ND76

Some observations:

1. I first flew on a 757 in late 1984, so the oldest DL 757s are approaching their 30th birthday.

2. Song had 199 Y seats on the 757. So, the new seats must be quite a bit thinner to allow 199 seats, including a 20 seat F cabin.

3. If DL were to go with 200 or more seats, they'd have to add an additional FA. It seems like a long, long time since DL employed more than the minimum FAs on a domestic flight (I'm thinking back to the 1980s when the Big D staffed the 148 seat 727-200s with 5 FAs).

OldRoyal

Hey, Corporate Guy: why does Delta continue to insist on installing AVOD systems with touchscreens, rather than armrest controls? It is bad enough that the touchscreens are difficult to use (the screens aren't very sensitive to touch) but it gets even worse when the kid in the row behind me keeps pressing the screen hard enough to be felt through my headrest.

I can only imagine the sensation when that same kid is pounding on his AVOD unit attached to the back of my new slimline seat. Oh, joy. If you are really interested in passenger comfort, go with the armrest controls, please!

Delta 764

I just wonder why DL won't include the 738s as well. Considering that DL's 738s are still quite young, I would think it would make sense for them to get the large pivot bins as well, that way DL will have large pivot bins on all narrowbodies except the MDs and 717s.

StayingHomeIsBetter

How often they take credit for giving back what they previously took away.

Anyone remember the non-expiring/expiring/non-expiring miles head fake?

Has anyone run the integrated totals? Will we net more, or fewer, FC seats over the total 225 aircraft?

StayingHomeIsBetter

Whoever put the "s" and the "d" next to each other on the keyboard did not devote enough time to thinking this out.

plagwate

Are these new slimline seats anything like the torture chaises (aka Evolve) being discussed over here?

Delta 764

No. The Southwest seats are a modified version of their existing B/E Aerospace Innovator II seats with less padding. The B/E Aerospace Pinnacle is a completely different seat altogether; they are the same seats as on the 739ERs and modded A330s.

thesaints

But the armrest controls require a cable going from screen to armrest, and extra hardware.
Moreover, the old armrest controls still in service are an absolute nightmare: buttons don't work and people wiggling in their seats continuously push the call attendant button with their cheeks. A real joy during overnight TATL's to hear a bell going off every 30 seconds.

exwannabe

But think how hard they will press the screen when nothing ever happens

FWIW, The correct solution is to have screens where the local processor gives immediate feedback that the screen has been pressed. The reason people press hard is bacause they do not think the screen is responding. Have the screen at least light up or blink something and they will significantly reduce the issue.

Bagels

UA is not removing IFE from its Airbus fleet -- instead, it's merely transitioning from the archaic drop-down video screens to on demand, streaming IFE passengers may watch on their own devices. I consider this to be an improvement -- the current IFE is boring and sometimes frightening; I traveled between DTW/ORD nearly every weekday summer 2008 and saw the same episodes of Ugly Betty nearly 50 times each. Still gives me nightmares. The new IFE will be similar to DL's, just not as convenient. I don't agree with the decision not to include in-seat power, however.

I question DL's decision to expand PTVs, given that it will still not lead to a consistent product; I will still spend up to 5 hours on aircraft without PTVs on routes like DTW-SFO (a 320 favorite), DTW-MTY, etc. while some 7-year-old kid gets to watch Honey Boo Boo on his flight from ATL-MCO.

In an age in which nearly everybody has a smartphone, tablet or laptop, IFE is not nearly as important as it was even in 1995, and consumer surveys reflect it. When I flew on the inaugural revenue flight of a 739 from DTW-LAX last month, the FA warned us that the IFE was initially shaky and they'd be spending time accustoming people to it. Instead, more people wanted to know how to turn it off so they could better view their own devices.

Delta 764

My experience has always been the opposite; more people use the IFE system than their own devices, since it is much more convenient and doesn't intrude on personal space. I have yet to see a single passenger using the Gogo Vision streaming video service.

Bagels

No offense, but you fly once or twice per year and not on an airline with streaming video. Some of us fly once or twice per week... and many others a even more.

Delta 764

DL DOES have streaming video onboard most of its domestic aircraft in addition to IFE, and trust me, I have flown on these aircraft and have yet to see even one passenger using it, even on non-AVOD aircraft. Consider the fact that Gogo is losing money proves that it would be a risky investment for DL to ditch IFE and offer Gogo Vision streaming video exclusively.

Crazyhotelguy

Oh if it were only true that ATL-MCO got the cool planes with the AVOD.....

Sadly we are home of the 753's. While not horrible, these relics from NW past are not the most exciting of planes when it comes to new bells and whistles

BamaGirl

I'm glad to hear of the upgrades, but, I'm betting the LAS routes that fly the old ratty 757s we get now on many flights will continue to do so . Nothing like being considered a "leisure destination".