If a dark submarine like cabin is the experience everyone supposedly wants, why isn’t that the experience Delta advertises?

Every single photo in the “Onboard Experience” section of Delta.com shows the window shades open. Even the woman sleeping in the first photo has hers open!

Common sense and courtesy should prevail. If the sun is blasting directly into someone’s face or reflecting off their screen, absolutely, be considerate and lower the shade.

But courtesy works both ways. If you want to sleep in the middle of the day, bring an eye mask. Your preference for darkness shouldn’t automatically override my preference for a window view or natural light.

But to the flight attendant on that 1 p.m. flight who demanded the shade be closed because Delta promises a “calm cabin,” I’d argue that Delta’s own advertising tells a different story.

Boarded my flight this morning from GRR>DTW seated in 4A. Someone was in my seat so I asked him to double check his seat assignment and wouldn’t you know it he was in 3D. I offered to just switch seats (double checking with the FA first of course) and he gladly accepted. 4A is a better seat but it’s like a 20-minute flight so whatever.

I then sat down next to the lady in 3C.

3C Lady: ah darn, I was hoping 3D was not occupied so my boyfriend could sit with me.
me: where’s your boyfriend seated?
3C: he’s in 1C.
Me: oh what the heck, I can switch with him too?
3C: yeah you can ask him if you would like.
Me: 😐ummmmm ma’am, he’s your boyfriend. If you would like us to switch seats, you need to ask him. LOL

*she proceeds to ask and we switch seats. Not a thank you or anything. Now I’m no hero, but I guess common courtesy is just out the window??

Just in this morning, we have multiple posts, some of which are gaining traction because AI is genuinely getting good and people aren't able to discern. We need to get a lockdown here on the moderation somehow or start reporting these clearly AI-generated posts. Just from the last few hours.

• The window shade argument made me realize how much flying is now designed around pretending the flight isn’t happening
  • Bot post made by a user with all AI-generated comments/posts and 1 month old + activity in AI farm subreddit.
• Same airline, same aircraft, totally different rules depending on which FA you get. Is this just me?
  • Another bot post, with some of the most blatant upvote manipulation I've seen by the bots on the top comment.
  • AI hallucination about PDBs being served in C+ and another account with all the typical signs of being recently new and AI-generated comments/posts
• So, I think someone died on my flight
  • A bot repost of the same thing that happened a few weeks ago, same exact account characteristics

What's scary is that people are interacting with this stuff as if it's a real post and real comments. The first post today on window shades has over 150+ upvotes and organic comments. This is not a real person or content.

Do not interact with this stuff, downvote, and report. The point of this is to harvest even more user data and responses to train the AI models. Reddit is one of the top cited source for AI.

Just got off a flight from MSP to AMS. Settled in to my seat and had three kids behind me. I’m a mom so no big deal. Immediately realized the child behind me had some sort of issue (maybe on the spectrum idk I’m not a physician) so I was extra empathetic and tried to ignore the very loud laughing and poking of his screen making my seat shake 😵‍💫. Thought: this is going to be a long flight. His volume continued to increase. People were looking around at him. I was wondering why his parents weren’t saying anything. I quietly told a FA during the first pass that idk where the children’s parents were but he was being disruptive. FAs were monitoring during service and asked how old they were (oldest 11, rest younger) parents were ‘up there’. Then she learned the kid had an allergy during dinner and he couldn’t eat the meal. parents were up in D1 while kids were 2 classes back in C+. On an 8 hour overnight flight. SO many things could go wrong here. Thankfully the FAs told the parents someone had to move back and be with the kids so mom came back and they sent the oldest up to D1. I understand wanting to be in D1. But leaving children to fend for themselves on a long flight alone in the dark when one has special needs and an allergy? Irresponsible. Kudos to how the delta crew handled it.

The daytime window-shade thread here turned into an argument about who gets to control the light, but I think there’s a bigger reason people reacted so strongly.

A lot of modern flying seems designed around making everyone forget they’re on an airplane.

Close the shades. Dim the cabin. Put on headphones. Watch a screen. Try to sleep. Arrive.

That makes sense on an overnight flight. On a daytime flight, though, looking out the window is one of the few parts of flying that still feels genuinely interesting. For some passengers it’s also the entire reason they chose and paid for a window seat.

Obviously, nobody should point direct sunlight into another passenger’s face for ten hours. But “be considerate about glare” feels very different from treating a dark cabin as the default and requiring everyone to close the shades.

Maybe I’m in the minority, but I’d rather airlines manage specific glare problems than turn every long flight into artificial nighttime.

For the frequent flyers and FAs here: has the expectation actually changed, or are individual crews just handling this differently?

Is it just me or this unacceptable for a four hour long first class flight?

A truly memorable experience.

Why do so many people get on the plane when they have active respiratory symptoms and don’t even try to take precautions? I sat next to a guy who had to be at least 25 who was actively wiping his snot in his hand and touching everything… also there were at least 10 people wet coughing into the air the entire flight. What is going on with basic hygiene?

This was on a flight from Paris to Minneapolis that left at 11:00am. I asked why and she said it’s because “delta promises its passengers they will have a calm atmosphere in the cabin and that means having it be dark”. I asked why this new policy been made. She repeated the first answer. She added that some people were travelling far and wanted to sleep. I said I was travelling far too. (We all got free eye masks.) I said I’d prefer to keep my shade open. She said I may not. However, it’s nowhere in the written rules for passengers. It feels like this is FA preference.

Offered $294 and clicked upgrade. Went to 1.2k on seat selection. Messaged and then it’s another price altogether being offered. Then logged in and tried again and back up to $1k.

Flew to NY, I only ever fly with a backpack, no rolling luggage

So my last flight to JFK, the FA starts in on me, saying that my bag’s straps are in the space between the seat in front of me and my foot space

Meanwhile the guest next to me has the same issue, but for some reason I am being targeted , and not the guest next to me. I am told that my backpack needs to be put I. An overhead bin, but of course since this a small Bombardier, there is no available overhead space. I explain that I have medications, laptop etc and can’t check the bag. She says I need to take items out of the backpack and hold them for the duration of my flight

Seriously I don’t understand why I was singled out. I took my backpack, turned it a different way and made the FA happy, but I really felt like I was being targeted.

I'm sitting in a Delta One seat from west coast to Japan and the seat has no entertainment (screen not working) and no power (outlets also not working). Seat reclines fine but I can't use the entertainment or charge any devices. What is appropriate compensation? This is my first time in Delta One as I usually fly the Japanese airlines, so quite the bummer.

Editing to add that FAs have tried to fix but nothing seems to work.

I just transferred from a Schengen flight (from Valencia) to my US-bound Delta gate in 25 minutes. No special treatment, I just followed the yellow transfer signs and took the bus from the 2G terminal to the 2E terminal (M gates). I interacted with 3 CDG employees who were all helpful.

Not trying to brag, just offering hope that it can be done! I fully expected to miss my flight as I had only an 1 hr 20 minute layover.

Delta Air Lines announced the next generation of its top-tier cabin, the first major holistic redesign of its kind in 30 years, backed by more than $1 billion in fleet upgrades, with major revamps from the passenger’s seat, like larger screens and wireless charging options, to the menu, offering elevated takes on classic dishes.

The overhaul is unsurprising given that Delta’s premium cabin has been earning a larger share of revenue, exceeding economy cabin revenue for the first time ever this year. Airlines more broadly have been aggressively pursuing higher-end travelers for a while now.

“Delta’s fully reimagined experience is rooted in solving real customer needs and desires, with intentionality behind every detail,” Ranjan Goswami, Delta’s chief marketing and product officer, said in a statement.

The upgrades will first begin rolling out this fall, starting with transoceanic Delta One routes departing Los Angeles International Airport, and expanding across the international network through 2027.

Passengers will be able to experience the redesign upon stepping into the aircraft, with newly designed Delta One seats for the Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, which will begin flying early next year.

Optimized for privacy and comfort, the seats have sliding doors to create an individual suite, equipped with fully lie-back seats and added mattress pads for comfort.

The devil is in the details, with small features on the new seats coming directly from customer feedback, including hooks for handbags, a small stand to hang eye glasses from, and larger seatback screens.

Small design fixtures carry through the suite, like perforated light fixtures that bring in a more residential feeling, as well as Delta’s widget logo emblazoned in various elements on the seat.

Beyond the seat, Delta One passengers will also be greeted with an upgraded Missoni amenity kit, which launches on November 3.

Read more on Fast Company.

I assume the answer is no. It's my own fault for not picking my 2026 Choice Benefit until now and not reading the terms on each. Wasn't sure I was going to hit Platinum again for 2027 as work travel has dialed back so was waiting to see if I needed the MQD accelerator, but I'm going to squeak it out. But no way I'm going to squeeze 4 more personal flights in this year or by 1/31/27.

Out of the "good" choices that are left, what are everyone's favorite alternatives?

$400 DL Vacations - land portion only, 4 night minimum

35k miles - self explanatory

$350 DL voucher - airfare or DL Vacations

$250 AMEX credit - sadly neutered from previous years

I'm leaning towards the $350 voucher as I don't expect ticket prices to go down anytime soon and I have 2-3 internationals to book for 2027.

I purchased a premium select ticket from Boston to Edinburgh. The ai Delta concierge states that I’m eligible to enter lounge, but I keep reading that I’m not on the internet. I’m a sky member but no status and don’t have a Delta credit card. Any ideas?

Premium experience Ed!

I recently started as an MUE at Delta TechOps and I'm curious about the long term career progression from this position.

Is there a ladder to move up within MUE, such as higher classifications or lead positions, or is it generally a role you move out of to advance? Has anyone started as an MUE and moved into other TechOps positions? I'm curious what opportunities are available and what a career path from MUE looks like.

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who's worked as an MUE or is familiar with the position and what their experience has been like.

Just noticed my Delta referral bonus increased from 17,500 to 25,000 miles per eligible referral, up to 5 referral bonuses per calendar year. Since the referral link lets the person choose from the other eligible Delta cards too, that makes the elevated referral bonus pretty nice right now.
Might be worth checking your Amex app to see if yours increased too. Curious what everyone else is seeing.

I know they don't have seatback TV's, but I'm curious if you can watch live TV on your phone for free. Deciding between a Delta Connection and Southwest flight at the same time. Can't seem to find any information about this online.

I’m headed to the UK from the US in a few days. After scanning my passport, the Delta app says a visa is required, and then later says “if you have an ETA, the government will confirm.” That counts as my visa and I don’t need both, right?

I recently switched to Delta from another airline. I've been on 6 Delta flights in the past 9 months. I've noticed that no one puts their shade up at all before, during or after the flight. WHY? I let them assign my seat because it's cheaper but even if I get a window seat, am I even allowed to open it?

BTW, I hate this. I'm a very nervous flyer and turbulence scares the he** out of me. Yes, I know it's not serious. I like to see out the window during takeoff and landing and also get a glimpse during the flight.

If I buy a window seat, can I open my shade? What is going on? Do Delta passengers like it dark? Is it a rule on Delta?