To Japan Via Delta One

As many of you may know, 2023 is the year Stephen will finish all of the Abbot World Marathon Majors. Because of Covid, the London Marathon was differed to April. And then the race gods decided the he should do Tokyo in March.* Since Stephen will be the first person to accomplish this as a living organ donor, I decided to reach out to Delta Airlines to let them know about it. You never know, right? (Like maybe they’d let him see the cockpit or comp us a few drinks.) Instead, we were given the treat of a lifetime. Here is what it was like to fly to Japan via Delta One.

Pre-Flight Prep

Our original tickets were “Premium Select”, which are like “First Class” on a domestic flight. So, they were decent but on a 14 hour flight, getting comfortable enough to sleep might be a bit of a challenge. We decided we would forgo our normal semi-dressy attire for things that are more comfortable. Think “like pajamas but not actually pajamas”. For this trip, I bought my first pair of “jeggings” thinking that since they have pockets, I could pull them off as pants. Stephen was considering wearing his “Gentlemen” suit – or as we like to call them “suit-jamas”.

Man wearing a brown plaid jogging suit and a Boston Scally cap standing on a wooden deck. — The Coach

We were only a few days out from our trip when I got a call from Nicole at Delta. She let me know they got my letter and they were really excited Delta could be part of our journey. As a result, they upgraded our seats for Japan AND for London to Delta One.

Once the squealing and excitement died down, we looked up YouTube videos to see what it was like. And we quickly decided that not only were “Suit-Jamas” not really right, they were really not even necessary.

The Flight

Man at an airport wearing a plaid Boston Scally cap, black turtle neck and a blue suit coat wearing a silver kidney necklace — So ready to go

Woman at an airport gate smirking at the camera — So ready to go

Once we were “Suited Up”, we headed to the Delta Lounge to visit with our favorite bartender, Stephanie. We were just getting our drinks when we were informed our departure was pushed back 4 hours. Lucky for us, we had a cozy place to hang until we left at 4:30pm.

White plate containing macaroni salad, broccoli and beef. Behind it is a Bloody Mary and a glass of water. — Stephen’s Lunch

White plate containing two egg quiche and three small round potatoes. Behind it is a full champagne glass and a nearly empty champagne glass containing mimosas — Stephen’s Lunch

We got to be first on the plane and turned left, rather than turning right – like we usually do.

Airplane cabin showing multiple rows of Delta One seating — The Delta One Cabin

Each seat is like it’s own pod.

Delta One seat with a pillow package on it and a bag of toiletries next to it. — The pod

Person sitting in a Delta One Seat looking down to show all the legroom — The pod

We were able to open the sliding window between us so we could talk and hold hands.

Man in a Boston Scally cap and a woman seated in Delta One pods — Happy as clams in our pods

Each little pod had an 18” screen with lots of movies to stream. I think Stephen stuck to a Japan theme, choosing Lost in Translation, Bullet Train and The Last Samurai. I had to finish the audio book I had on loan from the library so my entire trip was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Man holding a Ghiradelli’s chocolate in front of a screen showing the movie Bullet Train — Watching Bullet Train and eating chocolate

Movie screen on a plane showing Harry Potter movie selection — Watching Bullet Train and eating chocolate

We were given a toiletry kit with a sustainable toothbrush, toothpaste, lip balm, hand lotion and an eye mask. We were able to take off our shoes and get more comfortable in a pair of Delta slippers.

Tray in Delta One pod holding toiletry kits — The Amenities

We also had noise canceling headphones to use while watching the movies, a blanket and a cozy pillow.

Noise canceling headphones in the Delta One pod — The noise cancelling headphones

Cozy kit in the Delta One Pod — The noise cancelling headphones

I’ve read that Anthony Bourdain states you should NEVER eat anything on an airplane. But I’m wondering if he ever flew Delta One. I mean, look at this spread.