I just returned from London, and I have to tell you all about the best airport lounge and the strangest airplane seating arrangement. My husband and I flew from Denver to Boston on United (no, that wasn’t the strange seating). 

 

The Best Airport Lounge

I have been bragging ad nauseam about the Delta Sky Club in Boston. Located in Terminal E, it spans nearly 21,000 square feet and offers seating for over 400 guests. The decor is gorgeous, featuring curated art pieces and an unmatched style. Delta has opened a new premium “Delta One” lounge connected to this Sky Club, and this was my second time visiting it.

The Delta One lounge is like going to a fancy restaurant in a big city before boarding a flight. I no longer eat on a VA flight out of Boston, preferring the superb dining experience in the lounge. This time, my husband was with me and he was equally impressed with the Sky Club and the Delta One dining experience, branding it “the best lounge you’ve ever taken me to”. High praise indeed!

This time we ate the following:

• Lee: Boston clam chowder, salad, Lobster Roll, strawberry rhubarb pie with strawberry sorbet
• Me: Corn chowder, wagyu flank steak and frites, the same yummy dessert

 

 

 

 

Worth a Positioning Flight

One of the reasons that I fly out of Boston to London is that I can often find a 29K seat on Virgin Atlantic. The surcharges have increased so I will have to see if this is still a great option for me. 

This time, as I was flying to Boston, knowing I had a 6-hour layover in Boston before my flight, I thought, “Is this worth it for me to have this long of a layover to save this much money?” I spent 2 hours in the Delta One Lounge eating dinner, leaving me about 3 hours in the Sky Club to do work, catch up on correspondence, and surf the internet. It flew by! The setting I was in was beautiful, and I thought to myself, “Yep, totally worth it!”

 

The Strangest Airplane Seating Ever

I had told my husband how much I love the Virgin Atlantic business class seating. Not only did we find a cheap redemption, but I have flown it twice and LOVED it, including a door that closes. We walked on, and I thought I was in the Twilight Zone. What airplane was I on? What type of business class seating was this?

There were columns of seating in a staggered manner. It was bizarre-looking, and you could tell that everyone else was confused, too. I asked a flight attendant, and she told me it was an old aircraft that they occasionally fly. It is the old Airbus 330 called the Diamond Lady. It feels like you are on a school bus with the person behind you looking over your shoulder. Completely strange to me. It turns out the seats are angled toward the aisle to ensure direct aisle access and reasonable privacy. However, most people thought the privacy was minimal and the seats felt claustrophobic.

There is no storage whatsoever. The seat folds down to create a flat bed, and the entertainment screen is quite small. I’m not sure where the dining table was stored as I slept during both meals. I will say that I slept very well. Bizarre seating with very little privacy, but great sleeping!

It turns out no one loved this design, and I had just (luckily) never flown it before. It wouldn’t stop me from flying them again, especially for a 29K business class redemption, but it isn’t my favorite.

 

 

 

 

Bottom Line

This trip was a mixture of the good, the bad, and the ugly for me: a good (really great) lounge and bad and ugly business class seating. However, at 29K to fly across the pond to London, I’ll take it. Again and again.

 

Related Posts

Delta Sky Club Boston Review

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Review