How To Fly Lay-Flat Delta One Business Class Seats Within the U.S.

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Delta typically schedules aircraft with its best business class seats on international routes where travelers are willing to pay a much higher premium for a lay-flat seat. However, sometimes you can find these routes operating on domestic routes — whether sold as full-fledged Delta One or simply as domestic first class. Each month, the domestic routes with Delta One seats vary depending on Delta's schedule and needs.

Here's a breakdown of where you'll find Delta's best business class seats on domestic routes in September 2023.

Domestic Routes With Delta One Seats for September 2023

In September 2023, Delta scheduled 36 different domestic routes with lay-flat Delta One business class seats. Don't care about the details of which seat type you get as long as it's lie-flat? Here's a breakdown of all options for September 2023:

However, frequent Delta flyers know that there's a big difference between the business class seats on Delta aircraft. So, let's break down the schedule by aircraft type.

Airbus A350

Delta originally debuted its Delta One Suites on its Airbus A350, and these remain a top option for flying up front in comfort. The staggered 1-2-1 seating and closing suite doors help provide a sense of privacy. If you want to sit close to the window, make sure to pick your seat carefully. The staggered seating arrangement means not all window seats are next to a window.

Delta One Suites on the Airbus A350. Credit: JT Genter/AwardWallet.

However, note that some aircraft could be operated by leased LATAM aircraft. These aircraft are arranged with a rather subpar 2-2-2 seating configuration. These are great if you're traveling with a partner but not great if you want privacy.

LATAM Airbus A350 business class. Credit: LATAM.

For the best experience, look for a seat map that looks like this. If you look carefully, you can see which seats are slightly closer to the window.

Just keep in mind that Delta may swap the equipment at any time before your flight.

In September 2023, Delta is scheduled to fly the Airbus A350 on just two domestic roundtrip routes:

• Atlanta (ATL) to Detroit (DTW) — and reverse
• Atlanta (ATL) to Los Angeles (LAX) — and reverse

According to Delta's schedule, here are the exact flights where Delta is operating the Airbus A350 in September 2023:

Airbus A330

Like the A350 fleet, Delta's Airbus A330 fleet is a bit varied. The newest Delta One Suites seats are found on Delta's Airbus A330-900neo aircraft.

Delta A330-900neo business class cabin. Credit: Delta.

Older Delta Airbus A330 aircraft still have reverse-herringbone seats in business class. These business class seats don't have all of the perks of the newest Delta One Suites. However, it's still a comfortable way to fly on domestic routes.

Delta A330-300 business class cabin. Credit: Delta.

You can find Delta's Airbus A330 flying on four round-trip domestic routes in September 2023:

• Atlanta (ATL) to Honolulu (HNL) — and reverse
• Atlanta (ATL) to Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) — and reverse
• Detroit (DTW) to Honolulu (HNL) — and reverse
• New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) — and reverse

…and on four one-off flights:

• Detroit (DTW) to New York (JFK) [September 5]
• Las Vegas (LAS) to New York (JFK) [September 23]
• Atlanta (ATL) to Seattle (SEA) [September 25]
• New York (JFK) to Seattle (SEA) [September 30]

According to Delta's schedule, here are the exact flights where Delta is operating the Airbus A330 in September 2023:

Boeing 767

Last but not least, Delta One business class seats can be found on Delta's Boeing 767 fleet. Here again, the experience differs depending on what aircraft subtype you book.

The Boeing 767-300 subtype has been refreshed, but the seats are still rather outdated. And you can tell that Delta isn't really proud of this product, as it hasn't posted any recent photos of the business class interior.

Meanwhile, Delta retrofit a version of its Delta One Suites on its Boeing 767-400ER aircraft. Besides missing a suite door, this business class seat is quite similar to the Delta One Suites on Delta's other widebody aircraft.

Delta Boeing 767-400 business class cabin. Credit: Delta.

You can find Delta's Boeing 767 flying on 11 round-trip domestic routes in September 2023:

• Atlanta (ATL) to New York (JFK) — and reverse
• Atlanta (ATL) to Los Angeles (LAX) — and reverse
• Atlanta (ATL) to Orlando (MCO) — and reverse
• Atlanta (ATL) to Tampa (TPA) — and reverse
• New York (JFK) to Honolulu (HNL) — and reverse
• New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) — and reverse
• New York (JFK) to San Francisco (SFO) — and reverse
• New York (JFK) to Salt Lake City (SLC) — and reverse
• Los Angeles (LAX) to Honolulu (HNL) — and reverse
• Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) to Honolulu (HNL) — and reverse
• Salt Lake City (SLC) to Honolulu (HNL) — and reverse

…and on two one-off flights:

• Los Angeles (LAX) to Detroit (DTW) [September 5]
• Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) to Seattle (SEA) [September 15]

According to Delta's schedule, here are the exact flights where Delta is operating its Boeing 767 in September 2023:

Best Ways to Book Delta One Domestic Routes With Miles

Delta SkyMiles

The most straightforward way of booking Delta award flights is via Delta SkyMiles. The issue? Delta SkyMiles' dynamic award pricing model means you have no idea how much an award will cost until you search for the flight. The cheapest option I could find using Delta SkyMiles is from Atlanta (ATL) to Detroit (DTW) on the Airbus A350 for 20,500 SkyMiles one-way — or just 17,400 miles one-way for Delta cardmembers. However, this price could change (up or down) at any time:

The best way to generate Delta SkyMiles is by transferring Amex Membership Rewards points. However, you also have several hotel transfer options as well:

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club mileage program prices Delta award flights based on the distance of the flight. And business class award rates quickly climb into astronomical territory. That means this booking option is only going to be helpful on short nonstop routes.

For example, you can book a Delta domestic first class ticket from Atlanta (ATL) to Orlando (MCO) for just 17,500 Virgin points.

Routes up to 1,000 miles in distance jump to 27,500 Virgin points each way. This booking option can make sense on routes such as Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) to Atlanta (ATL):

Virgin Atlantic is a transfer partner of most bank transferrable point programs, making it incredibly easy to accumulate points when this booking option makes sense:

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Another option for booking Delta One seats on domestic routes is Flying Blue. The fixed award price for these first-class awards is roughly based on the distance of the flight. Some examples include:

• Atlanta (ATL) to Orlando (MCO): 20,000 Flying Blue miles
• Atlanta (ATL) to Detroit (DTW): 21,500 Flying Blue miles
• Atlanta (ATL) to New York (JFK): 27,500 Flying Blue miles
• Atlanta (ATL) to Minneapolis (MSP): 33,000 Flying Blue miles

An advantage of using Flying Blue miles is that it's incredibly easy to accumulate these miles. Plus, there's often a transfer bonus that effectively drops the price you'll need to pay. Here are the current bank transfer options to Flying Blue:

Bottom Line

You can greatly improve your in-flight experience by booking Delta's internationally-configured widebody aircraft on domestic routes. Some of these routes justify a long-haul aircraft — such as Delta's long flights to Hawaii and transcontinental flights. Other routes don't necessarily justify a lay-flat business class seat — such as sub-1,000-mile flights from Atlanta to Orlando, Detroit, and New York.

Especially when you can book these routes through distance-based mileage programs, you can get a really solid Delta One experience on domestic routes for a reasonable mileage cost.

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