Delta One Business Class: What It’s Like and How to Fly for Less

Delta is one of the largest and most reputable carriers in North America. It serves over 290 destinations worldwide. You can use its rewards currency, Delta SkyMiles, to visit 1,000 destinations worldwide on partner airlines.

The Delta SkyMiles program has its foibles (what loyalty program doesn’t?), but we still rank it among the best airline rewards programs in North America. Delta miles have a place in the utility belt of every points enthusiast.

When it comes to Delta’s business class product, however, Delta SkyMiles are less useful. That’s a shame because Delta has a stunning business-class product.

All to say, it takes a bit of strategy to book fancy Delta One seats at a reasonable price. Here’s everything you need to know.

What to know about flying Delta One business class

Delta business class is called Delta One. The airline differentiates Delta’s lie-flat business class seats from its regional domestic first-class seats (the standard oversized recliner chairs most U.S. carriers use for shorter-haul trips).

In other words, you’ll find Delta One on most international and long-haul domestic flights. You’ll find Delta One on the following aircraft:

• Airbus A350-900
• Airbus A330 (200, 300, 900neo)
• Boeing 767 (300ER, 400ER)
• Boeing 757-200

To boot, most of Delta’s Airbus A350 and A330-900 aircraft offer Delta One suites with full-height doors. They’re the best seats Delta has to offer.

The best routes to fly in Delta One

Delta One flies to several dozen destinations around the world, from Japan to South Africa to Iceland. Below are some guidelines on where you can typically find Delta One, though keep in mind that some routes may be seasonal. Delta also occasionally pulls service between certain cities.

Here are some fun routes you can book to give Delta One a whirl:

• New York (JFK) to Venice (VCE)
• Minneapolis (MSP) to Tokyo (HND)
• Los Angeles (LAX) to Paris (CDG)
• Atlanta (ATL) to Athens (ATH)
• Seattle (SEA) to Seoul (ICN)

These lengthy flights give you plenty of time to enjoy the fancy business class experience. Most of these routes are served by Delta’s Airbus A350 and A330-900 (the ones with suites).

What to expect when flying Delta One business class

Flying Delta One comes with all kinds of perks in addition to the Instagrammable airplane seat. Here’s what you can expect:

Check-in and security clearance

Delta One passengers receive Sky Priority services, which includes dedicated business class check-in counters and exclusive security lanes at certain airports during peak hours. These benefits have the potential to save you a lot of time.

You’ll also be one of the first to board the plane, in the Zone 1 boarding group. It gives you plenty of time to settle in and perhaps sip on a pre-departure drink before takeoff.

Luggage allowance

Delta One’s baggage allowance consists of a generous two free checked bags, up to 70 lbs each.

Those flying on an international Main Cabin (economy) ticket will usually get the first checked bag free (up to 50 lbs) but pay for the second — though there are some exceptions. 

For example, Main Cabin flyers will pay $100 for the second bag when flying to Paris and Cape Town; but they’ll get the second bag free when flying to Tokyo and Seoul.

Lounge access

If you’re traveling on a Delta One ticket, you can access three types of airport lounges:

• Delta One Lounges: There aren’t many of these, but they’re far and away Delta’s most upscale offering. Delta One Lounges are located in Boston (BOS), Los Angeles (LAX), and New York (JFK).
• Delta Sky Clubs: These are Delta’s standard lounges which you can enter when flying Delta One. They’re not quite as fancy as dedicated Delta One Lounges, but there are many of them. They often have good food, free alcohol, and a relatively quiet and comfortable place to sit and wait for your flight.
• SkyTeam airline partner lounges: You can access over 750 SkyTeam lounges worldwide when flying business class with a SkyTeam airline. Some of these lounges are REALLY nice, as they include dedicated business class lounges from other airlines, like Air France and Korean Air.

Seats

For the most part, you’ll find that Delta One cabins arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. However, some versions of Delta One are laid outd in a way that doesn’t guarantee direct-aisle access for every passenger. For example:

• One version of its 757-200 (75S) is in a 2-2- configuration
• One version of its A350-900 (35L) is in a 2-2-2 configuration

It’s kind of a drag to excuse yourself to get to the aisle in business class — but it still beats the tar out of economy.

In terms of seat space, you’ll find a pitch between 74-80 inches and a width of between 19-23 inches. It’s worth noting that 19 inches is astonishingly narrow for a business class seat; it’s rare to see anything less than 20 inches of width for a lie-flat seat.

Aside from this, Delta One seats are high quality and comfy. On certain ultra-long-haul flights, you’ll get a lumbar pillow that converts into a mattress pad, dramatically improving the comfort of the flatbed. You can adjust various segments of the seat independently.

Food and drink

Delta really gives its in-flight meals the college try. For transcontinental and international flights, you’ll get a pre-departure drink (usually a bottle of water), followed by a regionally inspired entrée with bread and a dessert. You can choose your meal up to seven days before departure.

Of course, you’ll also get your fill of an impressive selection of alcohol.

Delta also prides itself on its partnership with Thrive Farmers, allowing the airline to patronize independent farmers around the world to provide in-flight tea options. Delta One gets the largest variety, including Early Grey, Guizhou Green, Egyptian Chamomile, and Pacific Peppermint (all other cabins are offered English Breakfast).

Service, amenities, and in-flight entertainment

Delta Studio is Delta’s in-flight entertainment system. Waiting at your seat are noise-canceling headphones to use on your large (often touchscreen) seatback screen. It’s got hundreds of movies and TV shows powered by streaming services like Paramount+ and MasterClass. You can even watch up to 15 channels of live satellite TV on some aircraft.

You’ll also find an amenity kit by Missoni with Grown Alchemist skincare products inside.

The Delta One hard product is solid and competes with the best that other U.S. carriers have to offer — even surpassing the others when it comes to Delta One studios. Its soft product (i.e. the service) is competitive, as well, in my experience.

How much it costs to fly Delta One 

As with most airlines, the cash price for a Delta business-class seat is obscene. Expect to pay well over $2,000 each way for a lie-flat seat — the exception being for transcontinental flights and some routes to South America.

Because of these high cash prices, booking Delta One through your bank’s travel portal is almost always a bad idea. No matter which travel rewards currency you’ve got, you’ll get a value between 1-1.5 cents per point when redeeming for airfare (meaning you may need 200,000+ points to reserve a one-way business class flight).

Similarly, booking a Delta One award with Delta miles is equally obscene. Delta has devalued its rewards into oblivion — now SkyMiles are mostly useful for domestic economy flights instead of international business class. 

For example, a one-way business class from Atlanta (ATL) to Lima, Peru (LIM) costs an eye-watering 225,000 Delta miles.

But if you know some simple tricks, you can book Delta One at a fraction of that cost.

Case in point: You can book the exact same seat through Flying Blue for just 65,500 miles. That’s a saving of 159,500 miles.

How much it costs to upgrade to business class on Delta

It’s possible to upgrade your Delta seat after booking. But it’s typically not a blow-your-mind value.

The exact number of miles it takes to upgrade your Main Cabin seat to Delta One varies by route. You’ll have to check your specific trip to learn how much you’ll pay. Data points suggest you can expect to get a little over one cent per mile when using your rewards for a seat upgrade.

The same is true for cash upgrades — you’ll have no idea how much it will cost until you check. After you purchase your ticket, Delta may give you opportunities to buy an upgrade.

Unfortunately, you can only upgrade your seat with miles if you paid cash for your ticket. Award flights aren’t eligible. But if you have a Global or Regional Upgrade Certificate at your disposal (which you earn by achieving Delta elite status), you can use those to upgrade to a Delta One seat on award flights. 

Plus, Delta elite members and those that hold an eligible Delta credit card (such as the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card or Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card) are eligible for unlimited free upgrades to Delta One on long-haul domestic flights — including to Hawaii — when available. Upgrades are not guaranteed, but at least you have a shot.

How to save on Delta One business class tickets

Sales

Delta is one of the few airlines that routinely offers good flash sales, both for paid and award tickets. Still, when it comes to cash prices for Delta One seats, even a deeply discounted sale is too much for most of us.

On ultra-rare occasions, when the stars align and Mercury is in retrograde, you may spot a “mistake fare” for a Delta One seat. This is when a ticket is priced incorrectly — sometimes selling for thousands of dollars less than it should. Drop what you’re doing and purchase these fares if you spot them. They’re not always honored, so wait to make any other nonrefundable travel plans until Delta has confirmed your ticket.

Upgrades

You can upgrade a paid Delta ticket to Delta One with miles. It’s often not a stellar value, but it’s nice that Delta gives you the opportunity. If you find a low-priced Main Cabin fare, it could make sense to purchase it with cash and then upgrade your flight with Delta miles.

Alternatively, you could book a Main Cabin award flight and jump on a cash upgrade offer later.

Travel rewards

The thriftiest way to book Delta One is by redeeming miles for an award flight. Again, it’s a rarity that Delta itself offers the best award price. Try booking through partner airlines instead.

For example, Delta charges an unforgivable 405,000 miles for a Delta One flight between New York (JFK) and Senegal (DSS).

Delta partner program Flying Blue charges just 78,500 miles for the same flight. That’s a laugh-out-loud savings of 326,000 miles.

How to book Delta business class with points

You’ve noticed by now that there are multiple ways to reserve Delta business class with travel rewards. It’s important to know all your options.

How to book Delta One using your credit card portal

Because Delta One cash fares are so exorbitant, try to avoid booking through your credit card issuer’s travel portal.

Remember, travel rewards are worth between 1-1.5 cents each toward airfare, depending on your specific credit card. To book a $4,000 business class seat, you’d need:

• 400,000 points through Amex Travel if you hold the American Express® Gold Card or 242,424 points with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
• 266,667 points through Chase Travel if you hold the Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• 400,000 miles through Capital One Travel if you hold the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

In some cases, this may be less than Delta charges for an award flight. See if you can transfer your points to a Delta partner airline to reserve your seat for cheaper.

Which credit card points transfer to SkyMiles?

American Express Membership Rewards points are the only bank points that transfer to Delta SkyMiles. You can convert your points into Delta miles at a 1:1 ratio.

You can also transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Delta at a 3:1 ratio.

How to book Delta One business class using SkyMiles

Booking Delta One with SkyMiles is simple. Head to Delta.com, enter your travel info into the search function and tick the “Shop with miles” box.

If your travel dates aren’t chiseled in stone, you can also tick the “My dates are flexible” box to see a calendar view of available dates. Filter your results for Delta One to see business-class prices on the award calendar.

If you don’t have enough Delta SkyMiles for your flight, you can transfer points from American Express. It takes literally seconds. After you confirm your identity through a couple of authenticating steps, your miles will transfer (nearly) instantly.

What other loyalty programs can you use to book Delta One business class?

You can book Delta One seats through SkyTeam partners such as:

• Flying Blue (the loyalty program of Air France and KLM)
• Korean Air SkyPass
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

How to book Delta One business class using points from a partner airline

Again, partner airlines almost always charge less for Delta One than Delta itself. The danger is exorbitant taxes and fees that some partners pass along to you. They may be worth paying in some instances, but you’ll have to do the math.

For example, a Delta One seat from Detroit (DTW) to Paris (CDG) sells for $3,741. Delta charges 335,000 miles and $5.60, giving you a value of 1.11 cents per mile.

You can book the exact same seat through Virgin Atlantic for 47,500 miles and $1,053.50 in fees. That’s a whole lot of cash — but it’s an exponentially better value per mile (5.65 cents each). If you can swing the out-of-pocket, the math says to do it.

Tips for finding business class award availability on Delta

There isn’t exactly a trick to finding Delta One award availability — Delta doesn’t lack award seats. The problem is the price.

If you foresee booking Delta One with Delta SkyMiles, you’ve got to have an American Express Delta credit card. Delta credit cards offer an automatic 15% discount on Delta-operated award flights — which can save you tens of thousands of miles, depending on the route.

Should you book Delta One business class?

Sipping prosecco in a Delta One seat is a great way to spend a long-haul flight. If you can manage to book a Delta One studio, you’ll experience Delta’s top-tier seat. All the better if you fly out of an airport that houses a premium Delta One Lounge.