Flying from Korea to the Old Northwest today on Delta’s long-haul flagship! Minneapolis has long been a focal point for flight from the United States to East Asia, going back to 1947 when Northwest Airlines began service to Tokyo in July of 1947 using the Douglas DC-4, with stops in Edmonton, Anchorage, and Shemya. Service to Seoul began in October of that year, inauguating a lomg-standing tradition of service that saw Northwest deploy Douglas and McDonnell-Douglas DC-4s, DC-7Bs, DC-8-32s, DC-10-30s, Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellations, and Boeing 377 Stratocruisers, 707-320Bs, and 747-100/200/400s on the route When Northwest merged with Delta Air Lines in 2008, the latter continued 747 operations in Minnesota for a few years, until replacing them in the early to mid-2010s with the 777-200LR. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Delta retired its 777 fleet (a bit early in my opinion; the -200LRs should at least have hung on until the A350-1000s show up next year) due to the former type’s higher fuel burn in an era where airlines across the world were tightening their belts and looking under the metaphorical couch cushions for any way to scrounge up extra capital, such as retiring older aircraft they didn’t have the passenger numbers to continue operating. As a result, the transpacific routes outside of MSP were taken up by the A350-900 and the A330-900neo, which continue to operate them to this day. MSP-ICN is the longest flight from Minneapolis and our flight today is the reverse of that.
Server: Solo
Airline: Delta Air Lines
Aircraft: Airbus A350-900
Origin: Incheon International Airport, Jung-gu, South Korea (ICN)
Destination: Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Fort Snelling, Minnesota (MSP)
Flight Number: DL170
Route: RKSI-KMSP
Seat: 10D (Delta One)
Time En Route: 12 Hours 6 Minutes
Waiting to board at twilight at Terminal 2’s Gate 52 for our roughly 12-hour flight to Minneapolis. We’ve spent the evening hanging around the Korean Air Prestige Lounge and enjoying a delicious traditional Korean dinner.
Starting our pushback at Incheon. Our aircraft, a 35H-configured A350-900 (40J/40W/195M), has 32 of its Delta One suites located in the cabin forward of the second pair of exit doors and 8 in a mini-cabin over the leading edge of the wingroot. This evening, we’re in that mini-cabin in Seat 10D, which gives us an even greater degree of privacy than if we were in the main Delta One area.
As we taxi, we’re being serenaded by the sound of the A350’s flaps lowering into the 1+F position for departure. Getting to hear A350 flap sounds is always a highlight of any flight aboard the Raccoon.
Takeoff from Incheon on Runway 34R. With the cabin lights dimmed, our suite feels like a miniature hotel room, and it’ll be doubtful if we can stay awake long enough for dinner.
At our inital cruising altitude of 35,000 as we reach the Sea of Japan. We were able tp stay awake long enough to order and eat dinner; however, since we’d eaten at the Prestige Lounge, it was significantly lighter than what we’d normally order in Delta One. Still hit the spot, though, and now it’s time to get some sleep as we head across the Pacific.
We’ve climbed another few thousand feet up to FL390 to get above some turbulence by the time we’ve reached the mountains of British Columbia. Mountains often cause unpredictable and sometimes violent conditions aloft, including clear-air turbulence, a phenomenon that’s caused the loss of more than one airliner. Perhaps the most notable incident was BOAC 911, a 707 that flew into and broke up in severe clear-air turbulence near Mount Fuji shortly after takeoff from Tokyo-Haneda in 1966, killing all onboard. Because of this, if there are reports of turbulence near mountains, aircraft usually try to go over or around it if possible. With the A350’s long-wings that claw enormous amounts of air, ascending the 4,000 feet from FL350 is no problem for us.
Getting to hear more A350 flap noises as we pass through 7,500 feet MSL in our final descent into MSP. As iconic as the 747-400 and 777-200LR were, they didn’t produce flap noises as unmistakably A350 as the weeps and woops of the F100-powered F-15s’ afterburner nozzle actuators are unmistakably Eagle.
Touching down in the Twin Cities on Runway 30L by the F and G Gates, with the building for the Metro Blie Line off to the far right
Perhaps the best illustration of how big of a hub Minneapolis is for Delta is shown by the approach lights of what looks like an A320-200 on final when we’ve barely cleared the runway
Parked and disembarked at Gate G6. It was a wonderful trip over the Pacific in Delta One and I’m definitely planning to revisit this route in the future!