Heading across the Atlantic Ocean to Delta’s second-most-served European destination from its second-largest East Coast hub aboard one of its European workhorses. When Delta and Northwest Airlines merged in late 2008, the former inherited a sizeable transatlantic focus city, later upgraded to a hub, in Boston, Massachusetts. Initially operated by the McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-30 and -40, Northwest replaced the type on the route in the early 2000s with Airbus’s A330-300. Since the merger, Delta has kept A330-300 service on the immensely profitable BOS-AMS route, augmented by the Boeing 767 and increasingly the second-generation A330, the -900neo. Currently, Delta flies twice-daily out of Boston to the European city, complemented by SkyTeam partner KLM.
Server: Solo
Airline: Delta Air Lines
Aircraft: Airbus A330-300
Origin: General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport, East Boston, Massachusetts (BOS)
Destination: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands (AMS)
Flight Number: DL242
Route: KBOS-EHAM
Seat: 21J (Delta Premium Select)
Time En Route: 6 Hours 58 Minutes
Waiting to board our aircraft at Gate E5 at Logan. While Delta previously operated almost all of its flights from Terminal A, where its domestic operations remain, it’s moved in recent years to Terminal E, which sees the lion’s share of international traffic out of Boston.
Starting our pushback out of the E Gate ramp. This evening, we’re in Delta Premium Select, the airline’s premium economy seating, aboard a 10.5-year-old A330-300.
Due to the E Gates’ relatively close proximity to Runway 15R, we’ve got a short taxi out for departure ahead of a line of JetBlue, American, Southwest, and company traffic.
Takeoff roll on 15R past the line waiting for departure and Boston’s unique ATC tower
Bye-bye, Boston! As we’re pressed into our seats on takeoff, it becomes apparent at just how big a step up from economy and even Delta Comfort+ our seats are, with the extra padding lessening the tendency to feel glued to one’s seat when we rotate and get airborne.
Since the flight is under 7 hours, sleep isn’t as of as much importance as it would be if we were flying from the West Coast to Amsterdam. Besides, there’s a bunch of amenities to enjoy, like the 13.3-inch IFE screen (the biggest we’ve seen outside anywhere outside of business and first class) and the Delta One-style amenity kit. The food and drinks were a bit lackluster for the price point, being more akin to economy. It wasn’t bad, just not what one would typically expect in the premium economy of an airline like Delta. The salted caramel ice cream we had for desert more than made up for it, though.
Descending over the North Sea towards the Netherlands at dawn, near East Anglia
Thrust reversers opening and spoilers going up as we set down on Runway 36C, the Zwanenburgbaan, at sunrise. Named after the village of Zwanenburg that lies just under the approach to the 18C end, it attained tragic infamy as the runway El Al 1862 departed from just before having the No. 3 engine separate from the wing before striking the No. 4 engine, shearing it off its pylon and tearing out a 33-foot section of the wing’s leading edge, rendering both the slats and the starboard aileron inoperable. In a scene eerily reminiscent of American 191, once the doomed jet slowed below a certain airspeed, the differential thrust and lift sent it into a roll and subsequent loss of control. Flight 1862 struck an apartment building at an approximately 90° bank angle, killing the flight crew and 43 people on the ground.
Taxiing by the KLM heavies at the E Pier
Disembarked at Gate D3 at Schiphol. Overall, Delta Premium Select on the A330-300 is excellent, easily being among the top 10 premium economy cabins we’ve flown in. It would be in the top 5, we’re it not for the lackluster food. However, for those who want an upgrade over economy or Delta Comfort+, but don’t want to spring for Delta One, then it’s an excellent choice.