Delta set to unveil massive first-class cabin on its newest planes — but it’s temporary

The date is set: Right as this summer’s travel rush begins, Delta Air Lines will debut a plane sporting one of its most unusual cabins yet.

On June 7, the carrier will begin flying seven Airbus A321neos featuring a whopping 44 first-class seats. That’s 11 rows of the premium recliners!

For comparison, most of Delta’s other similarly sized planes have fewer than half that many rows (five) and seats (20) in first class.

This setup is also temporary.

A ‘creative’ temporary solution

Delta plans to eventually outfit these brand-new jets with 16 lie-flat Delta One suites, but the airline is still awaiting regulatory approval for that layout — and it’s not clear when that might come.

So, in the meantime, rather than have those factory-fresh planes continue to sit in storage in the desert — where they are right now — Delta is turning them loose for the summer, giving select domestic flyers 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 curve,” Mauricio Parise, Delta’s vice president of customer experience design, said in a statement Friday. “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.”

Read more: Delta adds 2 Hawaii routes, restores America’s longest domestic flight

Which routes will get Delta’s premium-heavy A321neo?

Delta will deploy these seven premium-heavy A321neos on four transcontinental routes — all from its Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) home base:

• 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, launch June 7) will open Feb. 21.

First-class service plans

The carrier advertised a “distinct service” in its oversized first-class cabin.

Delta said it’s still finalizing service parameters in first class, which will be no small feat. Having 44 passengers up front will require significant time and attention from the cabin crew, especially during meal service. A Delta spokesperson told TPG that these A321neos will have an extra oven on board, giving the carrier the capacity to provide hot meals to every first-class customer.

Behind first class, these seven aircraft sport 54 extra-legroom Comfort seats. There are also 66 standard economy seats, though they make up a mere 40% of the cabin.

Bottom line

It’s not clear how long these specially configured A321neos will be in service before Delta finally gets them outfitted with Delta One suites. However, it appears they’ll be a fixture on the airline’s transcontinental routes from Atlanta for the foreseeable future.

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