The date is set: As this summer’s travel rush begins, Delta Air Lines will unveil a plane with its most unusual cabin yet.
On June 7, the airline will begin operating seven Airbus A321neo aircraft with up to 44 first-class seats. That’s 11 rows of premium recliners!
By comparison, first-class cabins on most other Delta Air Lines aircraft of similar size have less than half the number of rows (five) and seats (20).
This setting is also temporary.
“Creative” temporary solutions
Delta plans to eventually outfit the new planes with 16 lie-flat Delta One suites, but the airline is still awaiting regulatory approval for the layout and it’s unclear when that approval will come.
So, in the meantime, instead of letting these factory-fresh planes sit in the desert (where they are now), Delta is releasing them over the summer to make its giant first-class cabins available to select domestic travelers.
Review: Delta Air Lines first class from Los Angeles to Seattle
“At times, the supply chain throws us in the face,” Mauricio Parise, Delta’s vice president of customer experience design, said in a statement Friday. “Rather than wait, we choose to implement creative solutions to ensure our customers have access to some of our newest aircraft in time for the summer travel season.”
Read more: Delta Air Lines adds 2 Hawaii routes, resuming longest domestic flights in the United States
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Which routes will use Delta’s advanced heavy-lift A321neo?
Delta will deploy the seven super-heavy A321neos on four transcontinental routes – all operating from its base at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL):
- ATL to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- ATL to San Diego International Airport (SAN)
- ATL to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
- ATL to San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
These new flights (again starting on 7 June) will be available for booking from 21 February.
Best-in-class service plan
The airline touts “unique service” in its extra-large first-class cabins.
Delta said it is still finalizing service parameters for first class, which will be no small feat. With 44 passengers in the front row, it requires a lot of time and attention from the crew, especially during food service. A Delta spokesperson told TPG that these A321neo will There is an extra oven on board, giving the airline the ability to serve a hot meal to every first-class passenger.
In addition to first class, the seven aircraft feature 54 comfortable seats with extended legroom. There are also 66 standard economy class seats, but they only account for 40% of the cabin area.
bottom line
It’s unclear how long these specially configured A321neo aircraft will remain in service before Delta eventually equips them with the Delta One package. However, it appears they will be a regular fixture on the airline’s transcontinental routes from Atlanta for the foreseeable future.
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