For the last couple years, air passengers have been clamoring for premium seats.
That trend shows no signs of slowing down, according to Delta’s latest passenger loads.
Last May, the carrier debuted an Airbus A321neo with a grand total of 44 first-class recliner-style seats that account for nearly half of the plane.
The premium-centric aircraft is just temporary—the jet is supposed to have new lie-flat seats that are currently held up in the federal certification process—but passengers have taken to the 11 rows of first-class seats.
Delta routinely sells out 80% of the massive premium cabin, according to a new report from The Points Guy.
An airline executive told TPG the oversized first class gives Delta a good idea of ongoing demand for premium seats.
"It's a great experiment to see how big should our first-class cabin be for the future," Joe Esposito, Delta’s chief commercial officer, told TPG. "It's not a mystery, we have high demand in those cabins, and we want to see how we can supply it."
The carrier plans to add premium-heavy seat configurations to its forthcoming aircraft.
Delta will increase first-class seats on its new Boeing 737 Max 10 planes by 20% compared to most current Delta planes for a total of 24 seats, according to TPG.
The airline plans to increase premium seats across its entire fleet by almost 8% compared to 2025.
The trend is probably best exemplified by Delta’s new Airbus A350-1000 plane set to arrive in 2027 with next-generation Delta One business class suites.
The plane will be Delta’s most premium long-haul jet ever: passengers can expect to see half of the seats on board located in premium cabins.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
