Delta Ending Seat Blocking As Of May 1, 2021

I actually do view this as a positive. Delta was my preferred airline before covid but since then the price is double any other airline on the routes that I fly and the reduced service also sucks so I have avoided them.

I had a feeling this was coming when Delta also announced a resumption of in-flight service a few weeks ago. For the last few months, you were essentially paying for space with Delta in exchange for fewer snacks. And if they were going to start filling up their seats, they had to match AA and UA in terms of in-flight service.

Personally, I am surprised it lasted this long, but I am also a little disappointed we didn't see some sort of middle seat blocking for elites and/or in Comfort+ (I know Qantas did that pre-COVID if the flight wasn't full).

Delta wants to kill all of our grandparents by allowing us to sit a couple feet closer in an enclosed tube where we're taking our masks off anyway to eat and stuff but that doesn't matter because outrage!!! (The return to sanity is going to be a slow one. For some, it'll never happen.)

I specifically flew Delta more often during the pandemic because of middle seat blocking. It probably was costly for them in terms of revenue, but it definitely helped build brand loyalty for me.

Blocked middle seats + bottle of champagne and a meal = European business class

Delta should offer a comfort add-on that blocks the middle seat. Who wants to sit there? Nobody! Give me a choice to get extra space, especially on long-haul flights like other airlines do with sky couches and such.

Alaska is still blocking middle seats in their premium seats (free for elites) through May. I appreciate that and am booking accordingly.

Covid is dangerous. Only change is roughly 15% vaccinated.

War is not over. Too early to remove gas masks and come out of the bomb shelter.

I enjoyed empty middle seat on recent flight to Hawaii. Its a bummer that they are ending it but I don’t think they had a choice. The positive is expected reduction in price the negative is return of folks like “Nige” sitting next to you when even 10ft distance is not far enough from them.

Delta waited exactly the right amount of time to do exactly the right thing. They really can do no wrong. Ever.

Am I doing it right, OMAAT Delta sycophants?

@Al
I agree with your concern but Delta could not continue competing with other airlines while flying so many empty seats. They likely picked up few additional passengers based on their policy. Remember, AA decades ago tried having the most economy legroom, they had to backtrack when consumers cared more about fare than comfort.
To be clear, I agree with your concern and will likely not traverse an airport, lounge or aircraft till after this summer. I would rather drive thousands of miles rather than travel under the current situation.

@ Al - Delta has no intention of doing that. You are welcome to stay home while those of us who are vaccinated can fly with a mask and briefly pull it down for a sip or bite.

Delta was bound to reach this point. Their sellable capacity will increase up to 50% in revenue generating capability depending on the aircraft type.

Michigan hospital officials are saying that there is a noticeable shift to younger people and, so far, death rates are much lower even though they are a hot zone for new infections. They say - as is obvious - that vaccines are working. They say they have yet to hospitalize anyone that has had even one dose of any of the 3 vaccines. In another month, the US will have fully vaccinated up to 30-40 million more Americans.

I actually prefer paying about 50% more for my ticket to leave the middle seat empty.

Ignoring the virus issue, I found the blocking of seats to be a huge plus. The main thing I value is personal space on a plane and it was so nice. I just completed a trip using Southwest outbound on a full flight and Delta on the return. What a difference.

I sure would also pay a good 50% more for a blocked middle seat instead of having someone rubbing elbows with me. Instead I'll look at business seats.

I agree with others that flying during the pandemic reinforced how much I hated the endless completely full flights pre-pandemic. For reasons of loving some space apart from others which has nothing to do with COVID, I'd love for carriers to make it easy to purchase 3 seats if 2 people are flying together. Simply charge the same fare for that 3rd seat + use an algorithm to add your average additional revenue from bags etc. for a seat and sell it at that price. If 3 seats are available at $100 at time of booking and your average is $50 in ancillary revenue, sell the 3 seats to me for a total of $350. Why do airlines care if there's a butt in the seat if they're not losing net revenue?

While I'm sad to see this end, I think it is time. I've loved not having anyone next to me for the last year and I would take an empty middle seat any day over a sugary soft drink or crappy cup of coffee, but there's just too many people returning to the skies for Delta to ignore. My last couple of flights have been substantially busier and just today I was looking at RNO/SMF-MSP for next week, and I'm seeing a lot of cabins showing as 'sold out'.

Despite the pandemic raging on outside, I've become pretty comfortable with travel in the covid era. I'm really not looking forward to the return of crowded lounges, long lines, unattended children running up and down the hotel, etc...

One can ALWAYS block a middle seat. The problem is, very few are willing to pay for it, and there lies the problem. Profit margin for economy is not high enough to make it financially feasible to reduce 1/3 of the capacity on a continual basis.

Just booked a flight in May. No middle seat blocking. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. But will they continue to not have refreshment service, citing Covid?