The Details

• Flight: DL1710
• Aircraft: A321
• Class: Domestic First
• Seat: 5A
• Route: Indianapolis International (IND)-Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
• Distance: 476miles
• Flight time: 1hr 7min
• Departure: 5:59AM
• Touchdown: 7:19AM

The Preflight

This flight was a special one today, as it was the first time flying out of my new home airport Indianapolis International. My SO and I had moved to Indy from Chicago for work and I was looking forward to experience the nationally ranked IND travel experience. I parked my car in the economy lot at 4:45AM and took the free shuttle which dropped me off at the terminal 15 minutes later.

While there are multiple airlines that fly out of IND, there is only one lounge, operated by Delta Air Lines. I decided to fly Delta on my trip down to Orlando, Florida with a layover in Atlanta to check-out the Sky Club.

The check-in counter had a dedicated Sky Priority lane which was a bit slow since there was only one agent staffing it. Once I had my boarding passes, I made my way through the TSA Precheck lane. Luckily, it was empty and I was the only one going through.

The Sky Club is immediately to the right of the security area on the inner side of the airport which meant no windows. A friendly agent checked me in and told me that what gate my flight would be departing from. I had about 20 minutes before boarding was scheduled to begin at 5:25AM.

Directly behind the front desk was the bar and an area with sofas.

Along the wall there were additional chairs.

Next to the bar was a toast station with pastries and bagels.

There was also self-serve water and orange juice.

The main buffet area to the back of the lounge featured hot and cold dishes. Hot options for breakfast included bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits.

Cold options included egg breakfast wrap, granola, yoguhrt parfait, fresh fruit, hard boiled eggs, and strawberry smoothies.

At the end was some cereal and bars.

Once I grabbed a breakfast sandwich to go, I made my way to the gate area which was packed with passengers. A quick look online showed that the first class was entirely full and economy was roughly 90% full. Boarding began promptly at 5:25AM.

Our A321 today, registration N110DX, was fairly new at less than one year old. She had been delivered to Delta in January 2021.

The Flight

Delta’s newest A321s feature 20 First class seats arranged in a 2-2 configuration.

I was seated in 5A which was in the last row of the First class cabin. Each seat offered roughly 35 inches of pitch and 21 inches of width. I feel that Delta First class seats to have a tightest pitch up front compared to Alaska, United, or American.

However, unlike Alaska, American, or United, Delta does offer seatback entertainment screens for their passengers on narrowbodies. The seatback also had a variety of pockets of different sizes for storing items.

I loved the screen. It was both crisp and responsive to touch. The inflight entertainment system also provided information on our specific aircraft.

The legroom was a bit tight, especially once I stored my bag down there.

It between the two seatbacks was the individual power outlets. Each passenger had a 110V outlet and USB port.

The recline button was located in the left armrest.

The center console and a small table top area for drinks. Below was a pull out tray for additional cocktails.

The bi-fold tray table was stored in the center console. It was large and sturdy.

Upon boarding, each passenger was given a sanitizng wipe.

Boarding doors were closed at 5:55AM and was pushed back a minute early at 5:59AM. The taxi to runway 5R was short and we took off a few minutes later. The climb out of IND featured beautiful sunrise views of downtown Indy.

Service began 15 minutes later with drink orders taken from front to back. Next a tray of snacks was distributed. Options included Biscoff or roasted almonds.

I had a Bloody Mary which came pre-poured and mixed. No full size cans were provided.

The rest of the flight was unremarkable as we cruised above thick clouds.

We began our initial descent into Atlanta just 35 minutes after take-off.

It was a gloomy day in Atlanta but we had a smooth landing on runway 8L at 7:19AM.

The taxi to the gate took just five minutes. Thanks for the ride!

Delta in my mind offers a fairly generic Domestic First class experience. The seatback screen was a definite pro but otherwise nothing really elevated them above the competitors.