I spent 14 hours in economy class in a middle seat near the rear of the aircraft with no recline. My experience pertains to a flight aboard an airplane that was operated by Delta Air Lines from Los Angeles to Sydney after arriving at Los Angeles from Atlanta.
14 Hours in Economy Class. In a Middle Seat. Near the Rear of the Aircraft. With No Recline. My Experience.
The time of the actual flight itself was approximately 13 hours and 45 minutes — but then, the time sitting aboard the airplane prior to departing from the gate and after landing at the destination airport arguably counts and easily comprises of at least 14 hours.
Passengers who were assigned seats in the economy class cabin aboard the airplane line up inside of the crowded jet bridge to board the aircraft.
I arrived at my seat in the last row of the second-to-last section of the economy class cabin — which means that the seat did not recline.
The headrests of each seat were adjustable. That marginally helped improve the comfort of the seat, which was thankfully well padded.
Along with a blanket and a surprisingly comfortable pillow which were wrapped in clear plastic was a sealed bag that can be closed again.
It was a travel bag, which contained a polyester eye shade — which can only be used one time — and ear plugs that were manufactured in China. Complimentary earbuds in sealed bags were also distributed separately by members of the flight crew for any passengers who wanted to use the in-flight entertainment system.
The leg room was not as spacious aboard this Airbus A350-900 airplane as what I experienced aboard the Airbus A350-900(L) aircraft on which I traveled as a passenger from Atlanta to Los Angeles…
…but it was at least equipped with adjustable air vents.
The ship number for this Airbus A350-900 airplane which operated as Delta Air Lines flight 41 from Los Angeles to Sydney was N513DZ.
I thought that this angle of the path of the flight was humorous, as it appeared that the airplane would disappear off of the face of the earth.
Shortly after bottles of water and a packet which contained cutlery were distributed to all of the passengers aboard the airplane, the passenger who was seated next to the window decided that he needed to use the lavatory. Although it was not an opportune time to do so, he never used the lavatory a second time during the flight. He was hard of hearing; so I assisted him whenever his requests were not understood by the members of the flight crew.
The material of the cutlery was some type of light wood or bamboo.
A choice of two meals were served not all that long after the airplane departed from Los Angeles. One meal was a Mushroom Mezzaluna with a creamy Parma Rosa sauce and topped with artichoke and zucchini that were seasoned with pesto — as well as shredded parmesan…
…while the other meal was a chicken with butter sauce, cilantro rice, and green beans.
The butter chicken was not bad — but it was not great, either.
The ravioli was not bad — but it was not great, either.
Both meals were accompanied by a cold potato salad topped with slivered peppers and chives — as well as a Lemon Blondie dessert. The potatoes were surprisingly good — except that they needed to have been cooked just a little longer. I liked the Lemon Blondie — probably because the flavor of the lemon was quite strong.
Several hours later — sometime near the midpoint of the flight and after a few services of water and coffee were served while many of the passengers were sleeping in the dark cabin — a hot Mediterranean pizza twist was served with a beverage.
The pizza twist really was Mediterranean, as it was produced in Turkey but considered Italian. The ingredients were printed on the back of the box.
The crust was stuffed with mozzarella cheese, ezine cheese, and “fresh white” cheese — as well as rosemary. Every time I lifted this pizza twist, I felt a hot liquid drip on my hand.
I removed the cheese filling from the pastry, whose interior was soaked in grease and dripped out of the end, which created a soggy mess. What was seriously missing from this pizza twist is what I consider to be a substantially important ingredient: some variation of a red pizza sauce, which would have greatly improved what was otherwise a culinary monstrosity.
Passengers were able to grab from their choice of an assortment of snacks at the rear of the aircraft at any time during the flight between the first meal service and the last meal service. Snacks included chocolate chip cookies, bags of Sun Chips, cheese biscuits, crackers, sealed slices of Tillamook cheese, granola bars — and, of course, Biscoff cookies.
Cups of water and packets of earbuds were also available.
The lavatories were almost identical to those aboard the Airbus A350-900(L) aircraft — except that these lavatories included hand sanitizer and room spray that was scented with white tea.
Prior to landing, a service comprised of Mediterranean breakfast egg and cheese calzone with Chobani strawberry Greek yogurt and assorted fresh fruit.
I like regular yogurt. I keep trying to like Greek yogurt. Thick with bits of strawberry mixed in, what is not to like about Greek yogurt? I did not finish it. I just did not like it. Perhaps it was too thick — or maybe it was not sweet enough? I do not know. I tried.
Dare I say that the calzone was arguably more unappetizing than the aforementioned pizza twist?
To prove that point, I scooped the egg and cheese filling out of the calzone. It looked bad. It smelled bad. It tasted bad. I normally enjoy food that is served aboard airplanes; but this thing really needed to be put out of its misery.
The fresh fruit looked good at first, with red grapes and chunks of cantaloupe and pineapple…
…but digging deeper, I found some fruit which had seen better days.
Final Boarding Call
I actually liked my seat at first. It was reasonably comfortable — almost to the point of cozy — and it was in a very quiet part of the airplane despite being located adjacent to the lavatories…
…but by the end of the flight, I was ready to get out of there. I did get some sleep — but not as much as I would have liked. I really could have used that recline; and had I been quick enough, I would have preferred the window seat.
Although I would not describe the experience as the torture chamber to which some so-called “bloggers” might allude, it also is not the optimal way to travel from Los Angeles to Sydney. I suppose I am still spoiled from when I was seated in the business class cabin in the upper deck of a Boeing 747-400 airplane operated by Qantas Airways. Now that was a much better way to pass 14 hours…
…but not many people can afford the miles or points to splurge for a premium class seat — especially as the cost is greater than $10,000.00 or as much as 820,000 SkyMiles round trip — so that must be recognized.
I have endured an even longer flight while seated in the economy class cabin: 15 hours aboard an Airbus A340-642 aircraft that was operated by China Eastern Airlines from Shanghai to New York.
I would recommend flying as a passenger in general aboard an Airbus A350-900 airplane operated by Delta Air Lines between Los Angeles and Sydney — certainly not by spending 14 hours in economy class in a middle seat near the rear of the aircraft with no recline — but I expected a better product overall from Delta Air Lines. The food was passable; the service from the members of the flight crew was good but not as friendly as Delta Air Lines has been known in the past; and the comfort level was decent.
Perhaps the flight from Auckland to Los Angeles will be better? It certainly will not take up as much time…
All photographs ©2024 by Brian Cohen.
