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Delta Premium Select Cabin

Review: What to Expect When Flying Delta Premium Select

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It's certainly not a lie-flat bed you'll get flying up in Delta One business class, but it's far better than flying back in economy. Delta Premium Select is a very comfortable seat for your next long-haul Delta flight – if you can get it at the right price.

That's my verdict after flying Delta Premium Select, the airline's name for premium economy twice in a five-day span across the Atlantic Ocean and back. The seats are far more spacious – with more legroom and wider, too – than even Delta Comfort Plus. Extra benefits like Sky Priority Access were nice. But after huge pandemic cutbacks, the food and service are still much closer to what you'll get in economy. 

Still, there's no doubt in my mind: Premium Select is absolutely worth it when the price is right. It's a big step above a standard economy seat.

Here's my full Delta Premium Select review after flying both the brand new A330-900neo and an older A330-300 between Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) and Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) in February.

 

How to Book Delta Premium Select

Premium Select is Delta's name for the premium economy seats that more and more airlines are rolling out. So go figure the best way to book is at Delta.com.

There aren't any great ways to book a Premium Select seat through Delta's partners – especially if you're aiming to use miles. And we never suggest booking flights through other websites or online travel agencies.

These days, you'll find Premium Select seats on almost every flight heading across the Atlantic Ocean, over the Pacific, or even many flights down to South America. When you search for Delta flights, the Premium Select seats should be easy to find under the red tab on each flight.
Delta fare structure

As you can see, Premium Select is a far cut below Delta One. Yet it's typically significantly more expensive than the economy cabin fare classes and even Delta Comfort Plus.

When you choose your fares, you'll see the “Sky Priority” banner at checkout. We'll touch more on that benefit later.
Delta Premium Select fare

You can also use your Delta SkyMiles to book Delta Premium Select on the same flights.
Delta Premium Select SkyMiles fares

If those SkyMiles and cash rates look insanely high to you, you're not wrong. But it doesn't have to be that way. Amid a slew of cheap premium economy fares abroad, our team at Thrifty Traveler Premium have found some amazing deals flying Delta Premium Select over to Europe for as low as $500 or so.
Delta Premium Select Premium deal

These Thrifty Traveler Premium+ deals are no longer available. Make sure you're signed up for Premium+ so you don't miss the next one!

In fact, I made this review by booking this exact same deal, flying Delta Premium Select from Minneapolis to Paris and onward to Copenhagen (CPH) for just $677 roundtrip!

At Thrifty Traveler, we don't accept freebies. We use our own points, miles, or cash to pay for every single flight or hotel you see reviewed here – including this one!

If you'd rather use your SkyMiles, we find great Delta award deals for our Thrifty Traveler Premium+ members. And they don't get much better than this: Fly Premium Select from almost every airport in the U.S. to any major city in western Europe for just 90,000 SkyMiles roundtrip!
Delta Premium Select SkyMiles deal

Get cheap flights, SkyMiles deals, and other award alerts to use your points and miles with Thrifty Traveler Premium+!

 

Check-In and Sky Priority Benefits at the Airport

One of the best features of the Delta Premium Select cabin is you get Sky Priority perks both in the U.S. and abroad, getting you through security and immigration even faster – maybe even a free pass to an airport lounge.

Sky Priority gives you priority check-in and security here in the states as well as expedited customs and immigration access at participating airports in Europe like Paris (CDG) and Amsterdam (AMS).

At Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), we were able to use the Sky Priority check-in area to get checked in without standing in any line whatsoever.
SkyPriority check-in

Here are some more details from Delta about who is eligible for Sky Priority and what it can do for you when traveling.
Sky Priority details from Delta's website

In addition to the dedicated check-in areas, fast-track security, and priority boarding, Sky Priority also gives you expedited bag service – meaning your bags are the first ones out if you've checked luggage.

Plus, you might even get some free lounge access over in Europe. As we made our way back home from Copenhagen (CPH) to Paris (CDG) before connecting to our Delta Premium Select flight to Minneapolis, the gate agent told us we got access to the Aviator Business Class Lounge – a separate space from the Aviator Lounge available to all Priority Pass members.
CPH business lounge

While Sky Priority alone won't get you into the Delta Sky Club or guaranteed lounge access at Amsterdam (AMS) or Paris (CDG), it was a nice surprise to be granted lounge access before at least one segment of our trip.

In some ways on the journey, like with our lounge access, it felt like a business class seat. But in other ways, it's very economy.

For instance, for our connection to and from Copenhagen on Delta partner Air France, we were firmly in economy – and it's just about as simple an economy seat as there is.
Air France connection

On most of these short-haul Air France and KLM flight within Europe, “business class” is just economy with slightly better service and a blocked middle seat anyway. But we didn't even get that.

It's a bit better if you're connecting within the U.S. on Delta: You'll be seated in Delta Comfort Plus. That's a downgrade from years ago, when Premium Select passengers got to fly first class on their domestic connections.
Air France connection

While the connections are in economy, Sky Priority can still be a huge help when making connections at massive hubs like Paris or Amsterdam. The priority check-in is also really convenient when overseas, too.

 

Delta Premium Select Seats

Let's get the main event: Delta Premium Select seats.

If you're paying for a Delta Premium Select fare, this is what you're paying for. The Premium Select seat itself is quite nice and comfortable –  especially if you're traveling with someone else.
Premium Select notes

No matter which plane you're on, you'll find fewer seats in each row of the Premium Select cabin than back in economy or even Comfort Plus – and that's a recipe for wider seats. Delta's Airbus A350s are laid out in a 2-4-2 configuration in Premium Select, while A330s have 2-3-2 seating. The Boeing 767s that have Premium Select installed, meanwhile, have just six seats in each row in a 2-2-2 configuration.

Typically, you'll find just a few rows of Delta Premium Select separated by a divider before the economy cabin. That makes it a fairly intimate, exclusive area of the plane.
Delta Premium Select cabin

If you're traveling as a couple or a duo, the two seats on the side are perfect. That is how my wife and I traveled to Paris and back. Aside from the seat itself, having a row to ourselves made it even more comfortable.
Delta Premium Select seats

The seats come with significantly more legroom than you'll find in economy – though clearly not the nearly limitless legroom you get in Delta One. On the Airbus A330-300, for example, each Premium Select seat gets 38 inches of legroom compared to the 32 inches of space back in economy.

Your screen is still on the seatback in front of you, meaning the traveler ahead of you can still recline their seat into your space – and these seats have more generous recline than your typical economy seat.
Delta Premium Select seats

The seats are a massive upgrade from economy, with a little extra width and significantly more padding. Most Premium Select seats measure in at about 18 1/2 inches wide, a valuable half-inch more than your standard economy seat flying with Delta.
Delta Premium Select seats close-up

The headrests are pretty plush and the seats themselves are nice and new.
Delta Premium Select headrest and seat

The seats also come with a footrest which you can see I put out here. This feature was not something I knew I loved until flying premium economy seats that had them. It's really nice to take that strain off your legs during a long flight.
Delta Premium Select footrest

Unlike business class seats that recline with the push of a button, these seats are not motorized. The recline, footrests, and leg rests are all analog, as you can see here. That means, you push the button and then push back on your seat to make it recline. The footrests automatically pop out and release when you push these buttons, too. They're fairly easy to use.
Seat controls on Delta Premium Select

Let's talk about that legroom again, because it's really nice. I'm six feet tall and I had plenty of room to extend and even cross my legs in Premium Select, even when there's something in the pocket in front of me.
Legroom in Delta Premium Select

On our return journey, we chose bulkhead seats at the front of the Premium Select cabin with even more legroom and space.
Bulkhead legroom on Delta Premium Select

One of my favorite aspects of the Premium Select seat is the enormous TV screens. Clocking in at 13.3 inches, it's the biggest screen I've ever seen in the sky outside the business class cabin.
Delta Premium Select seat back screens

Both seats also had access to their own power port, which included a USB and a traditional plug-in at each port. That's in addition to the USB port on the screen itself, a staple of Delta's seatback screens.
Delta Premium Select outlets

The entertainment system on both legs of the flight was slick. Each Delta leg of the journey had access to almost 600 movies, 62 TV shows, and 123 different audio offerings as well.
Delta Premium Select entertainment screen

The movie selection was robust, including tons of new releases and many, many classics, too. Ticket to Paradise, a rom-com with George Clooney and Julia Roberts set in Bali, was a perfect, easy-watching airplane movie, by the way.
Delta Premium Select movie options

In the bulkhead, the screens must be stowed during takeoff and landing and come out from underneath the middle console for both seats. They are the same size as the seatback screens, so you're not getting shorted there, though it can be annoying to stow them at the beginning and end of the flight.
Delta Premium Select bulkhead

While the A330-300 had your average flight tracking maps, the updated in-flight entertainment system on the A330-900neo meant there's an incredibly flight tracking system. It had so many different functions and views that I played with it for a solid 45 minutes on the way to Paris.
Flight tracker on A330-900 neo

To access the tray table in your seat, you have to pull another little analog lever to pop your tray table out.
Tray table on Delta Premium Select

Then you pull it out and you can either keep it at half-width if you're just holding a drink and/or snack.
Delta Premium Select tray table

Or you can pull it all the way out and have it cover the width of your seat.
Full tray table on Delta Premium Select

The middle console is also fairly roomy, offering another spot to put your phone or rest a drink.
Middle armrest Delta Premium Select

Underneath the console there are afew different storage areas, including this little space for tablets or books. It also pops up so you can access them more easily.
Book and tablet storage area Delta Premium Select

In the front of the console is a little water bottle holder, too. Next to that is a remote that powers you flight attendant call button, your reading light, and can control your seatback screen. The screen controls are a little clunkier than the touch screen functionality, though.
Delta Premium Select water bottle holder and remote control

Overhead is nothing special. Just a few air vents and your reading lights along with the no smoking and seatbelt signs.
Overhead vents Delta Premium Select

Wi-Fi onboard the flights was fairly expensive. On the way to Paris, simple Wi-Fi was $22 … while upgrading to the full, streaming speed Wi-Fi clocked in at $40 for the full, one-way flight.
Delta Premium Select streaming wifi

On international journeys, Delta's new free Wi-Fi service for SkyMiles members does not yet apply. The airline is aiming to roll that out by the end of 2024.

 

Delta Premium Select Amenities

Beyond the extra legroom, flyers in Delta Premium Select get some extra goodies.

When you get to your Premium Select seat, you get a business class-style amenity kit for your journey. While it's not filled with all the bells and whistles of a business class kit, it was still branded “Delta One” on the packaging.

You also get a decent set of Delta headphones, a really comfortable and nice memory foam pillow, and a blanket that wasn't paper thin … but also not exactly substantial, either.
Delta Premium Select amenities

The amenity kits from Someone Somewhere were much better than I expected. They don't have zippers, which was unusual for an amenity kit – just the cloth topper with the shoelace-like string to hold it together.
Delta Premium Select amenity kit

Inside was a toothbrush, a pen, a sleep mask, some earplugs, and some creams from the Grown Alchemist. It was plenty substantial for a premium economy amenity kit, in my opinion.
Delta Premiium Select amenity kit contents

The kits did differ from flight-to-flight, however. For instance, the kit given to us on the flight to Minneapolis from Europe also contained Delta socks.
Delta Premium Select socks

 

Delta Premium Select Food, Drink & Service

If you're looking for a premium or luxurious dining experience onboard, Delta Premium Select might leave you wanting.

Back when Premium Select first launched, Delta touted some upgraded and coursed meals along with service beyond the typical economy flight. Premium Select catering was cut far back during the worst of the pandemic and, despite the airline's promises, it still hasn't made a full return.

While nothing about the food and service was bad, there was really nothing distinguish itself much from an economy experience.

Before your flight in Premium Select, you'll get the usual email from Delta showing you what's in store on your upcoming flight. There, at number three, you can find a link to your menu.
Delta Premium Select welcome email

The menus are specific to each flight. You can see the specific route in the top right corner and the class of service on the banner beneath that. Plus, the menu rotates monthly, so I was given a link to the February menu.
Delta Premium Select menu online

Inside, I saw that I was getting a choice between the roasted chicken thigh and vegetable tagine.
Entree choices on Delta Premium Select

Once onboard, that's exactly what we got.
Delta Premium Select menu 1

On the return from France to the U.S., we had a very different menu with a choice of guinea fowl and bulgur risotto.
Delta Premium Select menu

First, however, we started with a drink service. My wife and I opted for some sparkling wine, which was served in plastic cups. Alcoholic beverages are free flying Premium Select … but that's also true back in a standard economy seat when flying long-haul international.
Delta Premium Select champagne

Soon after, the flight attendants came by with table cloths, napkins, and silverware, along with a box of cheese biscuits from Cooper's Gourmet as an appetizer – a really delicious airplane snack.
Delta Premium Select table cloth

Delta Premium Select cheese biscuits

Soon after, we were given our dinner service. While it was dropped off on a nice plate, the plating that was once a hallmark of Premium Select was gone. The meal itself was still wrapped and covered in tin foil, much like in economy.
Delta Premium Select meal

The chicken thigh and mashed potatoes did not look great, though they were actually pretty tasty. The vegetable tangine was not my cup of tea, but my wife enjoyed it.
Delta Premium Select Chicken thigh dinner

As we neared our destination in the morning, we were given a simple breakfast sandwich and a fruit cup along with a coffee. There were no bells and whistles with tablecloths, and the food itself was almost exactly what you'd get in economy.
Delta Premium Select breakfast

On the return flight to the U.S., the food was just fine – but not great.

This Guinea fowl was … suspect. It didn't taste terrible, but it was certainly not a “premium” meal. The salted caramel ice cream that came with it for dessert, however, was amazing. It didn't take long for me to search for Beckleberry's ice cream after landing.
Guinea fowl Delta Premium Select

Later in the flight, we were served another snack. This time, it was an Asian chicken spring roll that was very tasty. Maybe too tasty, as I forgot to take a photo before devouring it. The mousse served alongside it was also really good.
Chicken spring roll on Delta Premium Select

Finally, our service wrapped up with a coffee and a warm cookie before landing. Both really hit the spot.
Delta Premium Select coffee and cookie

Our flight attendants on both legs of the journey were great and helpful, but you won't get that personalized attention and service that you get in business class when flying Premium Select. Aside from an earlier option of either sparkling wine or sparkling water shortly after takeoff, it was just like economy.

Lesson learned: Until Delta ups its game, don't book a Premium Select seat if you're looking for a high-end dining experience. Book Premium Select for the extra seat comfort onboard.

 

Bottom Line

There's a lot to love about flying Delta Premium Select, but it doesn't get high marks for everything.

Most importantly, the seats are a significant upgrade from economy: wider, more legroom, better padding, and more recline to help you sleep. Extra amenities and Sky Priority benefits sweeten the deal, especially if you need to make a connection.

The food and in-flight service, however, still have a ways to go before you could call them “premium.” For now, it's not much different than what you get back in economy.

 

Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

26 Responses

  • Thanks for the great review. We will be taking the same routes in 2 weeks. Misc question for you – did you notice the headphone jack? Is it 1 or 2 prong? Another reviewer said Premium Select had 2 prong & economy 1 prong. Weird…

    • They offer the same headphones in both Delta One and Premium Select and I know for sure Delta One is two prong but I did not take a photo on my flight of Premium Select’s setup. I’d always bring a two prong to one prong adapter to be sure. Super cheap on amazon or ebay.

  • I totally agree with this review. My husband and I recently flew from ATL to ICN in Delta premium select cabin and loved it. The enhanced service and extra leg room was wonderful and definitely worth paying extra. For long overseas flights this is definitely the way to go for most of us who cannot afford business class. After this experience I cannot go back to flying regular economy on long flights, it’s too brutal. Thank you Delta!

  • Delta has back pedaled on one of the amenities, they no longer book domestic connections in first class. In fact, all the phone reps deny that they ever did this. So, I am trying it in about 6 weeks, and I wonder what else has been downgraded or eliminated. As the poster stated, the upgrade perk was a feature none of the competition offered. Well, I guess Delta wants to lower themselves to the competition.

  • I think that Delta outdoes AA on Premium Economy for only one reason, the foot rest. In the non-bulkhead rows, AA installed pedal style foot rest, yet Delta installed the pop-out foot rest at every seat.

  • I would have expected at least an equivalent meal service as you would receive on Delta’s first-class transcontinental flight. I was curious about the beverage service. I’m glad you wrote about it. For the price, it looks like the better option for not too much more is Delta One. I tend to get real cold when flying. I was hoping they would offer the same blanket as Delta One. Thank you, for the review, I found it very helpful.

  • You are are correct that it’s all about the seat and nothing else. On my flight it was over an hour between when we finished our meal and it when it was cleaned up. Why because the same flight attendants had to serve comfort and main cabin.

    What a pain to get up and stack all the secondary packing just to get to the bathroom.

    I just expect more from Delta and was completely disappointed

    With close to 4 million miles on Delta I am looking for an alternative

    • I recently flew on a Delta A330 from Barcelona to Atlanta. I sat in the front row of the Comfort zone, immediately behind Premium Select. I had a sea of legroom, while the clearly visible PS passengers in front of me did not. Still, the space in PS is significantly larger than a ‘normal’ economy seat. Btw, the article is spot on about the advantages of Premium. Beyond that, I can attest that the Premium passengers on my flight received the exact same food as economy. The cart simply moved through. The food was horrifically bad. It was served on a tiny oval tray and consisted of a raw (!!) potato salad and ricotta ravioli swimming in a red oil slick. As the article indicates, the ice cream was the only palatable item. The whole meal would have cost less than €5 at a second rate Spanish grocery. Is this really the Delta Intercontinental product?!!!!

  • I have flown Delta premium select three times in the past 6 months ( Seattle-Paris, Zurich-JFk and JFk Paris) and though the seats are comfortable, the food service is not at all what some pictures show. First of all, they serve food in/on cardboard plates not the fancy plastic or china displayed in some pictures. The cutlery is made of metal but that’s it. Food is “economy” food. I mean, there is nothing fancy. No bread, no cheese and on JFK -Europe flights, no ice cream but a funny little tiny small biscuit called dessert. . Breakfast is a McDo egg sandwich, no fruit nor yogurt either. The only positive thing are the wider seats because if you think you will be treated to some nice meal,…forget it. Airfrance has less comfortable seats but their food is 5* compared to Delta’s. The only good thing when travelling premium select on delta is the mileage accrual is better versus Airfrancekm’s. As a platinum Flying blue member I sometimes book delta flights but airfrance operated because of the better mileage . Delta should reconsider their premium select fares because they are too expesive for what you get.

    • I agree. Just flew from Seattle to Tokyo and the service was no different than coach. They ran out of the “premium” food so we basically paid $700 extra for a seat with more recline and a tad wider and more leg room.
      Would NOT recommend.

    • I agree. Just flew from Seattle to Tokyo and the service was no different than coach. They ran out of the “premium” food so we basically paid $700 extra for a seat with more recline and a tad wider and more leg room.
      Would NOT recommend. I’m flying now but am having to pay $30 for wiFI.

  • I flew DL 145 Amsterdam to Seattle in Premium select. I found the space between seats inadequate and only marginally better than economy. Since for me ticket price in Economy was same or similar to premium economy , this was not a big deal but I do not recommend people to spend extra money on this

  • Do you always get headphones as an amenity? If so are they noise cancelling? I’d rather not bring mine if I don’t have to. Thanks!

  • As for the Delta One comparison with Premium Select, I have flown in Delta One on two occasions; both occasions were round trips between Seattle and Tokyo. The food was disappointing—reminded me of a Lean Cuisine entree. Also, the cabin attendants did not smile—they walked the aisles like robots. Delta is the Walmart of the airline industry. You might as well stick to Premium Select priced flights.

  • How far back do the seats recline in premium select? I’ll be doing ATL-JNB next year. 14 hours and everyone says do Delta One.

  • We flew Premium Select from Msp to Ams. The seating was not great, and I wish we would have saved the money and stayed in a comfort plus. The food was horrible…all the way around. That Asian roll….disgusting! That breakfast egg thing…could not even finish it. Deltas food has gotten to terrible over the years. The seat in premium select…I could not get the seat to even go back very far, and the foot thing for my legs was so difficult to move…worthless! Save your money!

  • I agree. Just flew from Seattle to Tokyo and the service was no different than coach. They ran out of the “premium” food so we basically paid $700 extra for a seat with more recline and a tad wider and more leg room.
    Would NOT recommend.

  • We’ve flown Delta Premium Select from US to Europe RT twice this year and find the seats much more comfortable than either Economy and Comfort Plus. However the service and wine is comparable to Economy/Comfort Plus, and food is just plain offensive. Consider the added cost for improved seating only, and bring your own food.

  • Concur with everyone above: just completed a SLC-CDG-SLC trip over the last two weeks and you’re paying for the seat, nothing else. The food was HORRIBLE, so much so that for the 10 hour return to SLC, I just munched on the snack basket offerings and on a couple of pastries I had purchased prior to departure. (However, kudos to one of the FA’s for “stealing” a banana from Business Class after I remarked there was no fruit).

    And what’s with the whole aft (business class) lav restriction? The FA’s on both flights in our section said that basically due to the front lav being reserved for crew and for “security reasons”, the aft lav was primary for business class, so Premium Select had to use those further back. What total nonsense, as when I flew frequently in business class on Delta over many years, passengers from what was then just economy would come up and use both besides the “business” folks. I used it (the rear business lav) twice on both flights (as did several others), especially those with limited mobility, and no one was turned away. What a crock….

  • Hi, I’m flying premium select in April from SLC-AMS on A330-900 and am debating between the bulkhead seats versus a few rows back. Can anyone confirm whether the bulkhead seats are as wide as the other rows, since the TV screen is stored in the armrest? I’ve flown in an exit row in economy and the seat was extremely tight for me and don’t want the same experience in Premium Select, but would love not to have someone reclined in front of me. I’ve checked seatguru and there’s no mention of reduced seat width as there is with economy exit row seats. Thank you!

  • My BF flew HNL -> ATL in premium select and it was absolute misery for him. I booked him in this seat because he is a plus-sized person and I was hoping to make the trip comfortable for him. Since it was right next to Delta One like all the First segments I had already booked for him, I had thought it was just rebranded “business”. I didn’t read the fine print under the nice picture of the seat–my fault. The only thing “premium” about this was the price tag. The seat is only a tiny 0.5″ wider than regular economy. That’s one finger width. There were no leg rests (that’s only on SOME planes). With bathrooms shared with all of the main cabin passengers, and 15 rows back. No amenity kit. There was a complementary water bottle so that you can glare at it knowing you’ll have 15 rows to fight through to get to a bathroom. The food was good, I guess, but airplane food. Not something I will repeat.

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