We’re seeing quite some nice improvements to the long haul business class products of major airlines in the United States. We recently saw American introduce its new Flagship Suite business class, and United is also rolling out its new Polaris business class, and next up it’s Delta’s turn.
While we’ve had a good sense of what to expect thanks to leaks from JonNYC, Delta has today officially unveiled its new business class product, which will debut on the upcoming Airbus A350-1000. With United stealing the limelight as of late with passenger experience innovations, it’s nice to see something from Delta. Separately, I covered how Delta announced plans to retrofit its A330ceos.
In this post:
Delta installing VantageNOVA seats on A350-1000s
Delta has 20 Airbus A350-1000s on order, which will eventually be the carrier’s flagship aircraft. Not only will this be Delta’s largest aircraft, but it’s also expected to be the most premium configured plane. Unfortunately at this point, we’ll have to wait until 2027 for the first of these aircraft to be delivered.
So, what can we expect onboard? Delta has now officially announced that its upcoming A350-1000s will feature its next generation business class suite, based on the Thompson Aero VantageNOVA product.
Around 50% of the seats onboard Delta’s new A350-1000s will be premium seats. The plane will feature 314 seats, including 53 business class seats, 48 premium economy seats, 51 extra legroom economy seats, and 162 regular economy seats. This will be the most business class seats Delta has ever installed on an aircraft (though still short of the 64 business class seats United has on its new 787-9s).
It makes perfect sense that this is the seat that Delta is going with, given that Delta already has a close partnership with Thompson Aero for its business class seats (the A350-900s have the Thompson Aero Vantage XL product).
Like many new products nowadays, the VantageNOVA product is pretty flexible. The way Delta is taking delivery of this, the entire cabin will be in a 1-2-1 layout, with reverse herringbone seats (meaning window seats will face toward the windows, and center seats will face toward the center).
The VantageNOVA product was unveiled in 2024, and isn’t yet in service. At the time, Thompson Aero indicated that it had a launch customer, though that customer hadn’t been disclosed. Now it’s pretty clear that Delta was that mystery customer.
When it comes to cabin features, what can we expect from Delta’s new business class?
- The new bed is around 3″ longer than the previous Delta One business class suite bed, so it should be just under 80″ long
- When it comes to tech, the seat has a 24″ 4K OLED monitor (the largest you’ll find at any US airline), bluetooth connectivity, and USB-A, AC, and wireless charging capabilities
- Seats also have storage for shoes, a phone tray under the armrest, and an exposed storage area, but not actually any enclosed storage
- Seats have a pillow-top cushion that adds a layer on top of the memory foam cushioned seat
- Thompson Aero promotes how this product has great efficiency and density, and these seats can be installed with as little as 40″ of pitch
- Interestingly, while Thompson Aero claims there’s the possibility of a “business class plus” product with these seats, there’s no mention of that from Delta; we’ll see if there’s more news there, or if Delta just opted not to offer such a product
- The cabin will have a snack bar by the second set of doors, with drinks and snacks that passengers can help themselves to
My take on Delta’s new business class seat choice
What’s interesting is that American and United are both in the process of rolling out a new business class as well, and they’ve selected exactly the same seat — the Elevate Ascent product. But like many airplane seats, there’s lots of flexibility for customization.
What should we make of Delta’s new business class seat? I’d say it looks very similar to the Elevate Ascent product. Both are intended to be efficient, and offer the option of a combined herringbone and reverse herringbone configuration (though Delta, like American, has gone for an all reverse herringbone layout). Still, it’s hard to know comfort level for sure, since this product isn’t yet in service with any airline.
I think we’ve reached the point now where business class seats aren’t actually getting much more comfortable, but instead, it’s just about whether they have a door, and how good the seat tech is (entertainment screens, charging, bluetooth audio, etc.).
For that matter, what counts most is how many planes an airline has with its latest generation premium seats. Take Emirates as an example. Emirates has its amazing “Game Changer” first class, which was introduced in 2017… it has been installed on a total of nine(!!!) planes. So that’s an average of around one plane per year. At the current pace, the entire fleet may be reconfigured with the product by 2275!
So yeah, it’s great that we’ll see the first plane with this product enter service for Delta in 2027, and I question whether Delta will reconfigure any planes with the product (I doubt it, since this product can’t be retrofitted on A330s and 767s, and I doubt Delta thinks the investment is worth it on existing A350s).
Bottom line
Delta has just unveiled its new business class product that will be installed on upcoming Airbus A350-1000s, which will be delivered as of 2027. Delta plans to install reverse herringbone seats in business class, and will be the launch customer of the Thompson Aero VantageNOVA product.
As you might expect, this will offer much upgraded tech, ranging from bluetooth audio, to wireless charging, to huge entertainment screens. Purely in terms of personal space, I don’t think this product will be that remarkable, since airlines are pretty maxed out in terms of how much space they’ll allocate to each passenger.
What do you make of Delta’s new business class suites?
In regards to the "Business Plus" seating it was actually mentioned by the THAI CEO in an interview last year that while Delta (undisclosed) at the time was the first customer of this seat, THAI which has also selected this seat for its upcoming new 787s and A350/777-300ER retrofit, will be the first airline to launch this seat with the "Business Plus" seating option as well. An image of this already being leaked a while...
In regards to the "Business Plus" seating it was actually mentioned by the THAI CEO in an interview last year that while Delta (undisclosed) at the time was the first customer of this seat, THAI which has also selected this seat for its upcoming new 787s and A350/777-300ER retrofit, will be the first airline to launch this seat with the "Business Plus" seating option as well. An image of this already being leaked a while back, expected to first roll out on its refurbished 77Ws in mid to late 2027.
The 777-200LR seats that they introduced a decade plus ago were phenomenal. And even recently when these aircraft were flying for Air India, they still felt like one of the better cabins in the air.
This feels like a step back from that.
I'm sure Tim is somewhere gloating about how this makes Delta better than United etc etc and I'm normally a United supporter and use facts and actual data to show that Tim is grossly incorrect etc. Congrats on coming to the 2020s.
But my thoughts:
1. This is good - good for everyone, I want every product in the US to be better so the competition gets better.
2. I don't think this...
I'm sure Tim is somewhere gloating about how this makes Delta better than United etc etc and I'm normally a United supporter and use facts and actual data to show that Tim is grossly incorrect etc. Congrats on coming to the 2020s.
But my thoughts:
1. This is good - good for everyone, I want every product in the US to be better so the competition gets better.
2. I don't think this is a surprise - Delta was the only airline without a next-gen business product and now they'll have it, I think the seat looks good. I'm a little disappointed in their seat model choice in business but this is still a decent product - I am excited to try it.
3. I'm quite concerned about their economy choice - that seat looks almost like a Spirit back breaker with no padding, I'm yet to sit in it so I'll be very happy if its more comfortable than I expect.
I have read that the Economy seats will have additional padding and 1 inch of additional pitch.
This looks awful. Who would even consider flying Skyteam
Psh. It's Coke vs. Pepsi.
More like Coke versus Crystal Pepsi. DieTeam could disappear tomorrow with all its members and I wouldn't notice.
Garsh! Hadn't heard of 'DieTeam' yet... got'em!
The plane is a gigantic turd, the airline is pure evil, and the cabin is vastly inferior to Polaris, because Polaris is not installed on a disgusting Airbus.
Least unhinged OMAAT commenter
Look, I'm usually with you but Airbus>Boeing. That's why the United a321neo is the best airplane flying in the US today. Hoping for a UA a350 to destroy Delta in the 2030s.
Any and all Airbuses are inferior to all Boeings. And Franco-Canadian Spaghetti-os is inferior to the E195-E2.
How do you REALLY feel ?
I love the design choices Delta made with this seat. IMO it looks much more upscale than some of their previous iterations (I'm just not a fan of the lighter blue and bright red color schemes). And the larger TV screens were a smart choice - tbh I think it will make these instantly look more high tech than the UA/AA seats and give a perception that they are newer for a longer period of...
I love the design choices Delta made with this seat. IMO it looks much more upscale than some of their previous iterations (I'm just not a fan of the lighter blue and bright red color schemes). And the larger TV screens were a smart choice - tbh I think it will make these instantly look more high tech than the UA/AA seats and give a perception that they are newer for a longer period of time. Wish United could have gone a bit larger on their non-Studio seats.
All of it looks better than American's design choices though. They have the ugliest seats of all the new generation products unveiled in the past year for my taste. And also made the odd decision to not put larger TV's in the bulkhead seats. Since Delta's are 24'', they won't look oddly small in the bulkheads whereas American chose smaller base TV's than United (at 17.5'' vs. 19'') and then didn't use a different size in the materially larger bulkhead seats. It literally looks like they salvaged TV's from old planes and stuck them in the new front seats...
Love the a350. Real competitive advantage for me versus 787s.
Not sure I get the tv swivel?
Business class plus products are gimmicky. Customers would rather a window seat than the plus seats in the middle.
Looks elegant. I like the darker color theme. Can't wait for the 35Ks. Beautiful.
window seats Way too far from the windows. Delta has been my favorite for long haul, but that will change with this stoopid configuration.
The question is it worth the wait in 2027 to redeem possibly at least 10,000,000 Skypesos for a one way from New York to London or Paris or maybe just between JFK and SFO/LAX HAHA.
Not that this matters in the grand scheme of things, but I wish airlines based in the US would be a little more creative with their color schemes onboard planes. The cabins are always just so sterile and boring
Looks pretty good overall; probably going to be the most comfortable of the Big 3's next gen products. I do wish they'd get rid of the white on the doors/interiors. It makes it look too much like a dentist office or a cubicle farm (especially the Vantage XL on the 900). I'd say in terms of aesthetic, United did the best with the business cabin, followed by Delta and then American. In terms of Premium...
Looks pretty good overall; probably going to be the most comfortable of the Big 3's next gen products. I do wish they'd get rid of the white on the doors/interiors. It makes it look too much like a dentist office or a cubicle farm (especially the Vantage XL on the 900). I'd say in terms of aesthetic, United did the best with the business cabin, followed by Delta and then American. In terms of Premium Eco and Eco cabins, I'd say American's actually look the best on their 787-9P, followed by United and Delta. As you said, they're all pretty similar, so it comes down to soft product and network scope and reliability, where Delta is still in the lead.
looks great, but in their instagram reel announcing this they said "most suites of any US carrier". huh? As you noted the United 787-9 has more. what are they referring to? weird thing to lie about
UA has about 3 Suite equipped aircraft in service.
DL has about 80
That's if suite = 3' door.
UA has by far the coherent international wide body premium product offering.
It's telling that Delta is following AA & UA with the selected suite and abandoning the previous D1 suite and layout. I wonder why?
you harp on this incessantly but tell us how many airlines tried to have a single business class product at the expense of some that are class leading?
Polaris is a dumbed-down, high density seat that isn't class leading. Delta One on DL's 359s has been on that list for years even at 10 years old.
As noted, it is harder and harder to get substantially better products but DL is there w/ these...
you harp on this incessantly but tell us how many airlines tried to have a single business class product at the expense of some that are class leading?
Polaris is a dumbed-down, high density seat that isn't class leading. Delta One on DL's 359s has been on that list for years even at 10 years old.
As noted, it is harder and harder to get substantially better products but DL is there w/ these latest iterations.
and you still can't admit that Suites mean doors - which Polaris does not have while DL has 80 aircraft in service w/ them.
and UA's consistency just went out the window w/ their newest product.
Not at all. Polaris Elevated and Polaris are very complementary and both are space efficient. It is interesting that Delta is going with reverse herringbone also now and using the same seat as UA & AA. Great to see DL with some announcements too and hopefully they will be able to get their Basic D1 offering to the market some time soon.
The first DL A350-1000 is about 60 aircraft away from rolling out from production so we will see the first aircraft by fall.
As previously noted, DL will have over 180 Suite equiped widebodies by 2030, far in excess of what any other US airline will have
Looking forward to all of it, Tim. Listen, we do the Coke v. Pepsi a lot on here, but this is good stuff. Sure, United and American also have newer Suites incoming as well. All of it is great for US-based J passengers.
Suites doesn’t mean better, Tim.
But it does mean sweet. Go easy on those Biscoffs, Denise...
Tim: *(Criticizes United because completing the Starlink rollout will take 1-2 years)
Also Tim: *(Gets all excited about Delta completing a seating upgrade in 4 years)
Looks fantastic, especially with 24" screens throughout. I like the color finish as well.
Looks beautiful. Hopefully, the rollout will go better than some of Delta's other interiors and renovations. It will also be interesting to see how many different international wide body premium configurations they will have.
Gorgeous. It's the rare seat that actually blends efficiency AND good taste. It looks comfortable, simple, and premium. And the color scheme is surprisingly cozy and sedate for the airline of white plastic and purple uniforms.