Delta joins the premium economy bandwagon

ATLANTA - Delta is taking the "or" out of the "premium or economy" decision its passengers face when booking a longhaul flight. The airline unveiled plans to introduce a premium economy offering with the arrival of its first Airbus A350-900 in spring 2017, shortly after American Airlines.

A late adopter itself, American announced premium economy services on its Boeing 787-9 aircraft due to arrive later this year.


Premium economy is increasingly popular among European an Asian travellers - wider seats, increased legroom and more upscale services at a reasonable surcharge attract self-paying passengers looking for a travel experience beyond economy.

So far, their only option with Delta were Comfort+ seats offering extra legroom within economy service confinements.

Most European network airlines, including Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France and Delta affiliate Virgin Atlantic, introduced premium economy services in the recent years. "We learned from Virgin Atlantic", new Delta CEO Ed Bastian told a media crowd last week.

Upgrading business class to lie-flat seats increased the comfort gap to main cabin economy and created the niche for a premium economy offering, according to Bastian.

While Delta does not discuss product details so far, a 2-3-2 seat configuration seems likely. After receiving factory fit A350-900 with premium economy cabins Delta aims to retrofit its longhaul fleet of Boeing 777, 767-400 and Airbus A330-200 aircraft.