Things in the Sky

The biggest news in terms of seats was certainly Air New Zealand’s new offerings (see below) but yesterday Delta had some pretty exciting news, too, as it announced some exciting new cabin changes that will not only improve its hard product, but also increase consistency as the carrier standardizes its interiors, eliminating major differences between Delta and Northwest.

Photo credit: Chris Weyer.

Delta has a few aircraft with lie-flat bed in its BusinessElite cabin – the new 777-200LRs and a few 767-400ER aircraft, but that number will expand greatly soon. The rest of the 767-400ER fleet will get them, as well as 52 767-300ERs, 8 777-200ERs, and Northwest’s 16 747-400s. No word on exactly what seats will be installed. Right now Delta has two kinds of lie-flat seats – one style on the 777s and another on the 764s.

While those upgrades in the front are great, passengers in the back of the bus will be seeing some upgrades as well, with the 767-300ERs and 747-400s getting their own personal TVs. That really helps consistency as they’re offered on Delta’s 767-400s and 777s already.

Northwest A330 fleet isn’t seeing any upgrades right now, but that’s not a huge issue – in my opinion the 747 interiors look very tired and need it much more. Plus, the A330s already have the PTVs in economy.

But the domestic side is getting some nice upgrades as well – specifically the regional jets, where Delta’s offerings aren’t the most consistent. The smaller aircraft (ERJ-145/CRJ-200/S340) don’t have first class, while the largest aircraft (CRJ-900/E-175) do. The few remaining E-170 aircraft do, however, have a first class cabin, while much larger CRJ-700 fleet does not. Yesterday, Delta said the 66 CRJ-700s operated by ASA, Comair, and SkyWest will be upgraded with first. That’s certainly great news for Delta’s elite flyers, as they will now have access to upgrades on those aircraft.

Delta also says that it will be “completing the modification of 269 pre-merger Northwest aircraft to feature Delta’s signature blue leather seats, updated lighting and enhanced cabin amenities such as increased overhead bin space on pre-merger Northwest 757-200s.”

Meanwhile, the airline keeps chugging along in terms of installations of Aircell’s Gogo service. It’s currently available on about 340 aircraft, and will be installed on around 530 by the middle of this year, which is a pretty quick pace. (I don’t know the installation schedule, of course, but that averages out to about one installation a day.)

Interestingly, Delta president Ed Bastian remarked, “Rather than invest in new aircraft, Delta will be spending its capital to improve the quality and consistency of the on-board product and efficiency of the aircraft we already own.” That makes me wonder about Delta holding on to Northwest’s order for 18 787s, which has been in doubt for awhile now.

But anyway, this is some great news for Delta passengers.