The date is set: Just as this summer’s travel rush begins, Delta Air Lines will debut a plane with one of its most unusual cabins yet.
On June 7, the airline will begin flying seven Airbus A321neos with a whopping 44 first-class seats. That’s 11 rows of premium recliners!
For comparison, most other similar-sized Delta planes have less than half as many rows (five) and seats (20) in first class.
This setting is also temporary.
A ‘creative’ temporary solution
Delta plans to eventually equip these new planes with 16 lie-flat Delta One suitesBut the airline is still waiting for regulatory approval for that design, and it’s unclear when it might arrive.
So in the meantime, instead of those factory-fresh planes continuing to be stored in the desert (where they are now), Delta is releasing them for the summergiving select domestic travelers access to a gigantic first-class cabin.
Review: Delta Air Lines first class from Los Angeles to Seattle
“Sometimes the supply chain throws us a curveball,” Mauricio Parise, Delta’s vice president of customer experience design, said in a statement Friday. “Rather than wait, we decided to implement a creative solution to ensure our customers had access to some of our newest aircraft in time for the summer travel season.”
Read more: Delta adds 2 routes to Hawaii and restores longest domestic flight in the United States
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Which routes will receive Delta’s premium A321neo?
Delta will deploy these seven premium A321neos on four transcontinental routes, all from its base at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL):
- ATL to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- ATL to San Diego International Airport (SAN)
- ATL to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
- ATL to San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
Bookings for these new flights (which, again, will launch on June 7) will open on February 21.
First class service plans
The airline advertised “differentiated service” in its oversized first class cabin.
Delta said it is still finalizing the parameters of first-class service, which will be no small feat. Having 44 passengers in front will require a lot of time and attention from the cabin crew, especially during meal service. A Delta spokesperson told TPG that these A321neos willpower have an additional oven on board, giving the carrier the ability to provide hot meals to all first class customers.
Behind first class, these seven aircraft have 54 Comfort seats with additional legroom. There are also 66 standard economy seats, although they make up only 40% of the cabin.
In a nutshell
It’s unclear how long these specially configured A321neos will be in service before Delta finally equips them with Delta One suites. However, it appears they will be a fixture on the airline’s transcontinental routes from Atlanta for the foreseeable future.
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