Delta Air Lines plans to realign fare levels next year and possibly offer a travel class lower than the popular and often sold-out Comfort Plus.
Company Chairman Glen Hauenstein unveiled this plan, which was still largely in the experimental phase, at Delta’s Investor Day 2024.
Hauenstein said Delta will continue to introduce more subcategories to provide more value to customers, and he believes this process will start “from the bottom up.”
“Over the next few years, you’re going to see us trying and really testing what consumers want in their bundles and what they’re willing to pay for,” Hauenstein said. ‘We are experimenting with this. I’m not announcing anything today.”
Comfort plus – the middle level on Delta’s planes and included in the main cabin – will be where the segmentation will take place.
Hauenstein hopes to create a “good, better, best” dynamic in that segment to lure customers, an indication that comfort plus could become more attainable for more customers in the future.
Comfort Plus seats are best in the main cabin because they offer expedited boarding, extra legroom and free alcoholic drinks on flights of at least 500 miles.
Comfort Plus sits below premium select and first class, both of which have deep reclining seats, footrests and more dining options.
Delta Air Lines plans to experiment with new fare classes next year, company President Glen Hauenstein said
Comfort plus (photo above) is a middle ground between first class and economy. It offers some premium benefits while withholding others so it can achieve a lower price point
Basic Economy is a step down from Comfort Plus and serves as a budget option that boards last, is assigned a seat after check-in and offers no ticket changes or cancellations after a certain period.
The main cabin generally offers more flexibility to travelers, such as free ticket changes, greater seat selection, the ability to purchase various upgrades and hot meals on international flights.
As Delta continues to offer more subcategories, it’s possible that more customers will have access to these benefits and possibly some of the premium extras available in comfort plus.
Hauenstein said Delta aims to “introduce our first good, better, best tests in Comfort+ by the end of the year.”
CEO Edward Bastian also pointed out that Delta gets about 90 percent of ticket sales revenue from high-income travelers, which he defines as households earning $100,000 or more.
Delta’s new strategy is based on this richer customer base.
Bastian also noted that millennials are starting to create real wealth and are increasingly willing to spend money on luxury travel experiences.
And because comfort plus often sells out, Delta wants to increase the number of comfort plus seats on board its narrowbody aircraft without changing the total number of seats, according to Hauenstein.
Pictured: Several rows of economy seats aboard a Delta Boeing 747-400, a widebody aircraft
Delta stock has outperformed other domestic airlines such as American Airlines, JetBlue and Southwest. Investors in Delta have achieved a return of 57 percent this year.
This new announcement from Delta comes as domestic airlines prepare for a record-breaking holiday travel weekend this Thanksgiving.
United Airlines said it expected about 6.2 million passengers between Nov. 21 and Dec. 3, and that nearly 480,000 travelers will fly with that airline every day.
Delta expected 6.5 million passengers on its flights between November 22 and December 3.
These numbers mean that approximately 540,000 passengers will fly with Delta every day during the twelve-day travel period.
American Airlines led both United and Delta in the number of expected travelers, which stood at 8.3 million.
A Southwest plane completed six trips and flew nearly 4,000 miles in less than 19 hours during Thanksgiving week, showing just how busy a single plane can be
In one CBS News Exclusively, Southwest Captain Ed Evans gave a look at just how busy Thanksgiving week can be for a single plane.
His Boeing 737 MAX8 made a 19-hour journey and flew nearly 4,000 miles, en route from Baltimore to Denver, Long Beach, Reno, Las Vegas, Sacramento and back to Las Vegas.
Despite Evans’ marathon day, his crew members were rotated between flights during his 19-hour stint.
The flight attendants swapped twice, and Evans swapped with another pilot once the plane reached Reno, Nevada.
The baggage staff were also busy: they had to process 578 checked bags from a total of 698 passengers during the day.