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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:24 am
  #1  
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Post Delta Expands Popular 'Economy Comfort' Brand

http://news.delta.com/index.php?s=43&item=1476

Delta Expands Popular 'Economy Comfort' Brand
New seating to be installed on more than 800 mainline and two-class regional jet aircraft
Oct 20, 2011

ATLANTA, Oct. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today unveiled another major investment in its product offering with plans to introduce "Economy Comfort" – a premium economy cabin product launched on long-haul international flights earlier this year – to its entire mainline fleet of more than 550 aircraft, in addition to more than 250 two-class regional jets.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101123/CL04792LOGO)

"Our goal is to make sure premium customers are sitting in premium seats," said Richard Anderson, Delta's chief executive officer. "Delta already offers more First Class seats than any other U.S. airline and by expanding Economy Comfort we'll offer customers even more opportunities to select a premium seat."

The new seats will feature pitch of at least 34 inches or more. Delta's standard Economy Class seat pitch is currently 31 inches. In addition to more leg room, customers seated in Economy Comfort will enjoy Priority Boarding. .

The product will be installed in the first three-to-five rows of the Economy cabin by removing a negligible number of seats from the current cabin configuration on all of Delta's domestic Boeing 767, 757, 737, MD88, MD90, DC9, Airbus A320 and A319 aircraft, and all two-class regional jets including the CRJ900, CRJ700, E170 and E175 aircraft types by summer 2012. The breadth of this installation means flights to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and northern South America will also offer the Economy Comfort product. The first of these converted aircraft will be a Boeing 757 which will enter service in November. .

The expansion of Economy Comfort is the latest in Delta's previously announced plan to invest more than $2 billion in enhanced global products, services and airport facilities through 2013. In addition to Economy Comfort, Delta is adding more First Class seats and in-flight entertainment to its domestic product; offering flat-bed BusinessElite seats on its entire international widebody fleet; adding personal, in-seat entertainment for both BusinessElite and Economy class customers on all long-haul international flights; adding in-flight Wi-Fi service to all domestic two-class aircraft, including regional jets, with a First and Economy class cabin; updating Delta Sky Clubs throughout the system; and building new terminal facilities for international customers at its two largest global gateways – Atlanta and New York-JFK.

Customers who have purchased an Economy ticket on Delta will be able to choose Economy Comfort seats for an additional introductory fee of $19-$99 on a one-way itinerary including Alaska, Hawaii and short-haul international markets. Economy Comfort seats can be reserved through delta.com, kiosks, and Delta reservations beginning in late spring for travel in summer 2012.

Similar to Delta's long-haul international Economy Comfort product, complimentary access to domestic and short-haul international seats will be available at booking to all SkyMiles Diamond and Platinum Medallions and customers purchasing full-fare Economy class tickets. Gold Medallion members will also have free access to these seats at time of booking, while Silver Medallions can purchase them at a 50 percent discount off the fee at time of purchase or can access these seats for free at check-in.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year, and was named by Fortune magazine as the most admired airline worldwide .in its 2011 World's Most Admired Companies airline industry list. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 338 destinations in 59 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 13,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline's service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, a world-class airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Delta is investing more than $2 billion through 2013 in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and review flight status at delta.com.

SOURCE Delta Air Lines

For further information: Delta Corporate Communications, +1-404-715-2554
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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:28 am
  #2  
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Spending $ on DC-9's?

hmmmm
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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:30 am
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It says GMs will have free access. This doesn't jive with the intl EC policy. Will there be a different policy for domestic EC?
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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:32 am
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Originally Posted by VolareBene
It says GMs will have free access. This doesn't jive with the intl EC policy. Will there be a different policy for domestic EC?
Looks like it will be different as it states "similar" to the intl EC policy.
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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:37 am
  #5  
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Assuming this does not cut into F space, normake the F monetezation worse, I would say I support this effort, makes for much nicer seating esp for GE and FO, who get very few upgrades these days.
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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:39 am
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It will be interesting to see where they find the 10-20" of space without removing many rows of seats. If they remove a row on every plane then they should be able to do more like 6-8 rows of EC seating but they say it will only be 3-5 rows and "negligible" seat removal.
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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:42 am
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I wonder if they will make the AVOD movies free for EC passengers on transcon flights.

Good move, Delta.
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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:44 am
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Originally Posted by Thomas Hudson
Spending $ on DC-9's?

hmmmm
Agree that this looks a little unusual. I thought they were going to retire the rest of the DC-9s within 12 months. Unless this conversion is relatively cheap, maybe this indicates DL is going to keep the 9s a little longer.
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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:44 am
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Originally Posted by zsmith2
The first of these converted aircraft will be a Boeing 757 which will enter service in November. .
So, it states the launch date is next summer for EC but then says the 757s will be done by November. So will DL be selling EC then on all 757 flights in November? Or is it going to stay free until next summer for all Medallions? My guess is that they are doing the 757s first because they fly long distances....wouldn't be surprised to see them start selling EC on transcons and to/from Caribbean and Central America right after they are all modified since it would only make sense with the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring Break travel season coming. I'm sure a number of "kettles" would love to upgrade their ATL-LIR, MSP-CUN or JFK-SJU trip to EC for the free spirits (if they are included like intl EC) and increased legroom on their spring break trip....

One concern for me on the JFK-SFO/LAX is that if they sell it to everyone and I am buying a ticket less than a week in advance, chances are I won't be able to select an EC seat or only have middles to choose from. I wonder if there will be an EC upgrade waitlist like there is for UGs lol. With all the UGs done at the gate on these flights many people will be changing from an EC seat to a FC seat, so who gets the now vacant EC seat? I guess thats my biggest question since domestically so many UGs are now going to the gate...

Last edited by GYEWorldTraveler; Oct 20, 2011 at 8:51 am
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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:46 am
  #10  
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Originally Posted by mdb
Assuming this does not cut into F space, normake the F monetezation worse, I would say I support this effort, makes for much nicer seating esp for GE and FO, who get very few upgrades these days.
wow, United looks even worse now. Maybe this should be seen in conjunction with winning over the disgruntled 1Ps and 75ks. As long as they keep the Y/F ratios the same it will certainly make Delta one of the best domestic airlines in terms on FQTV benis.

Originally Posted by sbm12
It will be interesting to see where they find the 10-20" of space without removing many rows of seats. If they remove a row on every plane then they should be able to do more like 6-8 rows of EC seating but they say it will only be 3-5 rows and "negligible" seat removal.
will be interesting for sure.
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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:47 am
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Kinda hoped this would happen. Pretty nice, Delta. Actually, I may end up preferring EC on the domestic 763s to F.
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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:47 am
  #12  
 
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Will there be free booze and free IFE? That's the big question!
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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:49 am
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No mention is made of free booze in domestic EC. Too bad.
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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:49 am
  #14  
 
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Originally Posted by DLdweeb
Agree that this looks a little unusual. I thought they were going to retire the rest of the DC-9s within 12 months. Unless this conversion is relatively cheap, maybe this indicates DL is going to keep the 9s a little longer.
How much could it cost DL to move a seat back 3 inches and tweak it to recline slightly more? Pretty sure it costs very little. These birds will be retired soon. I will miss them though. No other plane seems to take off as smooth and quickly as a DC-9!
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Old Oct 20, 2011, 8:51 am
  #15  
 
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Originally Posted by VolareBene
No mention is made of free booze in domestic EC. Too bad.
This alone would be worth hitting Plat every year.
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