One of my first trip reports I posted to this community was the one of my flight from Tokyo-Haneda to Atlanta with an A350-900 of Delta Air Lines back in 2024. After much procrastination, I’ve finally gotten around to doing the route, on of Delta’s two transpacific ones from its home base, in reverse with the type. In addition, this is my first flight with N527DN, the A350-900 that Delta has painted in its “100 Years” livery. I figured that ATL-HND was an appropriate route to make my inaugural flight with the livery on, what with it having two flights per day. Hope you all enjoy!
Editor’s Note: While Tokyo has two commercial airports, Haneda and Narita, Delta has exclusively served Haneda since 2019. As such, all Delta flights to and from Tokyo will be to and from Haneda, unless specified as Narita in the title.
Server: Solo
Airline: Delta Air Lines
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900
Origin: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia (ATL)
Destination: Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan (HND)
Flight Number: DL295
Route: KATL-RJTT
Seat: 10D (Delta One)
Time En Route: 14 Hours 25 Minutes
Walking to our aircraft at Gate F7 on a hot August morning in Atlanta. N527DN has been a frequent sight at ATL the past week, mostly flying between here and Johannesburg and Cape Town, but it did do a cross-country trip to Los Angeles and a transpacific flight to Shanghai and back from the West Coast. Right now, the big girl is resting after a long flight from CPT while the ground crew finishes loading baggage. This is going to be our first flight on one of the few special liveries in the Delta fleet and we couldn’t be more excited!
Taxiing by some of the other widebodies at Concourse F as we head out of the alley. On this side of the concourse are a Korean Air 777-300ER and an Ethiopian Airlines 787-8, with another Delta A350-900’s wing peeking in from the left. Together, the non-Delta widebodies and us will be flying some of the longest routes out of Atlanta today. Meanwhile, we’re getting settled in our lie-flat Delta One seat in the 8-suite mini-cabin behind the second set of exit doors and in front of Delta Premium Select.
Getting airborne by a busy Concourse A as we start our journey to Tokyo. While the cabin of this aircraft doesn’t have anything setting apart from other A350s in the Delta fleet, it does have a neat little change to the winglet design, which is the replacing of the traditional red with silver, like on the tail of the aircraft. Delta’s inclusion of the Widget on the inner surface of its A350s is one of our favorite details about the aircraft, ensuring that the airline’s famous logo remains visible to anyone with a window seat. Even if we weren’t flying in the all-around best business class in the U.S., we’d say this flight is worth it just for the window view alone.
Near the top of our climb just after crossing into Alabama, near the little town of Jacksonville. It’s a beautiful day in the skies over the Deep South, and we’re likely the only widebody airborne over the entire state of Alabama. Both our Delta One suite and the surrounding airspace feel like a palace, as we’ve got a great deal of privacy in both areas. Now it’s time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 14 hours or so to go until we’re in Tokyo.
Cruising along at 34,000 feet, just outside of Bozeman, Montana. We’ve spent the past couple hours watching Project Hail Mary on the IFE screen. It’s very interesting and surprisingly funny at times, given the context that the plot takes place in. Been a smooth ride so far, without any turbulence whatsoever, and we’re hoping that continues for the rest of our flight.
Somewhere over the North Pacific a few hours out from Haneda. Except for a couple bumps a little while ago, the flight has been turbulence-free. Besides the physical comfort, the dining has been great, with our dinner being a braised beef short rib served with, among other things, garlic miso sauce, carrots, broccoli, Tawara rice, shiitake mushrooms, and Japanese pickles. Delta has partnered with renowned chef Norio Ueno and the venture seems to have paid off handsomely.
As we make our final approach over Tokyo Bay, we can see the shadow of our aircraft dancing on the water below us. It’s a nice send-off to what has been an amazing flight. Delta One has always been extremely good, but this flight seems to have had all the stops pulled out on it. From the food, to the service, to the amenities, to the seat, to the IFE selection, we’d have to say this is one of our best flights with the Atlanta-based airline, if not the best.
Afternoon arrival in Tokyo under the watchful eye of Haneda Tower on Runway 34L. Our flight crew absolutely stuck the landing after the big A350 floated in over the fence seemingly no faster than a Cessna Skyhawk. Even the deceleration we’re experiencing is silky-smooth, with the jet gracefully slowing down to exit the runway for the short taxi to our gate.
Taxiing clear of Runway 16R/34L on oir way to Terminal 3. We can hear the sound of the starboard engine spooling down for a fuel-conserving single-engine taxi. Must be company procedure regardless of fuel state or otherwise to expedite chocking the aircraft and getting the jetbridge and the cargo loaders pulled up. Anyway, we almost don’t want to leave, but we have things to do and places to be in Tokyo and Delta frowns on stowaways, so we can’t go back to Atlanta with them this evening.
Deplaned from N527DN at Gate 144. Delta One delivered the goods, as usual, and we’re stoked to have finally gotten to fly on this aircraft. Delta has been something of a special livery-averse airline, save for its partnerships with Team USA and SkyTeam, and the latter is now restricted entirely to the 737-800 fleet, so it was quite a treat to fly on one of its two aircraft painted in the airline’s “100 Years” livery. We’re keeping Delta One on our go-to list for long-haul flights and hopefully we’ll get to do another on this aircraft!