Delta Air Lines is rolling out a fresh cabin design that will appear later this year on domestic and near-international routes flown by Boeing 757s, followed by a long-haul Airbus A350 scheduled for the upgrades in early 2025.
Cabin upgrades to Delta’s massive fleet of narrowbody and widebody jets will continue “over the next few years” as the carrier’s schedule and operations allow, the airline said on 15 October.
“Delta is committed to having its entire fleet look uniform and updated with this new design,” it says. ”Our goal is to create a singular experience across our diverse fleet, not just a unique subset.”
The company says the cabin redesign – timed to coincide with Delta’s 100-year anniversary next year – will include “substantial improvements” to seating, lighting and the colour palette of the aircraft’s interiors.
“This nose-to-tail transformation of our cabin interior is based on extensive feedback and research to create a cabin experience that reflects our customers’ changing expectations and lifestyles,” Delta says.
The planned changes will span Delta’s premium products – Delta One, First Class, Delta Premium Select and Delta Comfort+ – as well as the main cabin.
Delta One customers will experience “soft and breathable fabric seats” made of a wool-and-nylon blend marketed as lighter and better at regulating body temperatures than current seat covers.
First Class and Delta Premium Select seats will be fitted with new ”engineered leather” seat covers and memory foam cushions. Delta Comfort+ and main cabin seats will also feature engineered leather seats with branded stitching and accents.
Delta’s new cabin design will incorporate various mood-lighting settings for the boarding, dining, lights-out and wake-up phases of flight. New design motifs will appear on bulkhead and overhead spaces.
With the US airline industry broadly shifting toward high-spending air travellers and several discount carriers modifying their cabin layouts, Delta executives hinted during last week’s quarterly earnings call that the Atlanta-based carrier would be making changes of its own.
The Atlanta-headquartered carrier is expected to outline an updated business strategy during its investor day on 20 November.
