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How (and Where) to Fly Delta One Suites on the Airbus A350

Darren Murph
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Darren Murph holds a Guinness World Record as the planet's most prolific professional blogger. He's an explorer at heart, having traversed nearly 50 countries and all 50 US states. He's flown over one million miles on Delta alone, and serves as a senior writer at TPG.
March 26, 2019
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6 min read
Delta A350 Suite Detroit to Toyko_05_edit
How (and Where) to Fly Delta One Suites on the Airbus A350
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Looking for a ride in Delta’s shiniest new product, the Delta One Suite? You aren’t alone. The Airbus A350-900XWB first took to the skies flying TPG between Detroit (DTW) and Tokyo (NRT), and in the months since, several more routes have emerged, with the inaugural A350 flight between Los Angeles (LAX) and Shanghai (PVG) occurring earlier this month.

Below, we’ve rounded up all of Delta’s current A350 routes, as well as providing an inside look at which offer the best award availability and pricing. Considering that paid round-trip fares on these flights can range from $5,000 to nearly $20,000, snagging a seat via points and miles is absolutely the way to go.

Check out TPG‘s video review of Delta One Suites here:

Delta A350 routes (and inaugural flight dates)

  • Detroit (DTW)-Tokyo Narita (NRT) — since October 30, 2017
  • Detroit (DTW)-Seoul (ICN) — since November 18, 2017
  • Detroit (DTW)-Beijing (PEK) — since January 17, 2018
  • Detroit (DTW)-Amsterdam (AMS) — since March 2018
  • Atlanta (ATL)-Seoul (ICN) — since March 24, 2018
  • Detroit (DTW)-Shanghai (PVG) — since April 19, 2018
  • Los Angeles (LAX)-Shanghai (PVG) — since July 2, 2018
  • Seattle (SEA)-Tokyo Narita (NRT) — starting March 1, 2019
  • Los Angeles (LAX)-Tokyo Haneda (HND) — starting March 31, 2019
  • Atlanta (ATL)-Amsterdam (AMS) — starting Sept. 1, 2019
  • Minneapolis (MSP)-Shanghai (PVG) — starting June 2020 (proposed)

Award Availability

While low-level availability on these routes is pretty limited, we did find a few hotbeds. On the A350 front, Detroit to Beijing and Seattle to Tokyo-Narita look to have the most space available over the next few months. If you're keen on experiencing a Delta One Suite on a retrofitted Boeing 777, the Minneapolis to Tokyo-Haneda route is the most generous.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club award search portal shows decent low-level availability for Delta One Suite awards from Detroit to Beijing.

We'd recommend searching for Delta One award space on Delta.com's flexible calendar, and if you spot a ticket at 90,000 SkyMiles for any of those routes, that's the (current) sign of low-level availability.

Low-level availability at 60,000 miles? Check. A350 aircraft? Check. Delta One Suites? Check!

While you could spend 90,000 SkyMiles one-way, there's a superior alternative. Armed with that data, log in to your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club account and head to the award search tool. If you plug in those same low-level dates, you'll see that a spot in a Delta One Suite will run you just 60,000 miles one-way (plus $5.60 in taxes/fees).

Delta will begin flying its A350 with Delta One Suites between Seattle and Tokyo-Narita beginning March 1, 2019.

Virgin Atlantic's award tool is pretty wonky, requiring a labyrinthine sequence of clicks to show the seat. Thankfully, we've prepped a guide to overcoming for those new to the tool.

Which credit cards points can I use to book with?

Remember, you don't need to have ever flown Virgin Atlantic to book Delta award tickets through its Flying Club program. Once you find the flight that works for you, you can transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards (instant transfer), Citi ThankYou Points (instant transfer) and American Express Membership Rewards (instant transfer). Here’s a sampling of cards you can use to earn points in these programs:

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  • The Platinum Card® from American Express for Membership Rewards
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred Card for Ultimate Rewards
  • Citi Premier® Card for ThankYou Rewards
  • Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card for Marriott points

Where do I sit?

If you need advice about where to sit on the Delta A350 (or just want to learn more), we’ve got you covered.

A Pretty Suite Alternative

While the aircraft itself is older, it’s also worth mentioning that you can find the new Delta One Suites on the reconfigured Boeing 777-200 — a product reviewed by our own Nick Ellis. Below is the most recent list of refurbished Delta 777 routes.

  • Minneapolis (MSP)-Tokyo Haneda (HND) — since November 16, 2018
  • Atlanta (ATL)-Paris (CDG) — since December 13, 2018
  • Minneapolis (MSP)-Paris (CDG) — since December 13, 2018
  • Atlanta (ATL)-Tokyo Narita (NRT) — since March 1, 2019
  • Minneapolis (MSP)-Seoul (ICN) — starting April 1, 2019
  • Los Angeles (LAX)-Sydney (SYD) — starting April 19, 2019
It's no A350, but Delta One Suites can also be found on reconfigured Boeing 777 jets between Minneapolis and Tokyo-Haneda.

Delta will refurbish all eight of its 777-200ER and all ten of its 777-200LR aircraft and expects to have taken delivery of 13 A350s by the end of 2019.

Delta is also retrofitting its fleet of Boeing 767-400ERs to feature Delta One Suites, and we’ll be aboard the inaugural Airbus A330-900neo flight in July when it begins servicing Seattle (SEA) to Shanghai (PVG) with all four of Delta’s branded seating options. Those are Delta One Suites, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin (economy).

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Featured image by TPG enjoying the space on the A350 Delta One Suite from Detroit to Tokyo.
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.