Delta Air Lines to Fly 44 Delta Airbus A321neo First Class Seats
Delta Air Lines will start flying seven Airbus A321neos with a temporary delta airbus a321neo first class cabin later this month, giving the aircraft 44 domestic First Class seats instead of the lie-flat seats it had planned. The planes had been built and ready to fly, but the front-cabin seats were not available, so Delta moved ahead with a higher-density layout.
That first cabin stretches from Row 1 to Row 11, with one bathroom at the front of the aircraft for all 44 First Class passengers. Delta will assign two flight attendants to the cabin, and the aircraft will have three lavatories and 164 seats overall.
Mauricio Parise explains Delta's plan
Mauricio Parise, Delta's vice president of customer experience design, explained the temporary setup after the first photo of the cabin leaked on Reddit. He said, “Sometimes the supply chain throws us a curve” and, “Rather than wait, we chose to implement a creative solution to ensure our customers had access to some of our newest aircraft in time for the summer travel season.”
Delta had intended these A321neos to carry lie-flat seats at the front of the plane, but the carrier faced difficulties with the manufacturer of its narrowbody lie-flat seats. Several of the aircraft had been sitting idle on the ground in storage while Delta waited for those supply chain issues to be resolved.
Atlanta routes for seven A321neos
Starting later that month, Delta planned to press seven of the A321neos with the temporary configuration into service on routes from Atlanta to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and San Diego. The aircraft were expected to serve some of Delta's most premium domestic routes out of Atlanta.
For travelers booked in the front cabin, the change means more seats up front on these aircraft before the long-term layout arrives. Delta's broader plan is a three-class cabin with 16 lie-flat Business Class seats, 12 Premium Economy seats, 54 Extra Legroom Economy seats and 66 Economy seats.
Delta's long-term A321neo layout
Delta's permanent A321neo plan leaves no ambiguity about the temporary nature of this setup. The airline wants the aircraft configured with lie-flat Business Class seats, Premium Economy, Extra Legroom Economy and standard Economy once the supply chain problem clears.
For now, the first real look at the cabin is the leaked photo, the 44-seat front cabin and the seven aircraft set to enter service later this month. Travelers on the Atlanta routes listed in Delta's plan will see the temporary layout before the final three-class version arrives.
