The ultimate guide to Delta One Suites – The Points Guy

It’s hard to believe it has been 10 years since Delta wowed the travel industry as the first airline in the world to unveil an all-suite business-class cabin with each seat having its own closing door for privacy.

Since then, Delta One Suites has won the TPG Award for best U.S. airline business class several times as well.

No wonder these enclosed pod styles have become more popular with airlines, including Qatar Airways, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, All Nippon Airways and Air France, among others.

Here’s what you need to know about Delta One Suites, where you can find them and how you can use miles to book them.

Aircraft with Delta One Suites

You can find Delta One Suites aboard the following planes in Delta’s fleet (and you can check out our reviews of each):

Although the product on the 767 is not technically a true Delta One Suite due to the lack of a sliding door, we’ll include it for the purposes of this article, since these seats’ footprint matches that of the suites aboard the A350 and A330-900neo.

These are the long-haul jets that do not have Delta One Suites:

• Airbus A330-300
• Airbus A330-200
• Boeing 767-300ER

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However, Delta will begin retrofitting its aging A330s with Delta One Suites starting later this year. We do not yet know how long this rollout will take altogether, though.

The airline also recently announced that it will introduce all-new Delta One Suites aboard its forthcoming Airbus A350-1000s, which it plans to take delivery of starting in 2027, so be on the lookout for those.

That’s a lot of information, so it’s important to pay attention to what kind of jet is operating your flight.

According to Airfleets.net, the airline has the following numbers of each jet, and this is the total number of Delta One suites you’ll find aboard each.

While seat counts vary on the A350, all the A330-900neos have 29 Delta One Suites and all retrofitted 767s have 34 suites.

On all of them except the A350-900s with 40 seats, Delta One is in a single cabin at the front of the aircraft, so your experience should be pretty similar from plane to plane. For those interested, the forthcoming A350-1000s will also have a large front cabin with 45 of the new Delta One Suites as well as a small back section with just eight of them.

Delta primarily flies the A350, A330-900neo to an array of destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia from its various hubs, including:

• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
• Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
• John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
• Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
• Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)

It tends to operate the 767-400 on shorter transatlantic routes between the East Coast and Europe.

What to expect with Delta One Suites

What makes the Delta One Suites so special? These are staggered Vantage XL seats, so each has a large footprint and plenty of privacy, especially those with closing doors aboard the A350 and A330-900neo.

Each is around 20 1/2 inches wide and up to 77 inches long in bed mode on the A350. On the A330-900neo, they are 22 1/2 inches wide and up to 80 inches long. The 767 has the smallest seats, with only 20 inches in width, and a bed that’s 77 inches long. All recline to fully lie-flat beds with memory foam cushions.

The suites on the A350 and A330-900neo are very similar, though there are some slight design differences that those with a keen eye will notice.

Here’s a quick look at the differences between these planes and their onboard features.

We found the aisles on the A330-900neo to be a little cramped, though the Wi-Fi was fast. The A330-900neo, A350-900 with 40 seats and 767 have just two lavatories for business class, while the A350-900 with 32 Delta One seats has four lavatories. So, you might find lineups on some flights.

Delta One seats on the retrofitted 767-400 do not have sliding doors, but they offer more privacy than their older counterparts on Delta’s 767-300s and feature finishes that bring them in line with the newer A350s and A330-900neos.

Delta One seat selection guide

On all of the jets, the Delta One Suites are arranged in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration.

The suites on the sides of the cabin alternate between being closer to the aisle and closer to the window. The “true window” seats have their wider armrest on the aisle side, which provides you with even more privacy. Though truth be told, I don’t mind the other window seats that are closer to the aisle since the closing door offers enough privacy on its own, and it’s easier to get in and out of them.

The seats in the center of the cabin shift either to the right or to the left of the preceding row to maximize seat pitch. So you won’t find “honeymoon” center seats that are closer together, like you’ll see on some other airlines, like LATAM. Instead, there is always a wide armrest and a movable privacy screen between center seats, no matter which row you sit in.

Here’s a quick guide to which seats are best for which type of traveler.

Delta One seat features

As you can see, Delta One Suites bear similar dimensions and layouts no matter which aircraft you find them on. The primary differences are the number of seats on each jet, the lavatory-to-passenger ratio, and the fact that the seats on the 767 lack actual doors. Other than that, the experience is pretty consistent.

The suites have 18 to 18 1/2-inch high-resolution touchscreens, high-powered USB ports for charging your devices and universal power outlets.

Passengers can illuminate “Do not disturb” indicators, adjust their own lighting and take advantage of numerous personal stowage areas.

Business-class travelers can enjoy hallmark Delta soft touches, including amenity kits (the current ones are cute Missoni designs with Grown Alchemist skincare products), over-ear headphones and and Missoni bedding that includes a mattress pad, lightweight duvet and memory foam pillow.

Menus created by celebrity chefs like José Andrés, which you can conveniently preorder and wines chosen by the airline’s sommelier, Andrea Robinson, are all presented with the airline’s Alessi glassware, plates and cutlery, lending the meal service an elevated ambience.

Finding Delta One award tickets

Since Delta stopped publishing award charts and switched to a dynamic pricing model for award tickets several years back, it has become harder and harder to find decently priced award tickets in Delta One. Long-haul flights can cost several hundred thousand miles in each direction.

For the most part, Delta prices long-haul flights in suites at exorbitant levels, ranging from 125,000 to around 800,000 miles each way. Yes, you read that correctly.

That said, you can still find some rare saver-level awards — including recent deals between various U.S. hubs and cities across Europe starting at 115,000 Delta SkyMiles. I also tend to find that awards on the airline’s flights between Seattle and Taipei are priced lower than on its other transpacific routes.

Delta has a few useful award-search tools that make finding award prices easier. You can use the flexible dates calendar on Delta’s website to look for awards five weeks at a time.

And if you’re just searching routes where you know an A330-900neo, A350 or 767 with suites is in service, select the option for nonstop flights to narrow down your query quickly. You might also look at city pairs that pass through non-hubs, since some of these options will be available at lower fares and mileage prices.

On dates when you see noticeably less-expensive awards than surrounding days, you might be able to book them using partner currencies like Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points.

Don’t forget to use tools like Seats.aero to search broad swaths of the calendar. With a paid subscription, you can even use search filters like operating airline (Delta) and program you want to use miles from, including Delta’s own SkyMiles frequent flyer program and those of its partners.

Using points and miles to book Delta One Suites

If you want to use miles to book Delta One Suites, you have a few choices.

Delta SkyMiles

First, you could use Delta’s own SkyMiles. The program is a 1:1 transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards if you have a card like American Express Platinum Card® or the American Express® Gold Card.

Or, consider applying for one of Delta’s cobranded credit cards to rack up award miles quickly both on welcome offers and everyday spending (terms apply):

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a Delta partner and uses dynamic pricing, so it’s harder to find bargains using Flying Club points for Delta One award tickets. However, it’s easy to rack up Virgin Atlantic points since Flying Club is a transfer partner of every major transferable points program, including:

That said, you’ll likely have to redeem well over 100,000 points in each direction (and sometimes much more than that), depending on where you want to fly.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Another good option is Flying Blue. This program is a transfer partner of:

• American Express Membership Rewards
• Bilt
• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• Capital One
• Citi ThankYou Rewards
• Wells Fargo Rewards

There are two major caveats, though. First, availability for awards booked through partners is very scarce. Second, you will typically pay more taxes and surcharges on these tickets than you will when using Delta SkyMiles.

Downsides to Delta One

Delta One has won the TPG Award for best U.S. airline business class several times, but there are a few drawbacks to be aware of before you actually fly:

• Award availability at affordable mileage levels is extremely limited.
• The suites are consistent but do vary slightly by aircraft type.
• Many Europe and South America routes are operated by planes without suite-style seats.
• The food, while elevated, does not always impress.
• The number of lavatories does not feel sufficient for the number of passengers on some planes.
• Newer suites will be coming online with the advent of the Airbus A350-1000, so you might want to wait for those.

Bottom line

Delta changed the game with its all-suites business class a decade ago. Closing doors (on the A350s and A330-900neos), up-to-the-minute tech and signature soft amenities all ensure a comfortable and memorable flight on the airline’s newest Delta One products.

However, the exorbitant award pricing of many flights with these suites means they’re out of reach for most flyers looking to redeem miles to book them (except at the most inconvenient of times). Hopefully that will change, but in the meantime, the more flexible you can be with your travel plans, the better your chances of experiencing Delta One Suites for yourself.

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