Originally Posted by
findark
Which planes? Other than the Airbus fleet pretty sure DL and UA have very similar configs up front, except for the DL 757s with an F cabin that stops short of Door 2.
And on the widebodies it's no contest in favor of UA.
United with its major coastal hubs and large LHR and NRT traffic traditionally had much more paid J traffic than a southern airline with hubs in ATL/MSP/DTW/SLC and until recently no access to LHR at all. The large J cabins are a residue of that time.
But domestically:
Delta A319 (12) > UA A319 (8)
Delta A320 (16) > UA A320 (12)
Delta A321 (20 F, 172 Y > every grubby plane in UA's domestic fleet
Delta B717 (12 F, 98 18" wide Y) > UA 737-700 (12 F, with 106 Y)
Delta E-170 (9 F, 60Y) > UA D-170 (6 F, 64Y)
Delta 738(16 F, 144 Y) > UA 738 (16 F, 150 Y)
Delta CRJ-900/E-175 (12 F, 64Y) = UA E-175.
Delta 739 (20 F, 160 Y) = UA 739 (20F, 159 Y)
Delta 752-D (20 F, 179 Y) < UA B739v4 (20 F, 159Y) except probably all of us would rather be on the 757
Delta on many planes has a higher F ratio, and the old claim that UA made it up with E+ seats is just not the case any longer. That, plus that UA still has a higher rate of elites, and with a GS level and TODs is why Delta Plats and even golds can get upgraded periodically, something that basically never happens at UA any longer.
p.s. my figures are from SeatGuru, apologies if they are off in any respect.