Delta to improve service on cross-country flights
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Beginning in August, Delta is improving its service on transcontinental flights, USA Today reports.
The No. 3 airline, which is in bankruptcy reorganization, plans to renovate 100 of its 477 full-size jets for long-haul routes, with two cabins and digital TV and music throughout the plane. The planes, all Boeing 757s or 737s, will be equipped with 24 channels of live TV, interactive video games and MP3 audio programming offering more than 1,600 songs. First class will have leather seats. The first of the upgraded planes will appear on transcontinental flights. Within two years, the renovated planes will be available on all Delta domestic routes longer than 1,750 miles.
[…]
Delta officials said its new transcontinental service will serve both Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York, as well as Boston, Atlanta and Cincinnati in the East; Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle on the West Coast.
This makes a lot more sense than Delta’s doomed decision to put its all-coach Song subsidiary on the cross-country routes. Especially on the New York-Los Angeles route, you’ve got two markets — investment bankers and Hollywood — which have first class travel privileges included in their pay packages. Why give your competition this high-margin business?
We’ll see what the actual offering on the plane will be. What will the catering be? What kind of seat — we know it’s leather, but does it go flat? How much pitch between rows? Live TV at every seat is nice, but Delta only promises a two-class offering, not the three-class service that United “p.s.” and American feature on the same routes. This is clearly a response to the apparent success of United’s recently-revamped premium transcontinental product.
I suspect that Delta’s two-class planes will not woo away the biggest spenders, but they will make Delta customers happier. Especially those who don’t live in New York or California.
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June 19th, 2006 at 9:11 pm |
I’ve heard that Delta will not install lie flat beds in “first class” aka Business elite on Delta until several years later if the routes prove profitable and the airline exits bankruptcy in fairly decent shape.
I believe there will be a couple inches of legroom more in each seat but nothing to jump up and down about.
Also Delta will be using 757s (good plane) but also the 737 (good plane for shorter trips but not trans-con) on the routes. Why not just use all the old Song planes, and keep the fleet simple? And why so many cities? I mean I can understand, Atlanta/ NYC/ Boston to LA, SFO and SEA, but Cincinnati?
Rob
http://www.theairlinehub.com
June 22nd, 2006 at 4:36 pm |
I was once a Delta loyalist partly because I charged everything & got free miles & because I lived in LA & flew the transcon to NY frequently, they flew wide bodies and had a pretty good business class section. Then I moved to SF and was rekegated to flying the narrow body 757 with only 2 classes of service, old cracked leather seats, the cabin was so small and the amenities so bad that I stopped flying Delta because frankly it was a waste of miles and an ever bigger waste of $ to have to endure that horrendous 757 configuration. I also stopped flying Delta when it became absolutely impossible to redeem a first class or business class award even with 6+ months notice at the regular mileage level. I turned in my Delta Skymiles and now rack up my miles on Southwest. Granted it is flying cattle class but what isn’t these days and we can almost always get a seat last minute especially on a last minute flight to LA which from SF is $200+ on short notice. Such is the state of flying today.