Delta Air Lines is preparing to revamp their entire approach to business class. At the airline’s Investor Day a week ago they revealed plans to ‘unbundle’ the product so that customers paying the lowest business class fare won’t get as much as before – they’d have to pay more, in all likelihood, for things like seat assignments, flight changes, and lounge access.
Delta One Suite
Airline President Glen Hauenstein called the model ‘good/better/best’ where customers choose what level of investment they want to make in their travel – but the airline was scant with details. Aviation watchdog JonNYC says that this is currently slated for 2026.
DL:
Delta's 'good/better/best' unbundling of business class that Glen Hauenstein talked about at Investor Day is planned for 2026
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) November 29, 2024 at 3:46 PM
JonNYC previously leaked that Delta had a plan to overhaul its business class means, wine, and service. This includes new bedding from Missoni, food from caterer Do&Co, along with servingware.
Current Missoni Amenity Kit
He’s now shared a great deal more of the specifics of what’s currently in the hopper. He identifiies:
- elevated business class bedding and cuddle pillows (United currently has Delta beat by a wide margin with their Saks bedding)
- an improved meals product and serviceware from caterer Do&Co
- elevated beverage offerings (finally decent wines, it seems) and perhaps better headphones as well.
- expanded pre-select meal offerings.
Delta One elevated bedding, improved meals and beverages, and headphones are in the works but don't yet have final signoff.
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) November 29, 2024 at 3:46 PM
Soft product upgrades under development include cuddle pillows, tray linens, and expanded pre-select meal offerings
New beverage partnership/ new champagne— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) November 29, 2024 at 3:47 PM
This is all likely to come with a round of flight attendant training on the new products and elevated service standards, and the impetus here appears to be that Delta’s transatlantic business class net promoter scores have fallen 28% compared to where they were before the pandemic – and indeed those scores were even worse last year.
The improved soft product and service sounds great in theory, but we’ll have to see what the actual new inflight product is like before rendering judgment. What I’ve heard whispers of though is a real improvement. More fundamentally, though, it may not move the needle on net promoter score the way that Delta hopes because of the hard product (seat).
- while United has moved forward completing the retrofit of its full international business class fleet with Polaris seats (which are themselves lacking in storage space and doors), Delta is still flying largely ‘open’ old-style business seats on their workhouse fleet of Boeing 767s – with no plans in place to do anything about it.
- As long as Delta is flying a substantial number of planes with business class hard product that lags both United and American, customers are going to be disappointed.
Review: Delta 767-300 Business Class Los Angeles To New York – https://t.co/QUxTKYlM8p pic.twitter.com/Mlf3RRiybM
— Matthew Klint – Live And Let's Fly (@LiveandLetsFly) December 4, 2019
- The airline is apparently introducing an improved version of its business class seat on the Airbus A350-1000 which should come in 2026 as well – and JonNYC says their first modified Airbus A330s after that in 2026 as well:
also DL: looks like the 330-300s are going to undergo some unspecified modifications in 2026 after the first few 35Ks are delivered
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) November 18, 2024
It’s possible that not everything in the planned business class refresh makes it into the final offering, since it seems not all of the details have been funded yet. However it’s clear that Delta intends to change a great deal about its business class soft product over the next 1-2 years at the same time they plan to
At the same time, it’s an odd way to improve net promoter score of their product to strip benefits from it on their lowest fares. In the future, you might buy a business class ticket from Delta and have to check in with economy passengers, get turned away at the lounge and pay for checked bags – unless you spend for a bundle (‘better’ or ‘best’) that includes those things.
Delta is upgrading the A333 so they have “true” windows seats alternating with not “true.” Then, they can charge an extra fee to get the former in their new pricing scheme.
Delta’s business class product to Europe is pretty average. Seats are old, food is basically the same with little variation between flights, flight attendants don’t understand the meaning of service. On Asia flights it’s better but doesn’t to come anywhere to what the Asian carriers offer. And they are often cheaper, too.
It’s no surprise that people paying $5,000-$7,000 for airfare would rate Delta One with its $5 wine badly in post-trip surveys. This is a no-brainer. And yet, Delta can’t replace wine or even napkins overnight? They could literally go to Total Wine and buy everything in-stock between $12 and $20 a bottle. And napkins? How long does it take to supply napkins? Oh yeah. what the f-uck are cuddle pillows?
I don’t know why I’m reading this and why someone would waste so much money.
Delta One is quite average at best. While the Delta One seat on the A339 and A359 are above board, the majority of the cabins are on ancient 767-300ERs, A330-200s, and A330-300s (the renovations on the 767-400ER are a step up, but the seats are narrow). The food on Delta is also subpar and the entire experience lacks polish, finish, and any semblance of sophistication, something you will never find on a US carrier.
Delta just isn’t a premium airline. It does some things better than UA and AA, yes, and it is more profitable because it screws its customers far more sustainably than its rivals, but overall, it is a US trunk carrier and marketing vs. reality live in two different orbits.
Why is it always less for more?
Cuddle pillows I assume are for the feeling of security which would be preferable to a whiny mutt in first.
It will be interesting to see if the unbundled lowest tier business class seat will allow passengers who have status to enjoy those benefits (e.g., lounge access, seat selection, baggage allowance, etc.).
Would be quite the slap in the face if they didn’t, but nothing would surprise me with them.
After reading this and reviewing “Delta’s ‘Premium’ Promise Falls Apart: First Class Passenger Told ‘You’re Entitled To A Seat, Not A Tray Table’”, I wonder what else is going to go missing. Will everything be available for extra dollars or will some of it just be missing?
Delta has been resting on its laurels for some time now (as I have noted for much of the past year in prior reader comments as well as in my own LinkedIn posts).
I guess more people are finally noticing it, especially as the rot now includes the premium cabins instead of the rear/main cabins.
The earnings may be better than others, but not much else is better than other airlines, especially the product/paxex most flyers experience.
we also know “unbundling” is just a disguise for offering less and charging more for it.
Delta can’t read a room because of it’s self inflated ego. It touts itself as a Premium airline yet can’t come close to matching anyone in quality of both the hard and soft products neither domestically or internationally. They do however excel at overcharging for their inferior product. Online forums are brutal in their assessment of Delta these days, it’s past time when they pay attention to it’s customers, particularly their most loyal.
I have flown D1 as both paid and on GUCs. As of today I would not pay for D1. I don’t have much room to complain when I am there on a GUC but the experience is very disappointing. The seats are not great, on the old 76-200s with the angled seats I would probably rather sit in main cabin. As a million mile Diamond I fully expect Delta to deny medallion benefits to those buying “basic” first the same as they do for “basic economy” fares. I flew first and premium economy on United this year international and while I had delays and trouble with both of those the product was better. Delta has lost a significant lead though and I have been stranded overnight by Delta more this past year than probably the preceeding 5 or 8 years combined. Once my rollover Diamond expires I expect to be more free agent.
Delta offers a below average premium experience.
If your credit card gets you Delta lounge access, why pay for it with the ticket?