News and notes from around the interweb:
- Delta’s new ‘Comfort Basic’ – extra legroom seats you pay extra for, but with heavy restrictions and you wind up stuck in a middle seat – seems strange, like something nobody would want, but that’s the point. Delta isn’t doing this so that anyone will buy it. They’re doing it so that nobody will. They’re positioning standard Comfort+ extra legroom seats as more premium, and think they’ll be able to charge more for those.
Put another way, Comfort Basic isn’t a new lower fare for extra legroom coach. It’s the standard fare, and you pay more to avoid how bad it is. In that sense, it’s actually quite like basic economy except without the obvious market for who actually buys it. Up next: Basic Business Class.
delta rolling out “comfort basic” is absolutely incredible.
what are we even doing here? also filtering this garbage out of google flights is a nightmare too. pic.twitter.com/t2I3nHglg3
— signüll (@signulll) February 7, 2026
- United does such a great job with in-person moments to celebrate million miler achievements.
- Emotional support animals are a worldwide problem, not just a U.S. issue. This looks like Avianca to me:
An emotional support Great Dane on my 3 hour flight
by
u/Secret_Flight_2669 in
interesting - Go home AAdvantage, you’re drunk.
My price to celebrate my own loyalty
by
u/lithdoc in
americanairlines - Asiana – this looks really good. I’ve always enjoyed their food, but I’ve never flown them in economy. Always interesting to me when I order the bibimbap, which is such a ‘common’ meal in Korea that all the locals order the steak.
The best economy class inflight meal in history [OC]
by
u/jpatokal in
Flights - This is what they took from us.
- Gotta go see a man about a horse.
Ever seen horses boarding a plane? Well you have now! pic.twitter.com/1FpHaLfmiw
— HOW THINGS WORK (@HowThingsWork_) February 8, 2026
My daughter served as a groom at an elite equestrian event in Montana — traveled with the horse on “Air Horse One”.
Yum, love me some bibimbap, on Korean or Asiana, which, I guess, soon enough, will be ‘one’ (by 2027).
The “this is what they took from us” I’m not following. Sure, airports were far calmer, far less crowded and not full of people that look like they’ve never ventured out into a public space before. Not to mention no TSA. But do I miss the days of standing in line to see an agent to get a seat assignment and boarding pass or having only airport television monitors to get information from?
@ Gary — This is the most premiumest middle seat in the domestic US market! You SHOULD expect to pay more just to breath the rarified air of Delta Air Lines!
Asiana coach class food is quite good. The white inside and red outside containers are common but I have never seen a coach meal plated like this and I have eaten 12 coach meals a year on Asiana during the last few years. All of the plating is designed to fit on a square tray with the exception of the bibimbap bowl, if you choose that option. The bibimbap is quite good and so are the other options. I have never gotten sick from Asiana coach meals. I rank Asiana coach meals second to EVA coach meals as far as what I like best. Singapore Airlines and Thai international were also pretty good as well as Korean Air.
“Filtering this garbage (Comfort Basic) out of google flights is a nightmare too” is the answer to the question: It’s a teaser rate to draw suspecting customers. Now that junk fees are illegal, travel companies needed a new shell game.
“it’s actually quite like basic economy except without the obvious market for who actually buys it”
This is the perfect summation of why these fares don’t make sense except as a way of anchoring or GDS/search optimization.
At least basic business won’t get you stuck in a middle seat. After the people who buy these Comfort Basic fares get stuck with a middle seat, some are going to have a “fool me once” approach and a sour taste in their mouth when dealing with Delta. The people buying basic economy don’t care about Delta’s positioning as a premium brand (except as a tie-breaker when the fare is the same), but the people buying premium seats do. Worth it? TBD.