We had a 10:25am flight and our daughter, who was home from college for a few weeks, was nice enough to drive us to the airport. Well, I drove there and she drove the car home anyway. We actually decided to get dropped off at the international terminal as it’s never busy in the morning and our flight was scheduled from Concourse E, which is much closer to the newer international terminal than the domestic terminal at Atlanta.

We sped through pre-check in a couple of minutes and took the train one stop over to Concourse E. We arrived just as they were setting out the line markers, so I assumed the lounge was busy, but really there were plenty of seats available.

There was a nice breakfast spread, better than the usual Concourse A or B breakfast of egg bites, sausage and potatoes. There were also yogurt parfaits, charcuterie and even a special chicken and waffle/ pineapple mimosa display that was set up in a different area of the lounge.

We enjoyed an hour or so in the lounge and then headed to our nearby gate for boarding for the long flight to Honolulu. Even though we arrived at the gate at 9:35am, they were already boarding Delta One passengers. It was nice to board a domestic flight and turn left into the spacious A330 cabin. Even though this is not the latest and greatest Delta One product, it had been maintained well and provided a nice amount of personal space for the nine hour flight.

Waiting at our seats were a bedding package with blanket and pillow, noise canceling headphones, an amenity kit, water and slippers. We were offered a pre-departure drink of sparkling wine, orange juice or mimosa. I decided on the mimosa.

DL 837 ATL-HNL
Scheduled: 10:25-13:50 (-6 hours)
Actual: 10:25-13:48 (-6 hours)

The mimosas were pretty free-flowing as the main cabin section behind the door continued to board. We pushed back on time and taxied for about 20 minutes. The purser confirmed our pre-orders from the menu we received ahead of time via email. I never actually saw a menu on the flight.

About 20 minutes after takeoff, hot towels were handed out and about 10 minutes after that, a round of drinks were served. I ordered Woodford (she brought a double) which was served with warm nuts. I figured I could have a few drinks early in the flight, nap and then sober up in plenty of time to drive the rental car in Hawaii 10+ hours later.

Lunch was served about an hour after takeoff, all on one tray. The food was actually very good. I ordered the Fox Bros. short ribs (a local Atlanta BBQ restaurant). It was served with red wine jus, saffron risotto, asparagus and cippolini onions.

The salad was even very tasty, as was the chocolate cake for dessert. It might have been better if they had served us a course at a time, given the length of the flight, but I suppose I wasn’t expecting Lufthansa First Class levels of service on Delta, even up front. My wife had the chicken and she said it wasn’t great.

As I ate, I watched the Beatles Get Back documentary on Disney Plus that I had downloaded for the trip. I had been meaning to watch it for a year and finally had time. After the first long episode, I napped on and off for a couple of hours.

About halfway through the flight, snacks and drinks were offered. It was just the usual Delta First Class snack basket, nothing special. I ordered a seltzer with lime to go with them.

I decided to watch Avatar: The Way of Water as it is a long movie to pass the time. Yes, I know I should have seen it in IMAX and not on a 15 inch Delta screen, but it was still pretty decent. Around an hour before landing, a second meal was served. I had pre-ordered the tuna with rice, basically a poke bowl. It was again very good, especially the macadamia nut cookies served as dessert. My wife had the Asian chopped salad instead.

As we approached Honolulu, we flew past the Big Island and Maui. I tried to snap some pics but it was difficult through the dirty window.

We landed on time and arrived at the gate about two minutes ahead of schedule. It was by far the longest domestic flight we’ve ever taken and we were grateful for the comfort and space in Delta One. My wife even slept about 4-5 hours during the flight. The best thing about flying so far west was that it was still only 2pm in Hawaii.

Up Next: Honolulu Sky Club and Hawaiian interisland flights

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