Delta Announces Premium Economy Seats On International Flights, But For A Cost

NEW YORK — Delta Air Lines will offer a premium economy section on international flights this summer, with more legroom and room to recline – at an additional cost of $80 to $160 each way.

The new seats will be available to book starting in May.

Top-tier frequent fliers and customers that buy full-fare economy tickets will be able to sit in the roomier seats with no extra charge. Lower-level frequent fliers will get discounts on the seats.

The seats, located in the first few rows of coach, are similar to those offered by Delta Air Lines Inc. partner Air France-KLM. Those airlines' seats offer as much as 6 inches additional legroom. Those who pay extra for Delta's new seats will also get to board early and get free alcoholic drinks during the flight.

Several other airlines offer premium economy seats for a fee, including United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.

Premium economy seats are not only designed for coach passengers looking for more comfort. They're also a move by airlines to attract business travelers, some of whom have opted for coach class to save money coming out of the recession.

Delta says that some business-class travelers are coming back, and it's adding more special seats for them, too. The airline also said Monday it plans to install 34 flat-bed Business Elite seats along the aisles of 32 A330 aircraft within the next two years. The latest move means that Delta will have Business class seats that convert to beds on all of its big international planes, more than 150 of them, by 2013.

Comments

[Rich Phitzwell]

10:58 AM on 02/10/2011

Free Drinks!!! The 80 - 160 will be paid for quickly!

[TravelSquire]

01:43 PM on 02/09/2011

Love the idea of roomier coach. Coach has been getting smaller and smaller since American Airlines got rid of the extra leg room years ago. I would be willing to pay more for a more comfortable ride. Keep the food.

[sidbrown210]

12:15 PM on 02/09/2011

I love Delta!

[JackHoffman]

02:27 AM on 02/09/2011

All American airline companies suck after Reagan's deregulation of the industry.

[TricksR4Kids]

09:11 PM on 02/07/2011

It's not so much the extra 6" its the same crappy seat with the same awful service. I could deal with 6" less, it those two were improved.

[Hardyman1966]

07:49 PM on 02/07/2011

Delta will never, I repeat, NEVER be Virgin Atlantic or Virgin America.  

[OutAtFirst]

11:05 AM on 02/08/2011

Maybe true, but as bad as they are, they're still head and shoulders above US Airways.

[Hardyman1966]

01:25 PM on 02/08/2011

Agreed 100%.  I will NEVER fly that airline ever again.  Everything is extra, an even for a transcontinental flight from San Diego to Philly... no hot meal, and they managed to screw up the beginning and ending legs of an otherwise perfect trip to Greece by sitting on the tarmac for 3 hours.

[JFMC]

07:08 PM on 02/09/2011

I use AirFrance or KLM to Europe as the service is vastly superior to Delta. Passengers are well treated and the food is far better.

[Natuska]

07:35 PM on 02/07/2011

The general rule is: don't use a US carrier to fly into or out of the US.

[Toot Is A Hoot]

07:13 PM on 02/07/2011

I'm amazed that Delta is still in the trans-Pacific market. I first flew on a 747 in the early '70's. It was a great plane then. In 2010, not so much. Delta flies 747's across the Pacific. No seat back LCD. CRT monitors overhead in aisle and rear projection for pre-programmed movies. I was considerably smaller in the '70's too, so I fit comfortably. My next Pacific adventure will not be on Delta.

[TricksR4Kids]

09:12 PM on 02/07/2011

I would never ever fly a US airline across the Pacific or Atlantic. The foreign airlines offer so much more for the same cost if not less. Better service and VOD in most cases.

[SaskiaVanderVliet]

06:52 PM on 02/07/2011

I just won't ride on any US carrier.. period.

[ramal]

04:56 PM on 02/07/2011

Anytime you book a flight with Delta, in any class, to any destination, they should be handing out $160.00 in cash each way to you, the passenger, for your troubles, delays and general discomfort and lack of respect.

[mslindac]

06:37 PM on 02/07/2011

Absolutely. They may want to be Virgin Atlantic, but what they are is the Greyhound Bus of airlines. I especially resent that fact that travelers flying to and from the South have made them what they are and now those flyers get treated like second-class citizens.

[Saj Gidda]

04:14 PM on 02/07/2011

Comparisons to Virgin may be slightly out of place since Virgin PE is quite a bit nicer than Delta's proposed PE, and they certainly charge a lot more than $80-$160 each way extra. The benchmark for PE is Qantas who provide more of a Business-Light product than an Economy-Plus, I would rate british Airways and Virgin as 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
Delta has more issues to contend with regarding the devaluation of their Frequent Flyer program (sometimes called 'Sky Pesos') and a widening gap in their premium cabin offerings when compared to European and Asian offerings

[KIVPossum]

04:09 PM on 02/07/2011

I'll pay 80 more for the room on a trans-Atlantic.

Don't care that much for Delta, but the way flights run into and out of Chisinau Delta through Frankfurt is the way I usually move. Turkish through Istanbul gives me a 9 hour layover, I refuse to route through Paris, and if I go through Budapest I want to stay and miss the next flight