For an explanation of the audio issues in this video, see Description below.
0:00 Intro: N516DN at Gate E9
0:09 Premium Select Seat 21J
0:15 Pushback, Engine Startup & Flaps Extension
3:35 Taxi to Runway
8:32 Takeoff Runway 18L (Aalsmeerbaan)
9:46 Initial Climbout
10:17 Climb
18:22 Climb (Timelapse)
18:40 Cruise (Timelapse)
25:24 Descent (Timelapse)
25:50 Approach
36:05 Gear Down
36:17 Final Approach
39:21 Touchdown Runway 21L
40:08 Taxi to Gate
44:26 Gate Arrival
45:39 N516DN at Gate A30
Date: March 13, 2022
Airline: Delta Air Lines (DAL/DL)
Flight: DL137
Departure: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (EHAM/AMS)
Arrival: DetroitWayne Co. Metro Int'l Airport (KDTW/DTW)
Aircraft: Airbus A350941
Registration: N516DN
Seat: 21J (Premium Select)
Camera: GoPro HERO8 Black
Description: Flying back to the States on a brand new A350, seated in Premium Select with a great view of the engine and wing. It took a few minutes to tow us out and start up the big engines, but once we were ready to go it was a quick taxi out to Runway 18L for an immediate takeoff. Once we were in the air, we headed northwest to begin our transatlantic crossing. For whatever reason, our route that day took us a lot farther north than usual, just south of Iceland and over the southern part of Greenland, and this added about 40 minutes to our flight time compared to an average AmsterdamDetroit flight. The seats in Premium Select were very comfortable, but I’ll admit I was disappointed by the inflight service, which on this flight was the exact same as economy class; the last time I flew Premium Select, the soft product was more like Delta One. We began our descent from FL380 (38,000 ft) as we flew over Toronto, and made a short, straightin approach to Runway 21L. Detroit wasn’t too busy at the time we landed, so it was a pretty quick taxi in to the gate, where we arrived about 15 minutes late.
The videos from this flight were ALMOST perfect, except for a very strange issue with the audio. It turns out that the A350’s air vents are highly effective, so much so that having mine pointed towards the camera created some popping sounds in the audio. The noise mostly went away once the engines spooled up for takeoff, so the engine sounds are there where it counts, and visually, the videos turned out beautifully, so hopefully the artificial “wind noise” doesn’t ruin the overall experience too much.
I posted the takeoff and landing videos separately, as well—they can be found here:
Takeoff: • Delta A350941 Quiet Takeoff from Ams...
Landing: • Video