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View Full Version : Delta adding "Economy Comfort" section to LH


PAXboy
13th Feb 2011, 14:13
I saw this on 'another airline forum' but there appears to be no notice on Delta's website but the item states this is available only from this summer, so we can expect some advertising then. This is not a new 'class' such as PE but a half-way house.

Delta Air Lines is adding a so-called "Economy Comfort" section to all "long-haul international flights," the airline said Monday.

The new section, which features seats with up to four more inches of legroom, will be available starting in summer 2011. The section's seats will also recline 50 percent more than economy class seats on international flights, Delta said.

"Just as Delta is investing in BusinessElite, which is among the industry's most competitive premium products, it makes sense to offer enhancements to our Economy Class service that provide additional comfort," Glen Hauenstein, Delta's executive vice president Network Planning, Revenue Management and Marketing, said in a news release. "Economy Comfort is one of many elements Delta is committed to delivering to our customers as part of a more than $2 billion investment we are making in the air and on the ground to improve the customer experience and position Delta as a leader in customer service."

In addition to the extra legroom, passengers sitting in the section can also board the plane early and will enjoy complimentary "spirits."

Seats in the section will cost between $80 and $160 more one-way, according to Delta. The airline is adding the section to the "first few rows" of more than 160 Boeing 747, 757, 767, 777 and Airbus A330 aircraft.

Hotel Tango
13th Feb 2011, 21:11
Seems more and more airlines are introducing this Economy Plus/Comfort type of cabin on L/H. This proves that there is a demand for it and not all pax simply want the cheapest deal. Some seem quite happy to pay a reasonable extra premium for a more traditional Economy service. I hope the same might happen on M/H.

PAXboy
13th Feb 2011, 21:35
What interests me about this move is the money. When AA tried to give everyone in Y more leg space (about eight years ago) it brought them no new pax, certainly not enough to pay for the lost seats and they put them back.

Now Delta are making a few rows at the front of Y into a Y+ but not a separate class of the PE style.

Globaliser
20th Feb 2011, 00:12
Seems more and more airlines are introducing this Economy Plus/Comfort type of cabin on L/H.True, but Delta's is not actually one of them.

As far as I can see, this must simply be because of the position at UA/CO. There's been speculation about whether UA's Economy Plus would be kept and extended to the (ex-)CO fleet, or whether it would be removed. The decision, announced on 17 February, was that it would be kept and extended.

There can't be any doubt that DL's announcement was in anticipation of UA/CO's, to throw its own FFs a sop to stop them defecting. The only interesting question, I think, is how DL got an advance leak.

Neither the DL nor the UA/CO version is premium economy. It's just normal economy with slightly deeper pitch. And neither company will make any real money out of it, as it's given away free to higher tier frequent flyers.