Skyteam Member Delta Airlines services a few select destinations to their hub cities in Seattle, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Minneapolis St Paul and Atlanta, United States of America. As Skyteam doesn’t have a great presence in Canada, and a less aspirational airline alliance, as Canadians we don’t typically tend to use them. Today, we’d be flying them almost directly from our home on the west coast of Canada in Vancouver, to the East Coast of the United States; ending in New York City La Guardia.

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This post is one chapter on our trip to New York City, New York, United States of America. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status and credited to Alaska Mileage Plan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Review: Delta Airlines First Class E175, Vancouver International Airport – Minneapolis St Paul International Airport

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After MrsWT73’s Christmas party the night before under a rarely snowy Vancouver, we self drove ourselves to the Vancouver International Airport.

Checking into Delta Airlines Business Class:

On arrival to the Vancouver International Airport, the Delta Airlines Sky Priority Check in was completely deserted today and we used the kiosks to get the boarding cards prior to having our bags tagged. We have been doing carry on only most of the time, but since this trip was designed as a shopping trip, we elected to check a mostly empty additional suitcase for items returning to Vancouver at the end of our shopping extravaganza.

The Vancouver International Airport had some festive decorations up which made the holiday mood a little more cheery. Unfortunately, for some reason, there was a terribly long line at the international departure with a lot of asian bound flights departing today.

The Vancouver International Airport has US Customs Pre-Clearance and with Global Entry and Nexus. By being set up with a US Pre-Clearance of US Customs and Border Protection examination in Vancouver, we were able to land in the United States without further examination. We bypassed a security line of about 75 passengers waiting for security screening and were through directly to the front of the queue. Unlike TSA Pre-Check, the Nexus line does not offer expedited (shoes on, laptops in the bag) screening, but rather just dumps you at the front of the line.

Delta First Class doesn’t get you into any lounges in Vancouver so we had some Tim Horton’s breakfast sandwiches prior to getting on the flight. While there is a Plaza Premium Lounge Vancouver Transborder, access isn’t provided complimentary for Delta Airlines passengers.

The inbound flight was delayed a little bit – only about 15 minutes. The ground staff did an excellent job to turn the aircraft around quickly.

Delta Airlines
Compass Airlines Operated as Delta Connection
First Class
YVR-MSP (Vancouver International Airport – Minneapolis St Paul)
DL 5718
December 10, 2016
Booked: Embraer RJ 175
Flown: Embraer RJ175
Departure: 12:48PM
Arrival: 6:08 PM

On Board Delta Airlines First Class:

When it came time to board, we boarded at the First Class call. Once on board, all the bin space was already gone so we had to store our rolling suitcase under the seat option. The Delta Airlines First Class cabin on the Embraer 175 is set up with a 1 – 2 configuration. Our seats were on the right hand side of the aircraft in the bank of two.

There is also no closet on this particular aircraft so I had our winter coats piled up on the arm rest next to the window.

While the Delta Airlines First Class seats were more comfortable than economy, the seats themselves are regional jet seats that are comfortable for shorter flights. I found them a little thinly padded compared to many of the competitors that offer a larger and more comfortable first class seat.

Pre Departure Services:

A pre-departure beverage of Dasani bottled water was offered with a polite announcement that the pre departure beverage bar service would start once airborne to ensure the on time departure of the aircraft. This is pretty standard although our bottles were actually cold as opposed to the room temperature offering on most aircraft.

We had a pleasant crew and the aircraft door closed only 8 minutes behind the posted schedule.

Getting Underway:

We departed Vancouver International Airport on runway 8L. This was unusual as it’s usually 8R as the assigned departure runway. This simple act saved us a twenty minute taxi across to the other side of the terminal. There were several aircraft a head of us in a very wet and damp Vancouver.

Once we got to altitude, a bar and beverage service was offered. I started with a Gin and Tonic.

A small towel service was offered with tongs from the tray. The towel was pretty small and a lot smaller than those received on international wide body first class. At least the towel service was over quickly.

The Meal: A Lunch “Snack”

Today’s meal was a soft version of a full lunch. I’m not quite sure what to make of the light lunch and whether it was enough food for a three hour and thirty minute flight. The lunch snack consisting of a cold Prawn and Orzo salad, or Chicken Bbq sliders with coleslaw and fruit. I had the Chicken BBQ sliders and they were remarkably tasty for a regional service. It was much better tasting, and a lot less bizarre, than the Alaska Airlines meals we’ve had lately.

Despite the Chicken BBQ Sliders being tasty, it wasn’t all that plentiful in quantity. As a result, I was still pretty hungry when the flight ended.

The drinks were refreshed and I enjoyed another Gin and Tonic as the sun slowly set outside.

We arrived to a very dark and bleak Minneapolis; which was well covered in snow on the ground with full winter darkness outside.

My Thoughts on the Delta Airlines Transborder Experience:

In summary, it was a pretty straight forward Delta Airlines First Class flight. There wasn’t much available bin space and the Embraer aircraft was pretty compact for a longer and almost four hour flight. The bonuses were the reasonable fare from Vancouver, the tasty catering, and the fact that my glass was never empty. 

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If you regularly fly transborder between Canada and the United States, do you frequent Delta Airlines or do you go with United or American?

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