In early 2022, Delta Air Lines started taking delivery of the Airbus A321neo. The airline has 189 of these jets on order, and so far, the airline has taken delivery of about half of those. For all practical purposes, these are Delta’s new “flagship” standard domestic aircraft, featuring the newest cabin designs, and overall great economics.
We’ve known that Delta plans to introduce A321neos in a more premium configuration, featuring flat beds in business class, premium economy, and more. We’ve known that these planes are massively delayed due to certification issues, and we now have even better of a sense of just how bad the delay is. Let’s cover the basics of these planes, and then talk about the latest on the delays, as there’s quite the update.
In this post:
Delta’s three-cabin, 148-seat Airbus A321neos with flat beds
As we’ve known for quite some time now, Delta is planning on operating a fleet of 21 Airbus A321neos with a special configuration, featuring just 148 seats (compared to the standard 194 seats). This includes:
- 16 Delta One seats (business class), which will be fully flat and in a 1-1 configuration, with each seat having a privacy door
- 12 Delta Premium Select seats (premium economy), which will be in a 2-2 configuration, similar to what you’d usually find in domestic first class
- 54 Comfort+ seats (extra legroom economy), which will be in a 3-3 configuration
- 66 Main Cabin seats (economy), which will be in a 3-3 configuration
While Delta has officially said little about these new planes, we do know the airline plans to have reverse herringbone seats in business class. That’s exciting, because as airlines are increasingly installing flat beds on narrow body aircraft, we’re frequently seeing herringbone seats rather than reverse herringbone seats, which is really a step back in terms of passenger experience. The challenge is, actually getting these planes into service isn’t actually so easy…
Delta’s flat bed A321neos won’t fly until 2028, best case scenario
In October 2024, Delta started taking delivery of its first Airbus A321neos intended to be in a premium configuration. However, due to issues with certifying the new business class seats, the planes were immediately put into storage. Where they stayed for around 18 months.
This is reportedly because of issues with getting the new business class seats certified. With those problems continuing, Delta ultimately made the decision to temporarily put these planes into service with a modified configuration.
As I wrote about separately, these planes are now starting to fly around with 44-seat first class cabins. The idea is that these are just standard first class seats, taking up the space of the entire planned business class and premium economy cabin.
We know that this is a temporary solution, but the question has been how long it will last. Well, we now have an answer. In a recent interview with Business Traveller, Delta Chief Commercial Officer Joe Esposito said the following regarding this new A321neo concept:
“There’s a new product coming in a couple of years: a lie-flat bed on the A321neo. The seat is in development and getting tested right now, but that product will be in service in about two more years.”
So year, it sounds like we can expect this A321neos to be flying around with 44 first class seats until some point in 2028, best case scenario. That’s a massive delay, when you consider these cabins were supposed to be in service in late 2024. Aircraft seat certification issues are common nowadays, but this is especially bad.
What are the seats that are giving Delta such a headache? The expectation is that Delta has selected the Safran VUE product for its A321neos. This is the same business class product that FlyDubai will have on its 737 MAXs at some point. However, that was announced in early 2023, and there’s still not a plane actually flying with this configuration.
Currently the reverse herringbone narrow body seat in service is the Stelia Aerospace OPERA platform, which you’ll find on Etihad Airways’ A321LRs and ITA Airways’ A321neos. So there is another option that seems to be easier to get certified.
One certainly wonders if the Safran VUE product might have certification hurdles that can’t be overcome, because the fact that it’s taking years and years to get this seat certified isn’t a great sign.
Expect these planes on premium transcon routes
Delta plans to specifically use these Airbus A321neos for operating premium domestic routes. However, I think the question is exactly which aircraft they’ll replace, and which routes the planes will be placed on.
Historically Delta has typically used a combination of Boeing 767s and Boeing 757s for these premium routes, though we knew that eventually there needs to be a replacement, especially if Delta wants to compete with a leading product:
- The 757s don’t have a very competitive product, as business class is in a 2-2 configuration, and the planes aren’t great in economy
- The 767s are getting old, and if you’re focusing on a premium market, there’s something to be said for a lower capacity aircraft (so that more frequencies can be operated with more premium seats)
While back in the day most airlines operated wide body aircraft on premium transcontinental routes, that’s no longer the case:
- JetBlue has its fleet of Mint-configured Airbus A321
- American flies specially configured Airbus A321s, and is replacing them with A321XLRs
- United currently most flies wide bodies, but is planning a new fleet of “Coasterliner” Airbus A321neos, which will take over these routes
I think the configuration Delta is planning is roughly what we would have expected. It’s interesting how premium economy is increasingly being offered by US airlines on premium domestic routes. It’s basically like domestic first class, and for a daytime flight it’s very comfortable, in my opinion. For that matter, Delta is already selling this cabin on select transcontinental flights.
So, what does Delta plan to do with the 757s and 767s that it takes off these routes? Look, these vintage aircraft should be retired, as far as I’m concerned, but we’re talking about Delta here. The airline would add the Wright Flyer to its fleet if it had the capacity. With that in mind:
- Delta is actually reconfiguring some 757s in standard domestic layouts, so that they can be used to add capacity elsewhere
- Delta currently operates a lot of 767-400ERs on domestic routes, so I suspect we’ll see those taken off more domestic routes, instead being flown on international routes, with more focus on A321neos and 767-300ERs operating domestic flights
I do question if Delta will actually put A321neos on routes like New York to Los Angeles, though. I can’t imagine that Delta wants to give up the capacity offered by the larger aircraft (in both business class and economy), and it’s not like Delta has any shortage of frequencies in the market.
Bottom line
Delta is configuring 21 Airbus A321neos in a premium layout. These planes will feature 148 seats, including flat bed business class, premium economy, and lots of extra legroom economy seats.
While the planes were supposed to enter service in Q3 2024, there have been serious issues with getting the business class seats certified. The situation is so bad that the airline has now put these planes into service with different interiors, and the expectation is that it’ll take at least a couple more years until the intended cabins are in service.
I’m happy to see that Delta plans to introduce reverse herringbone seats on narrow body aircraft, but a delay of well over three years isn’t ideal.
What do you make of Delta’s premium A321neo certification issues?
If the Stelia Opera seats are already in service on A321NEOs w/ other airlines, how soon can Delta get them for their A321NEOs? They’re reverse herringbone, which Delta already planned for the transcon A321NEOs, and might be a good substitute for the Safran Vue seats.
I only hold Ben accountable for letting Tim Dunn post twenty times anytime he is triggered by the word "Delta".
you and others simply can't stand a factual discussion on the issues that are discussed includiing in this case that DL is handling supply chain issues as well or better than any other airline.
AA, AS, UA and WN have had scores of MAX aircraft grounded because of Boeing issues
B6, NK and UA have or had scores of aircraft grounded because of engine issues
DL converted SEVEN 321NEO aircraft to a...
you and others simply can't stand a factual discussion on the issues that are discussed includiing in this case that DL is handling supply chain issues as well or better than any other airline.
AA, AS, UA and WN have had scores of MAX aircraft grounded because of Boeing issues
B6, NK and UA have or had scores of aircraft grounded because of engine issues
DL converted SEVEN 321NEO aircraft to a high domestic first class configuration while it waits for its seat supplier to certify a seat that will be superior to anything AA, B6 or UA have or will fly on their premium transcon configured aircraft.
those are facts and you can't stand to hear that perspective.
Tiny Tim’s mental diminishing on hand for all to witness realtime
TLDR lesson : don't ever buy non-certified product, ever.
There is no such product as Delta wants that is available on the market today.
The whole point of the discussion is that other airlines, including American and United have seats that are facing toward the aisle while Delta wants seats that face towards the window. Delta will wait for the seat seats it wants
Delta has surprising difficulties with aircraft interiors. The Delta One Suite is only available on 80 of DL's 179 wide body aircraft and their hard product consistency is lacking with four different J seats: Safran Cirrus I: A332s & A333s , Thompson Vantage: B767s, Thompson Vantage XL: A339s, A350s, Thompson Aero Vantage NOVA?: A35Xs (2027?) 78Xs (2031): ?.
United has 82% more lie-flat seat/beds than DL and twice as many Economy Plus Int'l seats.
again, hyprocrisy to the core.
Polaris 2 or whatever it is called is available on, what 3, aircraft?
by your own admission, DL has Delta one suites on more than 40% of DL's fleet - but mental midgets like you show up thinking "your" airline is better off - when your idea of a good time is the most dense business class seat in the US industry.
You have precisely no clue about business...
again, hyprocrisy to the core.
Polaris 2 or whatever it is called is available on, what 3, aircraft?
by your own admission, DL has Delta one suites on more than 40% of DL's fleet - but mental midgets like you show up thinking "your" airline is better off - when your idea of a good time is the most dense business class seat in the US industry.
You have precisely no clue about business class quality but have the unmitigated nerve to criticize someone that has figured out years ago what UA is just now beginning to figure out.
Tim you delusional choad - we all know you only fly DL so it’s funny that only yo are the arbiter of what a good J product is.
You might be the single most pathetic individual I have seen in 20 years across these blogs. I thought DCS was bad but he does teach at an Ivy League uni.
You, on the other hand, were fired by DL (after undoubtedly a mediocre “career”) but continually rise to their defense. Get a hobby and stop defending a corporation FFS you douche.
what I fly or not is not the issue.
the issue is simply whether an issue is factually discussed.
and you prove that you and others can't stand to factually discuss anything accurately so you resort to personal attacks.
It makes ZERO sense for someone to have been fired by a company and then for that person to supposedly become their #1 internet fan.
in fact, you and your ilk are the ones that...
what I fly or not is not the issue.
the issue is simply whether an issue is factually discussed.
and you prove that you and others can't stand to factually discuss anything accurately so you resort to personal attacks.
It makes ZERO sense for someone to have been fired by a company and then for that person to supposedly become their #1 internet fan.
in fact, you and your ilk are the ones that can't stand to hear that DL reallly is doing as well as or better in an industry where you, not me, have your affections deeply ingrained to a huge corporation.
UA has scores of aircraft grounded right now for engine engines while DL has a much larger fleet of GTF powered aircraft and has managed to keep them flying at much higher rates.
UA suffered from years of Boeing delivery delays when DL received more widebodies from Airbus than AA, AS and UA combined from Boeing.
DL converted its A321NEO orders to standard domestic aircraft when its new D1 seat couldn't get certified and is flying SEVEN high domestic first class configured aircraft until a new, superior D1 seat to what AA and UA will fly is available.
Pathetic is people like you that can't stand facts esp. if it cuts off your hypocrisy and lies and deals with the actual facts that show that DL is no worse off than other airlines regarding the issues you love to discuss so you can try to throw crap at DL = only to find that other airlines do the very things you accuse DL of far worse.
YOU are the one that is to be pitied as you try to defend a company that repeatedly fails at its objectives.
Can't they change their supplier now? Like how AA used 2 suppliers on 772 refurbs.
Ok folks! Will someone please help me out here?
Who is this “Tim Dunn” character?
I know that he is the butt of so many contributors jokes (including me now), but, who is the numpty behind the login name? Is it just a Delta Airlines stupid joke like that stupid “Air Lines” name?
Could it be a Ben-plant to generate more clicks? If it is Ben, then it is a brilliant ploy …. :-)
No, Tim is way bigger than Ben (and OMAAT). He’s on all the sites. He’s just a Delta-fanatic. (Gene, who’s been around for far longer said Tim showed up during the pandemic.) Also, I’m just a guy who wants an EU/UK261-equivalent in the US. Not with anyone or anything.
is this your guest account or are you a registered user because your username most certainly is all over the web.
The only reason I participate in aviation social media is to correct inaccurate statements and to provide perspective that others seem to lack or be unable to see.
Yes, DL has certification issues w/ its D1 seat but it is beyond comprehension that people would throw dirt at DL over 7 A321NEOs when entire...
is this your guest account or are you a registered user because your username most certainly is all over the web.
The only reason I participate in aviation social media is to correct inaccurate statements and to provide perspective that others seem to lack or be unable to see.
Yes, DL has certification issues w/ its D1 seat but it is beyond comprehension that people would throw dirt at DL over 7 A321NEOs when entire fleets of aircraft are grounded because of Pratt and Whitney engine problems and Boeing delivery delays and associated quality control issues.
Thank you TD, you respond very much like a seasoned politician, gobbledygook upon gobbledygook, in an attempt to avoid answering simple questions from other contributors.
Ok! I will bite again …. can you substantiate your claims with actual facts?
Your credibility is seriously in doubt here and I feel that you are lining yourself up for even more ridicule by your tactics.
Yesterday, you alluded to a someone’s mental health. That is not you standing up for DL values, profits or customer care. It was repulsive behavior.
Comments like that deserve no quarter.
1990, thank you for your assistance with my lack of knowledge regarding Walter Mitty Dunn. I once felt sorry for him because I thought that he was being badly treated by some. Now I know better and can fully appreciate the attitude of many towards him.
Aero, I like you, Tim, and anyone who’s willing to spend time on sites like these. Love for the game!
I luv you too 1990, are you trying to make it onto my Christmas Card list? …. :-)
you went off the rails when I told you that you didn't know how to speak or write English - which is, of course, the ultimate insult for a Brit.
or was that your alter ego that doesn't bother to sign in under your official user name?
yes, 1990, it is the love of the game - and the occassional butt whooping.
Alter egos arguing each other.
This game is very lovable.
I, for one, are so pleased that you are enjoying the verbal intercourse Eskimo. Do you think that Walter is enjoying it too?
So! Walter Mitty Dunn, has admitted to being a butt-licker …. :-)
Walter, what you fail to grasp is that anyone who starts a sentence or a paragraph with a lower case letter, has lost all credibility when it comes to writing in English …. Yes?
However, you persist in cancelling the automatic keyboard command which applies English language rules for everyone’s convenience. What a childish trait you have cultivated in your ignorance …....
So! Walter Mitty Dunn, has admitted to being a butt-licker …. :-)
Walter, what you fail to grasp is that anyone who starts a sentence or a paragraph with a lower case letter, has lost all credibility when it comes to writing in English …. Yes?
However, you persist in cancelling the automatic keyboard command which applies English language rules for everyone’s convenience. What a childish trait you have cultivated in your ignorance …. Yes?
You will be astonished to learn that, as you put it; (I) “Went off the rails”, due to something which you might have posted, is nothing short of delusional thinking on your part. No Walter, if I really did as you imagine then you will be the first to experience the phenomenon. Until that situation arises you can continue to make yourself look and sound very foolish.
A most important thing that I have learned from reading your posts Walter, is that you know far less about civil aviation than you pretend. It is evident that you have never experienced a World Class Airline’s flight. Possibly, never travelled beyond your home county lines and never upon another airline other than Delta Airlines. In short Walter, you really do deserve the name Walter Mitty!
Sick burn, Tim! *sizzle*
Tim Dunn is a frequent aviation-blog commenter, who behaves like paid employee of Delta and acts like a public relations specialist, who isn't very good at his job.
His common theme revolves around the following:
- Delta is the best airline on the planet
- Delta has, or will soon have, the best product
- Delta management is smarter than any other airline management team
His common target is United, although he...
Tim Dunn is a frequent aviation-blog commenter, who behaves like paid employee of Delta and acts like a public relations specialist, who isn't very good at his job.
His common theme revolves around the following:
- Delta is the best airline on the planet
- Delta has, or will soon have, the best product
- Delta management is smarter than any other airline management team
His common target is United, although he is willing to criticize American on occasion. He frequently cites "facts" without actually providing facts. When challenged, he will quickly pivot, and not address the challenge, but will instead bring up other unrelated issues (baggage handling statistics is a current favorite).
Stick around. His entertainment value is as high as his credibility is low.
Sarah M says, "behaves like paid employee of Delta and acts like a public relations specialist, who isn't very good at his job."
When I first encountered little Tim Dunn (LTD) I thought he was either a Delta employee or paid by DL as a social media influencer. But after seeing the reactions to his never ending, irrational and biased posts I think Delta would pay LTD a small fortune to STOP posting. Too funny.
I'm sure they would--if they had any clue he existed. He's only real talent is displaying weapons grade narcissism and arming their brand. Good thing he's irrelevant.
Sarah & Rebel, thank you for your candid views, much appreciated.
Technology has now advanced to the point where it takes as long to develop and certify a seat as it took to develop and certify the 747. Progress indeed.
That being the case Jem, is there not a case for the aircraft manufacturers to submit seats for certification at the same time as the actual aircraft. Much like motor car manufacturers have to do?
Just a thought ….
Thank you TD, you respond very much like a seasoned politician, gobbledygook upon gobbledygook, in an attempt to avoid answering simple questions from other contributors.
Ok! I will bite again …. can you substantiate your claims with actual facts?
Your credibility is seriously in doubt here and I feel that you are lining yourself up for even more ridicule by your tactics.
Jem, please ignore my post which was intended as a response to Walter Mittty Dunn.
Sincere apologies.
In the mind of Tim Dunn:
‘Who run the world?’ Delta!’
‘Who run the world?’ Delta!’
‘Who run the world?’ Delta!’
In the mind of DCS:
‘Who run this motha? Hilton!’
‘Who run this motha? Hilton!’
‘Who run this motha? Hilton!’
in the minds of some people - perhaps including you, Stanley - it is ok to speak anything negative about Delta but if there is actual truth esp. that is positive, only a fanatical maniac would mention it.
Yes, it will take a couple more years for DL's new seat supplier to deliver what should have been delivered already but every airline has suffered from supply chain issues including Boeing, which DL largely avoided over...
in the minds of some people - perhaps including you, Stanley - it is ok to speak anything negative about Delta but if there is actual truth esp. that is positive, only a fanatical maniac would mention it.
Yes, it will take a couple more years for DL's new seat supplier to deliver what should have been delivered already but every airline has suffered from supply chain issues including Boeing, which DL largely avoided over the past 5 years plus while AA, UA and WN esp. have suffered tremendously from Boeing's problems.
And DL's new lie flat seat will be far better than AA or UA's. So, DL will fix this problem in a couple years but AA and UA's seats will be inferior to DL's for years after everyone stops talking about supply chain seat issues.
Walter Dunn, you proclaim that “DL's new lie flat seat will be far better than AA or UA's”.
Ok! I will bite …. can you substantiate that claim with actual facts?
Ben himself has provided info showing that DL's 321NEO D1 seats face the windows which is what he believes should be the case but AA and UA's 321NEO premiun cabin lie flat seats do not.
Walter, blaming Ben, for your lack of knowledge is no excuse. Surely, any one who possesses even a basic knowledge of aviation will tell you that the lack a certification is all about passenger safety and vectors …. yes?
How is being on a domestic flight on an A320 built in 2000 different from a 757 built in 2000 Ben?
If one has lie-flat (some 752s with 2-2 up-front) and the other has recliners (a320), then lie-flat is clearly better.
I guess I have a pretty fatalistic view on life, but if the any plane is going to crash I would expect everyone to die anyway, whether these seats are certified or not by the relevant authorities. So to delay them for 3 years in IMHO ridiculous. Let's spend the money on upgrades to ATC and common sense.
I guess I have a pretty fatalistic view on life, but if the any plane is going to crash I would expect everyone to die anyway, whether these seats are certified or not by the relevant authorities. So to delay them for 3 years in IMHO ridiculous. Let's spend the money on upgrades to ATC and common sense.
Obviously Sean Duffy knows what’s he’s doing.
@Jay
This problem blew up years before Duffy took office. But hey, don't let facts and an actual timeline of events get in the way of your low-value post.
Do you need a safe space Johnny? You seem triggered; do you have a sad?
Pretty sure this falls on the seat supplier since they can’t get the seat to pass a certain part of testing. Has nothing to do with Airbus or Delta. These were supposed to be flying a few years ago I believe. Surprised they didn’t change suppliers.
Delta seems quite unique within the US with their supply chain issues.
They keep happening.
They had years to prep for the LATAM A350 delivery but still couldn't retrofit them for a few years now years of delayed seat certification.
seriously?
Delta took far more widebodies from Airbus than AA, AS, and UA combined while Boeing couldn't get its stuff together but Boeing isn't a supplier, according to you?
feel free to tell us how soon any airline could have ordered 9 shipsets for a complete cabin overhaul ON TOP OF new deliveries which far exceeded what AA, AS and UA put into service, Max.
You prove every day that you participate in aviation social...
seriously?
Delta took far more widebodies from Airbus than AA, AS, and UA combined while Boeing couldn't get its stuff together but Boeing isn't a supplier, according to you?
feel free to tell us how soon any airline could have ordered 9 shipsets for a complete cabin overhaul ON TOP OF new deliveries which far exceeded what AA, AS and UA put into service, Max.
You prove every day that you participate in aviation social media how big your axe is to grind and how badly how can't admit that no one else runs a business any better than DL.
Ok! Tim, you claim: “No one else runs a business any better than DL”.
That being the case, my simple question to you is: Why is Delta Airlines NOT the World’s Number One Airline?
"Delta took far more widebodies from Airbus than AA, AS, and UA combined..."
Once again, you are using biased, filtered statistics (technically accurate, but intentionally conditional) to try to argue your point. Why mention only Airbus widebody deliveries? UA had no plans to take deliveries of their A350s on order over the last year, and both AA and AS have no Airbus widebody orders anyhow. You might as well have thrown Southwest, Allegiant, and Avelo...
"Delta took far more widebodies from Airbus than AA, AS, and UA combined..."
Once again, you are using biased, filtered statistics (technically accurate, but intentionally conditional) to try to argue your point. Why mention only Airbus widebody deliveries? UA had no plans to take deliveries of their A350s on order over the last year, and both AA and AS have no Airbus widebody orders anyhow. You might as well have thrown Southwest, Allegiant, and Avelo into your comparison there. How's this for something similar? "American is flying more A321XLRs today than Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska, Frontier, JetBlue, Envoy, and Skywest have in their combined fleet!" Technically true - but ignores future and non-existent orders to sound more impressive.
Also - by only going with Airbus deliveries, you are excluding the 8 787s AA received, the 7 787s UA received, and the 2 787s AS received over the last 12 months. By the way, Delta took 7 widebodies from Airbus from the start of June, 2025, to date (4 A350s and 3 A330s). AA took more widebodies than Delta. That's a fact. And that's far different than the picture you're trying to paint, pretending Delta is dominating in widebody deliveries.
"...while Boeing couldn't get its stuff together but Boeing isn't a supplier, according to you?""
Boeing 787 deliveries:
2023: 73
2024: 51
2025: 88
So their deliveries have recovered from the issues experienced in 2024, and are now exceeding 2023 levels. And Boeing publicly stated they expect 787 deliveries to increase YOY for 2026. United said they expect to take 20 - TWENTY - 787s in 2026. How many widebodies does Delta expect to get this year?
More facts? This, according to Flightplan: "Widebody lead times reached a very healthy average of 23 days, which is a sharp decrease from previous months. This improvement is attributed to much stronger widebody production performance from both Boeing and Airbus after the programs had struggled earlier in the year. Furthermore, the bottleneck caused by stored inventory has largely dissipated as the remaining 787 inventory is now nearly cleared."
You need a new persona. The "Tim Dunn" name continues to lose all credibility. Make up another one and start over. Everyone sees through you when you post this garbage.
"...ON TOP OF new deliveries which far exceeded what AA, AS and UA put into service..."
Nope. American put 8 new widebody aircraft into service from the beginning of June, 2025, through today. United put 7 787s into service during the same period. Delta got 7 (four A350s and three A330s).
Wrong again, once the data is checked.
Worse still, the new recliners have all the cushion of a park bench. Awful seats
Airline leadership focus is on circlejerking via ESG onanism.
They've forgotten who they work for and what their core mission is
Those in charge of certification should at least tell delta the reason for the delay and possibly help delta make adjustments if needed.
More like Comfort Minus…
So, now Delta wants to emulate LH. Who would have thought copying LH was a good idea. But, since Delta is a premium airline, they would learn from LH.
So, when should we expect roast goose… on Delta?
That’s just pathetic!
DL messed up again, gimme some news…
Very premium of them, not just premium but a premium mess up
Crap seat for a crap plane on a crap airline.
Do you work for United? Your input on Delta is consistently negative and not very articulate.
he was fired from UA and is now homeless at O'Hare
and he really can't afford his mental health meds now
You don’t need to talk about mental health meds pal… You’re Exhibit 1A.
There is nothing wrong with standing up and supporting your favorite airline.
Can you please stop with the insults? Joking about mental health is appalling.
@onemileatatime- there has to be a filter for this type of commentary.
Spectrum Boy doesn't have mental health issues. His condition accurately manifests in the 'DL' sycophancy as posted; been standard from DSM 3 to today's DSM 5.
Cool post, Tim Dunn.
And nice work tagging your own post as "Helpful".
Sarah… I think you’re onto something… bah!
It at least makes for a fun forces economics experiments. Can it fly delta one route (LAX/NYC) but only have PE as highest cabin? Are there non D1 domestic routes where they can actually fill FC? I'm sure there's some road warrior routes (NYC/ATL?) that can fill with corporate bookings
Aviation timelines are now measured in allegris-years.
More vapor ware from Delta
UNITED rising
What a disaster. I will give credit to Delta for having the best ground experience for premium transcon, so much so that United followed suit with marketing their flights as Polaris, but the hard product lags so much.
I'd much rather fly on UA/B6/AA metal for transcon than the ancient 763s and 757s. The only time Delta is worth flying premium transcon is if you can catch them on a widebody turn like an A330neo...
What a disaster. I will give credit to Delta for having the best ground experience for premium transcon, so much so that United followed suit with marketing their flights as Polaris, but the hard product lags so much.
I'd much rather fly on UA/B6/AA metal for transcon than the ancient 763s and 757s. The only time Delta is worth flying premium transcon is if you can catch them on a widebody turn like an A330neo or 764 because otherwise, you're getting the worst experience out there.
Well, unless you get unlucky enough to be on a United 777-200 with the 8-across business class. That's the worst lie-flat transcon in the sky.
At least this lines up with their installation timeline for Amazon WiFi. One might argue this is part of their premium strategy to keep aircraft in service with minimal downtime
It was a given when the seat failed testing that it would be a couple years.
The narrowbody lie flat seat market is pretty new as the article notes.
It is also worth noting that DL is going for a product that will be far superior to waht AA and UA are installing on their 321NEOs. AA has some XLRs in service; UA has none in service yet.
DL's seat will be delayed a...
It was a given when the seat failed testing that it would be a couple years.
The narrowbody lie flat seat market is pretty new as the article notes.
It is also worth noting that DL is going for a product that will be far superior to waht AA and UA are installing on their 321NEOs. AA has some XLRs in service; UA has none in service yet.
DL's seat will be delayed a couple years at best compared to AA and UA's seat.
AA and UA's seat will be inferior to DL's the entire time the seat is in service - which is typically a 10 year replacement cycle.
Poor Tim, trying to explain how Delta screwed up again it's wifi and seats are utter crap!
Somehow Timmy will try to tell us how great this will be in 4 years
AA has been flying a reverse herringbone Safran seat for 13 years. This is not a new concept. You have your head so far up DL’s a** that you can’t accept they made a huge blunder here.
They’ll be flying subpar products on the 75/76 until 2030, or they’ll pivot to install the same A321 reverse herringbone seat that AA/UA were able to certify. The “Delta Difference” means they’re getting left behind this time.
Reverse is obviously better, but worth that weird corner cutout in the seat?
It would be helpful to explain what is involved in seat certification.
@ mark -- See this post for details:
https://onemileatatime.com/insights/aircraft-seat-certification-delays/
Crash testing, in short
Premium my ass. This is embarrassing. They’re going to fall far behind United and even AMERICAN for gods sake with this. No one on a redeye wants to fly standard first class over a lie flat and their 767s and 757s are so woefully inadequate.
For real. Also, jetBlue’s Mint is far better, too.