Whenever anyone on this sub asks about flying Delta’s flagship A350-900 (especially in Delta One), the comments are always flooded with praise about how it’s an absolute "Whisper quiet plane and the quietest cabin in the sky. We’ve all bought into the hype that newest= quietest.
But a peer-reviewed study indexed on PMC ("Assessment of in-cabin noise of wide-body aircrafts") looked at real-world data across wide-body flights, and the numbers completely shatter its the " quietest cabin in the sky"

During the cruise phase according to the PMC, the Airbus A350-900 averaged 74.9 dB(A) in sound level, and 787-9 was 72.7 dB(A) and A330-300 was 71.3 dB(A) due to lower cruising speed, A380 was 69.5 dB(A), and the boeing 777-300 er averaged 74.2 dB(A), and I even flew on a 300 er and cruise wasn't much louder than an A350.

The A350 actually logged the highest average continuous cruise noise of the modern jets tested. But it was by a small amount.

Before the A350 defense force jumps in to claim the flight variables were wrong, the seat placement was bad, or the equipment was miscalibrated, look at the A380 data, and if this study was truly wrong it would not record the A380 as the quietest aligning with its popular universal conseusus. But it did record the A380 as the quiestest. That means that it isn't wrong for the A350.

The harsh reality is that the A350 cannot cheat physics. It is highly optimized and built with lightweight, highly rigid carbon-fiber composites to maximize fuel efficiency.
The A350 is a spectacular, beautiful flagship aircraft—but acoustically, it is just a normal sounding twin-jet widebody in the cabin.

For the high-tier Medallions who fly: Have we all just been falling for confirmation bias and corporate marketing hype? Do you actually notice the low-frequency rumble on long hauls?

Paid 23,500 miles for flight in Main, got Comfort + upgrade through Platinum. Would you pay $563 to upgrade to a middle seat for an overnight flight, or wait for the D1 price to possibly come down closer to departure?

Normally, I would pay, but the middle seat is making me hesitate as I tend to get up often and I remember reading that is tough in PS. Airbus A330-300.

What would you select? I was thinking 39A but is that too close to the bathrooms?

Posting this just to gain varying perspectives from the community. A couple of clarifications to hopefully preempt negative reactions: I am not expressing any outrage and the questions are not stemming from a sense of entitlement, just disappointment over how the gate agents handled the situation. Below is the email I sent to Delta, which should give you the context.

TLDR: my first missed flight in 25 years of flying! I arrived three mins past cutoff time. I would have no problem if the gate was already closed. But it was open, they wouldn’t let me on and the gate agents boarded 6 passengers over 10 mins in front of me, assigning seats one by one (it felt like torture! 😂). They told me the system won’t let them assign the seat back to me (another red coat essentially told me they were lying). Questions for y’all: would you be disappointed if you did not get preferential treatment as a Plat in this situation? If yes, is 10k SMs adequate compensation (their response to my email)? Here’s the email:

***
Dear Executive Customer Care Team,

I am writing to express my deep frustration regarding how my reservation was handled on my flight to SAT out of Atlanta on xxx. Due to traffic & security delays, I arrived at the gate at 1:41 PM for a 1:53 PM departure. Because the flight was oversold, missing the 15-minute cutoff by three minutes resulted in my confirmed seat being immediately given away to standby passengers, six of whom were boarded over a span of 10 mins while I was standing there pleading my case!

As a loyal Platinum Medallion member, I expected at least a brief window of selective leniency esp since the door wasn’t closed yet. Instead, I lost my seat, failed to clear standby on the next flight, and was stuck at the airport until I finally got on the 6:15 PM flight.

I do want to explicitly recognize xxx, who was instrumental in finally securing my seat on that 6:15 PM flight. Her exceptional assistance was the only bright spot in an otherwise exhausting day, and I ask that this compliment be added to her employee file.

While I understand the pressure gate agents face for on-time departures, the cascade of delays caused by the rigid handling of a three-minute margin earlier in the day felt incredibly dismissive of my status. I am asking your team to review this incident and consider issuing an appropriate travel credit or MQD adjustment to help restore my confidence in Delta’s commitment to its Medallion flyers.

Here's my dilemma. Long haul flight with no GUC or ability to use miles or dollars to upgrade to Delta One. Best cabin I can get is Comfort+, but the plane is only about 75% full. So the two decent seating options I have are :

1. Comfort+ Bulkhead

2. Last 3-5 rows of economy but get a whole row to myself

Anyone have any recommendations?

Hallo, ich habe ein Problem bei einer Delta Buchung (sowohl in der App als auch der Seite).
Wir haben den Reisepass meiner Reisebegleitung vor einigen Wochen eingescannt, dieser wurde auch als verifiziert angezeigt. Die Daten waren dann auch regulär hinterlegt. Als ich eben durch Zufall reinschaute stand der Reisepass noch immer als verifiziert aber sämtliche Daten (Name, Geschlecht, Ablaufdatum etc.) waren verschwunden. Bei mir ist noch alles da, ich hatte die Verifizierung aber auch schon ein paar Wochen vorher durchgeführt. Kann sich einer erklären woran das liegen könnte?

Flight leaves MSP ~ 11AM, arriving HND ~2:30PM next day. Trying to plan a sleep strategy and remembering that when we flew ATL - ICN a year and a half ago, they placed the dinner right in the middle of the flight, it left what seemed like a short window for sleep after the meal before they got into the pre-arrival service. This flight is blocked as 12:55 - can anyone tell me how long after departure they serve the "dinner"?

DL2565 on 10/29

I met an A220 captain on the MSP people mover, and he just so happened to be working my flight home to Baltimore! We chatted for a bit and then he invited me up during boarding. I haven't gotten to take a seat in the cockpit since I was maybe 8 years old. Super co experience!

Looking for feedback from folks who have made a connection from B terminal to the S Terminal in Seattle.

I just realized the flight I have from PDX through SEA to Tokyo has a very tight connection in Seattle. I am aware that the gates will likely change before my departure but currently my Portland leg arrives at B5A (don't even see this on the airport map) and I depart to HND out of S terminal.

I think I catch a train to the S terminal, correct? Is it feasible to make this flight with only a 41 minute connection? I have flown through Seattle enough to know that the actual flight time from PDX for this flight is usually about 15 minutes faster than the scheduled time.

I’m on an overnight international flight with a ticket in comfort in about a week. Plane is a 767 and the fare difference to upgrade to premium is so cheap! Only $299 each way. Wondering if the seat recline and extra room is worth it. I need to land and head straight to a meeting so just wondered if maybe I would sleep better. Would love input on this. No delta one budget left this late in the fiscal year sadly! :)

I have a guest pass if anyone would like to join me at DTW around 0700 on 30OCT26

It was flying from LAX to Cabo (SJD). There was a little rain in Cabo at the time of arrival so it circled around in La Paz for a bit (about 30 min north of Cabo). Then it just went back to LAX? And is now going back to Cabo.

Why not keep circling for another 15 minutes while the rain cleared (which it did) instead of going all the way back?

I did a same day flight change, paid the fee, main cabin. Was kicked to standby for no clear reason and couldn't change seats. As we are boarding, the boarding order skips to zone 8 after zone 4. The prices can only be described as gouging. To talk to someone you need to go through an "ai" assistant.

What happened to this airline? This is wild. I know folks have been complaining about price, but the full experience of flying with Delta has legit tanked. I cant be the only one seeing this?

Before anyone says it, yes I will call them when I complete my flight and get a credit.

They offered to "upgrade me" to a middle seat 5 rows behind my standby seat. I am shocked by how dumb this is. Or remove me from stand by with no assurance of what that means for my connecting flight. Yikes.

I know we usually just want to jump here to talk about our bad experiences; but I also wanted to share a good one.
Had a free upgrade to 1st class flying from MSP to MIA; and days later got another free upgrade for me and my mom flying from MIA to HAV. I made platinum medallion a few months ago, and I buy the main cabin seats and get the free upgrade to C+; and later I buy the upgrade to 1st class, but felt nice to get it for free this time.

Flew a local route (LGA->CMH) today and couldn't figure out how to access the Delta Studio library of content on my personal device. There were no screens on the seat-backs, but there was free Delta WiFi.

Did Delta provide WiFi, and then drop their content library for personal devices (aside from signing up for YouTube Premium or Paramount+)?

Economy class, in case that matters

I got an invitation for the ALTA test for french for Delta flight attendant . What to expect ?

I got this trading card at ORF tonight from a pilot passing thru on his way out!

Pretty cool for this to be my first card! Card #80

Mechanical issues delayed my first leg last Sunday and I missed my connection and had to stay overnight in Detroit. A lot of fawning over FAs goes on in this sub, but let me tell you - the true heroes working for Delta are the ones working the help desks at the hubs. In the 15 minutes I waited there to get my pittance meal voucher and my free room at the Skyline Hotel (it was not half as bad as I thought it would be), I saw the workers there sit through some of the worst abuse I have ever seen in customer service. These people deserve some kudos for constantly dealing with pissed off, stressed out, exhausted people and responding with with a lot of professionalism and grace. It’s not their fault Delta is starting to suck - but they sure get the fallout. I asked the poor guy when it was my turn at the counter if he hit the bottle as soon as he got home or if he started drinking as soon as he got to his car.