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Delta Air Lines announced today that it is changing the names of its cabins and what the fares tied to them include. The changes are live as of today for flights on October 1st and later.
What’s Changing?
Delta’s cabins are currently divided as follows:
- Main Cabin
- Delta Comfort+®
- First Class
- Premium Select
- Delta One®
These are becoming:
- Delta Main
- Delta Comfort
- Delta First
- Delta Premium Select
- Delta One®
Within Delta Main there will be three fare classes: Basic, Classic, and Extra. These are further delineated as follows:
- Delta Main Basic (formerly Basic Economy): This is Delta’s lowest-cost fare and offers what a Basic Economy ticket previously did. Seat are assigned after check-in, Zone 8 boarding, cancellations with a fee for a partial eCredit, no mileage or MQDs earned, and no entry into Delta Sky Clubs®.
- Delta Main Classic: These fares earn 5x miles per $1 (excluding taxes/fees), MQDs, eCredits for cancellations, better boarding priority, same-day standby options, and added flexibility to choose seats.
- Delta Main Extra: These offer higher boarding priority, base mileage earnings at 7x miles per $1 (excluding taxes/fees), they’re refundable back to the original form of payment, and offer same-day standby.
All other products will offer Classic and Extra fare classes based on if they’re refundable. With these changes, the complete list of fare types will be:
- Delta Main Basic
- Delta Main Classic
- Delta Main Extra
- Delta Comfort Classic
- Delta Comfort Extra
- Delta First Classic
- Delta First Extra
- Delta Premium Select Classic
- Delta Premium Select Extra
- Delta One® Classic
- Delta One® Extra
Erik Snell, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Delta, said:
Our 100,000-plus team is committed to making Delta’s customer experience, both on the ground and in the air, the best in the industry—one marked by a high degree of personalization, with offerings tailored to your individual preferences. We see this as a continuation of that journey: one in which customers are informed and empowered to select the right experience for them.”
This seems to be the first step before Delta begins to try to market Delta First, Delta Premium Select, and Delta One® Basic that will be stripped down versions of what is currently offered and might limit seat assignments, lounge access, and earnings on these tickets. Delta is also using these new classifications to serve as a tie-breaker in the case of upgrades. A Medallion passenger with a Delta Main Extra will rank higher than one with a Delta Main Classic fare after Medallion Status and Million Miler status are taken into account.
Anthony’s Take: This is not going to mean much to most customers. It’s clear Delta is setting up what it said it would do with eventually breaking down its premium cabins into multiple products with different rules and inclusions. We’ll have to wait for the other shoe to drop here. In the interim, the marketing around the other fare types will help Delta sway more customers into buying pricier tickets.
(Image Credit: Delta Air Lines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
