Difference between FIRST and BUSINESS??
 

I'm looking at flights from SLC to ATL and there are several flights on 757-200 aircraft and some are listed as selling FIRST class seats (A) and other flights, using the same aircraft, are listed as selling BUSINESS class (J) seats.

What's the difference here? Why does Delta do this? Is there anyway to figure out when a seat is FIRST and when it's BIZ? I use expert flyer to look for upgrade buckets and this makes it hard.

Confused?

randidliyo

Delta markets seats on flights with International flight numbers as Biz class and Domestic flights are sold as First. This means that the flight number from SLC-ATL turns into an International flight in ATL or it was an international flight into SLC. It may not be the same aircraft however.

Unless the aircraft continues on to an international destination or there is a sub, the first and business product is exactly the same. Business Elite is DL's premier front cabin product used on international routes.

I know that there are only two classes of service, or two cabins on Delta aircraft. I was just wondering why on some flights the front cabin is called BIZ and on other flights (same aircraft type) the front cabin is called FIRST. Looks like three digit flight numbers are BIZ and four digit flight numbers are FIRST.

Only because Delta generally using lower-number routes for international flights. Delta (and other airlines) market some flights such as DL001 (MCO-JFK-LHR) as "direct". This is different from non-stop. If I search for flights from MCO-LHR, the direct flights will be higher in the search results, even though I have to stop in JKF (and change planes!). The other wrinkle with direct flights with a stop is that you only get the miles of the direct great circle routing! It's only about 60 miles different in this case, but there are worse examples.

That being said, if you book DL001 in the premium cabin from MCO-JFK, you'll be booked into a Biz fare bucket. The service (hard and soft products) will be domestic first, however.

3 letters is the difference. :D

No difference other than the length of the word. A lot of times they continue a flight from an international destination and use the same flight number and cabin designations.

Last fall I was taking MSY-ATL, and it was a 2 digit flight #, and it contiued to CDG. however there was always an aircraft change in ATL since I was on Mad Dog.

Can we seriously make this a sticky? Every week we get this question in one form or another.

That or - Oh my god I can't get a LOW award - DL is false advertising - I want to sue them! :D :D

This, too, wouldnt be a bad idea!

I know there were a couple people above me who answered some of this, but when it comes to explanations I generally like more info than less so will add some in. :)

First thing to remember is that Delta only ever has 2 classes of service on its planes, whether international or domestic. This is different than other companies that may offer First/Business/Coach on a flight (or some variation on that name). The premium cabins on Delta are labeled First/Business Elite/Business depending on the situation.

First: This designation is used on the vast majority of flights domestically, in NA, and for some flights to SA. It generally comprises the services you are used to such as free booze, comfier and wider seats, occasionally in-flight power and food selections depending on the mileage.

Business Elite: The premium long-haul international cabin. Found with most (if not all) trips to Asia, Europe, Africa and some trips to SA. Provides better service than the domestic First class. Amenities vary but more and more cabins have lie-flat seats, you'll get a better selection of food items and many have AVOD.

Business: Has the exact same service as First. Business (sans Elite) is used for domestic flights that continue on to an international destination. You will have a domestic cabin and service (rare circumstances excepted). Perfect example is DL flight 36, goes LAS-CVG-LGW. The LAS-CVG section will be labeled Business, but it is on a domestically configured 737. The CVG-LGW section is on a internationally configured 757/767 depending on the time of year and will be labeled Business Elite.

Occasionally due to routing issues or plane movement you will end up on an internationally configured plane with a Business Elite cabin during a domestic run. My understanding is that these will be labeled as First/Business and will have standard domestic service (though will have comfier seats).

That's exactly true (though JFK-ATL gets a meal; but that's true whether or not you're on a BE 767 or a 737; it's due to the market conditions).