Delta Announces New Domestic "Economy Comfort"

A nationally recognized reporter, writer, and consumer advocate, Ed Perkins focuses on how travelers can find the best deals and avoid scams.

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Perkins was founding editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter, one of the country's most influential travel publications, from which he retired in 1998. He has also written for Business Traveller magazine (London).

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Delta Air Lines announced that it was adding Economy Comfort seating to its entire domestic fleet, including regional jets, with reconfigured planes to enter service starting November and extending through next year.

As with installations already completed on the international fleet, Economy Comfort provides an extra three or more inches of legroom, and Delta adds priority boarding. The new seats will be in the first three to five rows in the economy cabin, and Delta will remove a row or two of regular tight-pitch economy seats to allow for the expansion.

Economy Comfort seating will be available at no charge to highest-level frequent flyers and travelers on full-fare coach tickets; non-elite travelers on cheap tickets can buy into the extra legroom cabin for $19 to $99 each way.

Clearly, Delta liked the results it obtained on international routes, and it also must have noted that United was expanding its similar “Economy Plus” seating fleetwide. The next question is how the remaining competitors will react—especially American. Don’t be surprised to see one or two more “me, too” announcements over the next month or so.

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