DL235 MAN-JFK 5 DEC 15 (Economy)

We decided to visit NYC recently having made the decision as far ago as last March to visit before Christmas for a short break. This presented a choice on who to fly with. As MAN was our local airport it made sense to use one of the direct flights that exist between MAN and NYC - AA, Delta and Thomas Cook fly to JFK and United to EWR, along with Jet2's Christmas shopper specials to EWR. Having assessed the options and the prices, we decided to fly with Delta given that they worked out the best option overall in terms of prices and on-board service in Economy - a decision made easier having personally canvassed a few work colleagues who have experience of AA, Delta and United when travelling to the US on business. An added incentive was the opportunity to earn VS FC miles.

DL had previously operated MAN-JFK in the last decade but pulled it a few years ago, however as part of the joint venture with VS it was restarted in May with a daily 757, with DL in turn transferring their long-running MAN-ATL route to VS. I was keen to see how well this route was performing and to see whether the feedback I had received about Delta being the best of the 3 US carriers that serve MAN in Economy were true.

Fast forward to the 5th December and we arrived at MAN some time after 8am. DL use T2 at MAN alongside VS and it was clear that the JV has seen some consolidations in terms of ground activity. VS and DL now share the same check-in desks at MAN as well as ground staff. Having joined the separate queue specifically for the JFK flight to be asked various security questions, we checked in and went through security using the FastTrack passes before grabbing some breakfast. After breakfast, I ambled over to the gate to see that N712TW had arrived on the DL234 from JFK and would therefore operate our flight today. Boarding started promptly after 9.30am and we were ready to go with a few minutes to spare. It was a very busy flight as there were only a handful of seats spare. Shortly after pushback, the hilarious safety video was played and we taxied to the runway for take-off.

If anyone is interested in the safety video, here's a link to it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfFHn6DxvEg

Shortly after take-off they came round with drinks before lunch. There was about 3 options for lunch, so I opted for the veg lasagne which wasn't too shabby. After lunch, they came round with another drinks run and I then settled down to watch various videos on the iPad and on the IFE system. The IFE on Delta is pretty good as there's a good range of choice and Wi-Fi is available for a fee.

The majority of the flight went by without event save for the odd bout of minor turbulence. With less than an hour to go before landing, the crew came round with the afternoon snack run. I opted for the turkey sandwich. Soon enough, we began to start our descent into JFK and landed just a few minutes behind schedule.

After arriving on stand, we disembarked quickly and walked for what seemed like miles from our stand in T4 to the immigration hall. As we had valid ESTA's from our various trips to the USA over the last 15 months, we went to the kiosks for returning ESTA visitors and were processed quickly. A wait of about 10-15mins then ensued for our bags and then once collected we joined the queue for a taxi into Manhattan.

Overall, it was a very good flight and lived up to expectations. A return TR is to follow.

[buns]

Thanks for the TR.

Interesting your comments about the effects of the JV at Manchester.

As for the safety video - perhaps VS will pick up on how Delta put in little sight gag elements, which of course keeps your attention

buns

Thanks for a TR.

It's great isn't it that this route seems to be doing well. Personally wish that VS would take it over but that might happen in the future, though I would rather have the route with DL than not at all.

A 76W on the route will also boost cargo revenue too.

Interesting your comments about the effects of the JV at Manchester.

As for the safety video - perhaps VS will pick up on how Delta put in little sight gag elements, which of course keeps your attention

Yes I too found it interesting when I saw a mix of VS and DL staff at both the check-in desks and at the gate.

Completely agree with the safety video. It makes even the most frequent of flyers sit up and pay attention.

Thanks for a TR.

It's great isn't it that this route seems to be doing well. Personally wish that VS would take it over but that might happen in the future, though I would rather have the route with DL than not at all.

A 76W on the route will also boost cargo revenue too.

Agreed entirely. It goes to show that long-haul flights from the regions can work, especially from MAN. With AA also now using the 767 on some days and with Thomas Cook entering the scene this year with A330s, it shows there's a strong market from MAN. I agree that a DL presence is better than nothing at all and the fact it's being upgauged shows that it's doing well.

Mind you, if VS take over JFK, would it mean ATL reverting to DL or DL opening a new route from MAN? Not sure if any other DL hub sticks out that could work.

Given the competition on the MAN-NYC route, I'm not sure if it can justify more than 1 flight a day per carrier at this stage - I know United used to run double-daily MAN-EWR, but the second frequency was replaced with a flight to IAD (IIRC, not long after bmi pulled all their long-haul routes from MAN).