In addition to their huge deal to acquire AirTran’s 717 fleet, Delta announced two changes this week that should go a long way to improving its customer experience.
Premium Economy on More Planes
Wednesday brought the news that Delta would be expanding their premium economy product, dubbed Economy Comfort, on all flights longer than 750 miles. Previously the product was only found on the airline’s international service.
Over 550 mainline planes will get the upgrade, Delta says, which means over 75% of the airline’s Boeing 767, 757, 737, MD88, MD90, DC9, Airbus A320 and A319 aircraft will have the new seats by June 7th. More than 250 two-class Bombardier CRJ900 and CRJ700 and Embraer E170 and E175 jets flying on behalf of Delta will also get Economy Comfort seating.
Economy Comfort seats offer three to four inches of additional legroom compared to regular economy, as well as priority boarding access. Introductory prices for the upgrade will run $19 to $99, though full-fare coach passengers get the seats for free, as do Diamond and Platinum Medallion members. Silver Medallions will get a 50% discount on the bigger seats.
New York Expansion Continues
The Atlanta-based carrier on Monday laid out new expansion plans for its New York LaGuardia and Kennedy Airport hubs, scheduling four new destinations and adding flights on six existing routes.
The new routes:
- LaGuardia-Bermuda (Daily, year round)
- JFK-St. Maarten (Saturdays)
- LaGuardia-Sarasota, Fla. (2x daily)
- JFK-Ft. Myers, Fla. (Daily)
The new frequencies:
- LaGuardia-Nassau expanded to year-round (from seasonal)
- JFK-Montego Bay expanded to daily seasonal (from Saturday seasonal)
- JFK-Aruba expanded to daily year-round (from Saturday seasonal)
- JFK-Punta Cana expanded to daily year-round (from Saturday seasonal)
- LaGuardia-Ft. Myers to 4x daily (from 3x)
- LaGuardia-Miami to 5x daily (from 4x)
- LaGuardia-Tampa to 5x daily (from 4x)
- JFK-Tampa to 2x daily (from 1x)
