BusinessFirst

They are covering themselves. It might be business. It might be first. We don't know.

Yes, I did too. But, along that line, when TW introduced their blended First/Business Class service, they called it, as you may recall, TransWorld One!

Isn't that kind of the point though? Delta aspires to be a hybrid of business and first (I'm not saying they are succeeding), and I think that's the intent behind the Delta One moniker.

what we do know is that they're thinking about business (i.e., marketing) first; customer reaction/satisfaction is way in the back

LOL That made me laugh, because I didn't really understand the point of calling it businessfirst either. Your explanation seems to make sense though! Haha

But honestly D1 is an awful name. There have been so many reports of confusion that it causes. BE was fine, but honestly business class is probably the easiest. I feel like this type of branding (while sometimes helpful) just confuses people.

BusinessFirst seems fine for two-cabin flights (without IFC) but I think it's wrong to use it on flights that have GlobalFirst.

I agree with this. Furthermore, the rebranding served to better communicate the completion of Delta's multi-year effort and significant investment in upgrading the hard product in its J cabins. During the BE era there was always confusion about what kind of seat to expect (as demonstrated by the countless FT threads on this topic). Now it is clear that 100% of Delta One flights have flatbeds.

This is a new standard for US carriers, and one that UA and AA are still years from achieving.

I think it would have been smarter for Delta to bring this name back than to use D1.

How about DeltaElite or BusinessOne? :D

It still exists on KLM.

DeltaElite sounds like a Skymiles designation.

BusinessOne still has that damnable "One" in the name.

When Delta started a business class on its L1011s, they called it "Medallion Class".

I always liked the name "Medallion Class"; of course, I still like "Crown Room" over "SkyClub".

Business Elite is a much better name than Delta One; the latter is deceptive because Delta is not offering a service competitive with First Class on, say, Cathay Pacific, or even Air France, United or American. Business Elite was an apt description as Delta's business class product is pretty darn good.

I know. The branding was coordinated with PMNW's JV partner KLM when it was first introduced. This was around the time PMNW eliminated IFC and had the slanted flat seats in business class.

If DL and JV partner AF coordinate the branding, that would mean that AF offers AF1 = Air Force One = the USA President's plane.

How about WorldClipperElite class. That would incorporate the names from Delta's two previous mergers. :D