Delta Revamps Seating Options; Offers Complementary Alcohol To Main Cabin On Select Flights

(Quinn Dombrowski)

Purchasing a plane ticket used to be a pretty straightforward endeavor with consumers having to choose between first-class or economy seating. If wasn’t apparent that those days were long gone, it might be now that Delta Air Lines has turned the whole airplane seating arrangement and offerings on its head with five options to choose from.

Just a month after Delta announced it would offer a no-frills ticketing option, Basic Economy, the airline has unveiled additional changes to the way it seats passengers.

Starting March 1, Delta will offer five ticketing options. [Click to enlarge]

Starting March 1, customers can now choose from five products: Delta One, First Class, Delta Comfort+, Main Cabin and Basic Economy service.

Officials with the company say the changes more clearly distinguish the difference between ticketing options.

“We want easily recognizable branded products that reflect thoughtful and reliable amenities for each of our customer types,” Paul Skrbec, a Delta spokesperson, tells USA Today.

As it was reported in mid-November, Delta’s stripped-down Basic Economy fare option – with no reserved seat and no ability to change flight plans – will expand to more than a dozen destinations.

The Basic Economy fare, which was first tested from Detroit in 2012, gets consumers a confirmed seat on the flight but doesn’t allow them to pick a seat in advance, change travel plans, fly standby and puts them at the back of the boarding line. Additionally, travelers who purchase the no-frills fare won’t be able to purchase or receive complimentary upgrades, Economy Comfort seats, or Preferred Seats.

The next step up is Main Cabin seating, which comes with the typical options like advanced seat selection, the ability to change flight plans for a fee and standard cabin service. However, under the revamped offering Main Cabin passengers on “long-haul international routes” will receive complementary alcoholic beverages and sleep kits with eye shades and ear plugs.

Next up is the current Economy Comfort option, which will be renamed to Delta Comfort+, where customers will now receive complimentary alcoholic beverages, premium snack options, and wider access to in-flight entertainment on flights over 900 miles. Additionally, passengers flying between New York’s JFK airport and Los Angeles and San Francisco will receive a pillow and blanket along with a snack wrap or frozen yogurt.

Delta’s current Business Elite cabin will now be branded Delta One and offer the same service currently afforded to passengers, while the carrier’s domestic first class will be called simply First Class.

USA Today reports that the new offerings are one of the last pieces to Delta’s four-year investment in upgrading its interiors and other customer-facing products.

Delta redefines Cabin, Upgrades Premium Economy Options [Delta]

Delta Air Lines rebrands its seating options [USA Today]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist