Boarding Delta MD-88 @ ATL (N945DL) Seat 33E (New Cabin Layout) on 3/19/12

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• published: 21 Mar 2012
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On March 19, 2012 my girlfriend and I took a flight on one of Delta's MD-88's from ATL-PVD. This is the boarding video of us getting to our seats in row 33 on the right side. Unbeknownst to many, Delta recently re-configured the cabin layout in some of their MD88's by eliminating the rear galley and adding more seats in its place. This may make it difficult for passengers when picking a seat, as the seat numbers in the old-config'd planes don't match up with the new ones. To help select your next seat on the newly configured Delta MD88's, here's a brief analysis of what the changes are between the old config and the new: 1.... Rows 10-31 are unchanged between the two configurations. 2.... Seats 34DE-38DE on the old configuration are now labeled seats 32DE-36DE on the new config. These seats are in the same spot on both configs, but were just given new names. 3.... On the old config, a galley is located were seats 34ABC and 35ABC would be. On the new config, seats 32BC and 33ABC are added where the galley used to be. 4.... Note that seats 32BC on the new config are facing a rear-seated flight attendant sitting across from you (they'd be directly behind seat 31A). Be prepared to chat! Awkward... 5.... Seat 33A on the new config has lots of leg room, but again you'll be facing a rear-seated flight attendant looking right at you... awkward... 6.... Seats 36ABC-38ABC on the old config are now 34ABC-36AB on the new config, and note that there is no seat 36C on the new config. Why is this all important? Because if you're like me, and search "Youtube" for videos taken by passengers on the Delta MD88 in hopes of identifying the perfect seat, you need to be careful as to what cabin layout it has. The view from seat 35E on the old config is NOT the same as the view from seat 35E on the new config- you'd be looking out at the side of the engine! So make sure to identify what cabin layout you're looking at and use the equivalence guide i posted above- it's accurate. The seat giving the BEST view of both the engine cowling, inner blades and the wing is in seat 35E on the old config, and seat 33E on the new config (where i was seated for this flight). This MD-88 was tail number N945DL delivered to Delta in 1989 (same age as me!). I must say though, you'd never know it was 22.7 years old. The entire cabin has been "updated" recently, as the overhead bins and controls are very "new-age" with "daylight" fluorescent ceiling lights and white LED's illuminating the "no-smoking" and "seatbelt" indicators. I was very impressed with the cabin and it was honestly the most comfortable i've ever sat in. Compared to the 777 and 757 i flew on earlier in the week, the leg room and overall atmosphere was much better in the MD88. I absolutely loved this airplane! The engine noise was quieter than the DC9 (obviously) and surprisingly quieter than the 717 also- which surprised me. I also noted that the paneling didn't squeak as much as most Boeing's, and my ears didn't pop once! My ears pop on the 737, 757, A319, CRJ, ERJ, 777, surprisingly the 717 given the similarities to the DC9 and MD88, but not once on the aged DC9's and MD88. Honestly, the DC9 and MD88 are two of the most well-built and air tight airplanes still flying today. It'll be a sad day when they're gone! The flight was Delta #772 from ATL-PVD at 8:30pm on March 19, 2012. Enjoy and please comment!!