than double the number of business class seats on their 777-300 (60 Polaris seats) than Delta does on the A330-900 (29 Delta One Suites).
Will Delta’s A330-900 make them your carrier of choice to Israel?
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16 Comments On "[Update: Extended Through October!] Delta Is Now Selling Business Class Suites And Premium Economy Between JFK And Tel Aviv!"
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If Israel opens their borders, this is definitely an option! Let them just open already.
Have reservations for December 8th JFK-TLV on the day flight, received email yesterday that flight is canceled, called them and was told the day flight is canceled through March 27
But I guess they made a mistake….
How does American’s J product compare to Polaris?
Depends on the plane.
Any chance they will have F?
A chance? Sure.
Likely? No.
Thanks
Seems like I should stick with United then? I fly Polaris when i go for work. I land and head straight to meetings. I need to be able to sleep the entire flight.
I wouldn’t switch from Polaris just for D1 suites.
It seems like it’s off! Because i have a booking for apr.27 and it’s showing the regular 330 plane not the neo! Any clue what happened?
Is it possible to book these with virgin Atlantic or Air france? How would i know if it’s supposed to be bookable thru partners
Business class to tlv is rarely available through partners.
https://www.dansdeals.com/airfare-deals/israel-flights/wow-unprecedented-delta-business-suite-award-availability-tel-aviv-partner-miles/?t
@dan whats deltas return policy if I book for Shavous and need to cancel?
I had trouble comparing width but the outside dimensions of the 350 grew by 13 inches compared to the 330. I have read that better/thinner insulation in the 350 adds a few more inches but the difference is NOT several feet.
I assume with all the variations of business class seats they can have the seats straight in the axis of aircraft length on a narrow aircraft and use seats that are angled to use more width and less length in a wider business class aircraft.