I'm in the process of picking out a flight to Munich and back from Vienna from DFW for Feb 2008. Delta has the best prices and the most convenient schedule and I will probably go with them. I am flying economy/coach.

A friend of my husband says I should be careful as Delta overseas flights have really small seats in comparison to other airlines. According to seatguru they all[AA,UA] have very close to same pitch and width. Am I missing something?...lynda

I don't think you are. We've flown to Europe on CO, DL, KL, LH, and BA and I've not noticed any significant difference in coach. It's all pretty tight.

Yeah, standard coach are all pretty comparable. Unless you're getting UA's Economy + seats, or real Premium Economy on certain airlines, they're all about the same on the major carriers.

My worse seat across the Atlantic was on Virgin in 2000 when it was still using 2nd hand 747-200s that has passed through many owners. Pitch was about 30in and the seats have ridiculous recline. Luckily, those planes have been retired.

Delta's problem is that they don't have many planes with seat back monitors. If you can't sleep and want to watch movies, Delta may not be your choice. However, Delta flies a lot of 767's which seat 2x3x2 across. This means you never need to ask more than one person to get up when you use the toilet. Delta is also giving one free alcohol drink on their Atlantic Ocean flights, which beats the heck out of American Airlines.

But 31-32 inches in coach is pretty common on all airlines. Unless you are "full figured girl" you should be ok.

Even though I'm not traveling overseas for another 10 months the thought of a free drink and the 2-3-2 configuration (plus ATL for connections), inclines me toward DL.

I suppose that it is the 767-400 that we want to fly on, not the 300s? They have the newer eqipment.

Of course, on the return journey, it probably won't matter. We'll be wiped and and will want to sleep.

Delta's converting its 767-400 to international configuration, but right now they use both types to Europe. The domestic configurations have no personal video screen, while the reconfigured ones have nice AVOD.

767-300s will not get PTV in coach.

Actually, for the eastbound, you'll be sleeping. Coming back, it's daytime, so entertainment is more important.

Thanks for the responses y'all....

I'm still laughing at the 'full figured girl', wally!! Actually I am a size 10 kind of gal but I am also 5'10" so the leg room is more of an issue with me than seat width!! I am flying with my daughter who is 5"9" so we both feel the pain of the coach class!

However, I like the window and she likes the aisle so the 2-3-2 works great for us. From what the DL site tells me they fly the 767 300ER to/ from VIE and the 767 400ER to/from MUC. The 300 is smaller I assume?

Nice to know about 1 free drink though! I consider at least 1 glass of bubbly to be a required part of air travel!

Anyway even though the personal screens on the 400 would be lovely on the trip home when you are in daylight all the way, I seem to be leaning to Munich first and then Vienna....lynda

My experience flying trans Atlantic before is that I have not been able to sleep on the way there, and usually end up crashing the night after my first day. With my friends, plane entertainment or not, we will be able to entertain ourselves.

But, on the way back trans Atlantic, we're usually so tired that daylight or no daylight, we're zonked.

I guess everyone travels a bit differently?

My major concern is ultimately the price. While I originally budgeted $1400 for our LGW plus hotel trip, I guess something more like $1600-1800 is in order if it won't be until next July?

Not sure if the one free drink includes bubblies, or just wine/beer.

The 767-400 has the same fuselage cross-section, but is longer. It also has a different wing, taller vertical stabilizer (tail), and other improvements.

DL's 767-300s are relatively old, so they have the older "squarish" interior, while all 767-400s (only DL and CO have them) have the 777-style interior with the curved ceiling and large hinged overhead bins.

A picture of DL's 763ER interior:

www.airliners.net/open.file/1030422/L/

Here's the internationally reconfigured 764ER:

www.airliners.net/open.file/1253359/L/

This is the older 764ER "domestic" configuration, which is also used for some trans-Atlantic flights:

www.airliners.net/open.file/1107112/L/

I am confused about my Delta flight to Ireland from Atlanta. The website says I am on a 767-300ER but when I picked my seat it was a 767-200, the configuration, with 5 rows in BE.
I know that Delta was supposed to retire the 767-200, so I am confused.
Tried calling the airlines but was on forever hold.
Frustrating picking a seat when you are unsure of the configuration.
Anyone know which plane they are using on this route??
Thanks.

AMcanadian - What date, and flight number?

Hi rkkwan,
Outbound Oct 1st, FLIGHT 176 atl-dub nonstop
Return Oct 10th, Flight 177 dub-atl nonstop
Check the view seats.

AMcanadian - That's a typo. It's on one of DL's 767-300ER that came from Gulf Air with only 5 rows of BE and coach starting from Row 13.

Thanks.
I read they are older planes. And have a history of nose problems?
Can't pull up a "seat guru" seating chart on Delta's version of this plane. Do you know if the Business class cabin on this plane is comfortable? Ie seating, space, cleanliness? Looks like there is only one bathroom in BE.
Saved all my miles to use for this trip, would love a good experience in business...
Sheesh I thought I was on a newer 767-300er.
Thanks for your help.

AMcanadian - I am not the expert on DL's planes. I know they have their own domestic 763, their own 763ERs, the ex-Gulf 763ERs; and then they're going through a refurbishment right now.

Maybe Patty, our DL expert here on Fodors, can answer your question, or you can go to the Delta Skymiles forum on Flyertalk.com and search for the latest info. Try search for "Gulf", "BusinessElite" and/or "Refurbishment", etc... If you still can't info, then ask questions there with your route.

OK. Thanks so much for your help.
I will do that.

Yes, 767-200 is what DL uses to indicate that it's an ex-Gulf Air 767-300. Don't ask me why.

I've never been on one of these and can't recall if any of them have been refurbished yet. Good idea to check Flyertalk.

I'm on my way home right now after flying WDH-JNB-CDG-LAX. CDG is getting positively civilized with the opening of S3. I might actually look forward to my next transit there!