Old but gold: Transcontinental on Delta's 757-200 in Delta One

Back in late 2024, I decided to hop on a transcontinental flight from Boston to Los Angeles. This flight was rather special: The particular aircraft I was on was 24 years young and still going strong - kind of.

Airline: Delta Air Lines (DAL)

Aircraft: Boeing 757-200

Flight Number: DL317

Route: Boston Logan (BOS) to Los Angeles Int’l (LAX)

Date of Flight: 19 November 2024

Class: Business/Delta One (J)

Seat: 2A

Review By: Haotian

For the avgeeks

Aircraft Registration: N722TW

Aircraft Age: 24 Years Old

Serial Number: 29385

Mode S: A9ACB8

Gate: A16

Twas an interesting flight!

Check-in and Lounge Experience

I arrived at Boston's Logan International Airport about 3 hours before the flight, where I found myself standing in a rather empty Terminal A. Check in was a breeze, with all the formalities being taken care of within a minute.

The check-in area of Delta at Boston Logan's Terminal A.

After clearing security, I was airside. A Delta One ticket grants you access to Delta's own lounge, the Delta Sky Club. The lounge in Boston was located about 10 minutes away from TSA. After a long stroll and zig-zagging through tunnels and corridors, I arrived at the lounge.

At first glance, the lounge seemed very unassuming, with a rather low-key entrance. However, once I took the elevator up to the lounge, what I was greeted with was a very spacious area with all sorts of beverages, but a rather limited breakfast offering of the usual suspects: Bacons, scrambled eggs, hash browns and whatnot. Amidst the rather crowded Sky Club, I found a rather quiet spot to rest before the flight.

Bar area of the Sky Club.

Plenty of coffee (and tea) for the weary travellers.

The Delta Sky Club at Terminal A also provided a pretty good view of the airport apron, where I caught a gimpse of my aircraft that would be ferrying me to the Los Angeles.

N722TW, the plane that would bring me all the way to LA.

Boarding had already begun as I reached the gate for the flight, A16. I joined the priority boarding line which a Delta One ticket warrants, and in no time, I was strutting down the jetway.

The seats on Delta's 757-200 are arranged in a 2-2 configuration, with a total of 4 rows. For this flight, I was seated on seat 2A, which was a window seat. Walking into the cabin, it was definitely showing its age, but it was still rather well-maintained for an aircraft with over 24 years of operations.

The Delta One section of the 757-200.

My seat for the flight, 2A.

Already waiting for me at the seat was a Missoni x Delta amenity kit, along with a pair of slippers, a bedding set, as well as two bottles of water and a pair of headphones. Delta really wants their passengers to stay hydrated!

All the goodies I was provided with for a 6 hour flight.

The amenity kits contained everything you could possibly need and more: A pair of socks, an eyeshade, a set of Grown Alchemist skincare, toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as a pair of earplugs and a pen. And to top it all off, a really unique box pouch that I still use now! (As of Fall 2025, Delta still provides Missoni amenity kits, though the contents and pouches are vastly different from this.)

The contents in the amenity kit were aplenty.

The seat came with headphone jacks, as well as a universal charging port and a USB port, along with seat controls for the lie-flat seat at the side. At the front was an IFE that was surprisingly responsive.

Tucked in the corner of the seat was another bottle of water and a pair of headphones, along with power ports.

The seat controls controlled the angle of the seat, the footrest and the lumbar support.

The IFE had a decent variety of shows and movies.

I was promptly offered a welcome drink after settling down into my seat, of which I opted for an orange juice. Pushback commenced right on time, and shortly after, we were blasting out of Boston.

So long, Boston!

After takeoff, I opted for a glass of ginger ale, which was served together with a small bowl of mixed nuts.

It was aight I guess?

Lunch was served a short while later. I had preordered the steak beforehand, and it was served alongside a garden salad and a plate of smoked salmon together with bread and butter. Whilst the presentation wasn't the best, the taste definitely made up for it.

A solid 7.5/10.

After the meal service, I paid a visit to the onboard restroom. It definitely was retro - but well equipped with hand soap, and a hand balm by Grown Alchemist.

The lavatory was equipped with the basic essentials.

An actual flush system in an aircraft kinda surprised me!

Halfway into the flight, a warm cookie was served. Nothing to write home about I guess.

Cookie at 37,000ft was somehow rather comforting.

The most of the flight was spent looking outside the window and enjoying the views.

Graaaaaaaaaand Canyon.

Wing view of the 757-200.

I awoke from a quick nap to find out we were already starting the descent into LAX. We passed over San Bernardino and Ontario before coming in to land, about 6 hours after we departed Boston.

San Bernardino Airport from above.

Conclusion

Delta has had a good and long run with the Boeing 757-200. Is it worth it for the mid-haul transcontinental flight? Well, it depends. If you're looking for a flight onboard a retro aircraft (like I did), definitely go for it. Otherwise, you'd be better off flying Delta One on Delta's other aircraft types with significantly better seats, like their Boeing 767s, rocking a 1-2-1 configuration instead of the 2-2 configuration found on the 757s.

The seats were pretty comfortable with everything you needed already provided. The meal served onboard was pretty standard, with a main meal and a snack service on this particular flight.

Final Rating: 7.9/10

Ground Experience: 8/10

Airport Lounge: 8.5/10

Seat: 7/10

Inflight Service: 8/10

Inflight Entertainment: 7/10

Inflight Meal: 8/10

Aircraft Cleanliness: 8/10

Amenities: 9/10

The Flight, In Fifteen Words:

Retro aircraft, nice airport lounge, average experience and service, not the best seats and catering.