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Delta, JetBlue lay on more lie-flat seats, but…

Rendering of Delta’s lie flat seating on transcon 757s. (Image: Delta)

Last week, we reported that more airlines are bringing front cabins with flat-bed seating to transcontinental routes out of Boston; and now Delta and JetBlue are bringing more enhanced service to other coast-to-coast routes.

Delta said that not only will it offer front cabin seats that lie flat on its upcoming new routes between Boston-San Francisco and Washington Reagan National-Los Angeles; it will also give those routes the full transcon treatment that it offers from New York to SFO and LAX. Meanwhile, JetBlue has set the starting dates for expansion of its premium cabin Mint service to more transcon markets.

The 757-200s that Delta will start flying between DCA-LAX once a day on May 24 and BOS-SFO twice a day on June 8 will have a Delta One cabin with full flat-bed seats “as well as enhanced amenities throughout…the aircraft,” Delta said.

But there’s a downside to this lie-flat goodness: Delta will no longer offer complimentary upgrades to first class on these routes. Delta medallions get free upgrades to Delta Comfort and Delta First, but not to Delta One.

First class lie-flat seats in Delta’s BOS-SFO 757-200 starting in June. (Image: Delta)

The Delta One flat seats will come with Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding; enhanced in-fight dining with “chef-curated menus served on Alessi serviceware;” wines that change seasonally; a dedicated flight attendant for the front cabin; power ports and USB outlets; seatback screens with free entertainment; noise-canceling headphones; and a Tumi amenity kit. Delta One customers on the new routes will also get Sky Club access and priority check-in and baggage handling.

As previously announced, passengers in Delta Comfort and Main Cabin seats will get the same free meals that Delta is introducing on other transcon routes, and Delta Comfort flyers will get a pre-arrival snack, free alcoholic drinks and a frozen yogurt bar, along with a modest amenity kit.

A private suite in JetBlue’s Mint cabin. (Image: JetBlue)

Meanwhile, Routesonline.com reports that JetBlue has set starting dates for the deployment of Mint-equipped A321s on more transcon routes.

On August 15, JetBlue will put Mint service onto one of its two daily JFK-San Diego flights, extending it to the second daily flight on October 19. Boston-San Diego will get Mint service on one daily flight beginning December 10, and on the second by December 20. JetBlue’s three daily JFK-Las Vegas flights will see Mint service on one flight starting November 6 and on a second effective November 10.

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Comments

  1. The updated domestic 777s have 10-across seating in economy (including E+). Avoid like the plague if unless you are buying F (but if you’re buying F, probably still better off on B6 or DL).

  2. Starting next week, UA will be operating 2 out of 7 daily BOS-SFO flights with B777 domestic equipment. The 8am and 6:30pm. For the past several months, the 777 has just been on the 6:30pm. The updated 777 domestic jets have flat bed seating, although it’s the last-gen seats without direct aisle access. Still, pretty awesome to have on a non-hub transcon. Boston is UA’s largest non hub city, and that route used to make a lot of money. Not sure if it still does with all this competition.

  3. Kirk, that’s a good point re: the 717s, but I’d counter that with the fact that the RJ’s were, in a sense, “built like that on purpose,” whereas the 717 feels (to me) more like a 727/737 that has been somehow “shrunk in size.”

  4. Interesting thoughts. Never been on a MD-90 myself, but not by choice. DL doesn’t use them much on the routes I fly. If you consider that most of the 717s have been used to upgauge routes that were previously operated by RJs, then you might find them more spacious! 🙂

  5. To be fair. I don’t like any of the big three, and I might hate United more only because they have betrayed me more. And mostly with Delta it’s just that they don’t go where I go. If I lived in Atlanta, Salt Lake City or Detroit I’m sure I’d use Delta, and might even feel I had little choice.

    Trivia item. I once flew Delta from Atlanta to London on a TriStar L-1011 in First. Circa 1985 on a business trip. Bought a one-way ticket at the airport on the day, for under $1,000. Times have changed.

    Also flew a DC-9 out of Orange County airport that pretty much mandates a steep climb for noise abatement reasons. It felt like being in a rocket ship.

  6. Another line from Airport…….
    “Coffee and a Sandwich ?” Asked by Jean Seaburg to Helen Hayes after she was brought to the Airport Manager’s lounge to meet Burt Lancaster (who hated making this film). And, of course, the slap across the face that was heard throughout the aviation world when Jacqueline Bissett hustled Helen Hayes up to the Cockpit for a meeting with Dean Martin and the Captain and Flight Engineer. Saw this film in it’s first run, 1970-71, Fox Theater, Redwood City, CA

  7. “The Delta One flat seats will come with Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding . . .”

    I can’t help but wonder just how often it’s going to be used on DL2488 (the seat map above), when it tales off at 7am and lands at SFO at 10:40 in the morning (1:40 pm Eastern). Maybe on the SFO-BOS return flight that departs just before 9 pm Pacific and lands at 5:45 am Eastern, but . . . .

  8. In the FWIW Dept.: Can’t stand either MD-80s/-90s, nor 717s . . . the latter feel claustrophobic to me, and the former have been investigated too many times for safety by the FAA for me to *intentionally* choose to fly on them. Yes, I’ve flown on both when I’ve needed to, but “not if I can help it” is the rule I follow. Besides, I’ve always found the MD-80/-90 family to be exceptionally loud if you sit too far back — far louder (due to the engines being mounted on the fuselage) than the typical under-the-wing mounts.

    Just my 2¢ — worth far less, no doubt. YMMV.

  9. Apologies for the bad assumption. No doubt about it, DL loves old planes. They keep the interiors modern. And yes, they have the biggest fleet in the world of MD-90s and 717s, both of which are rear-engined. They’re quite popular tho, apparently the MD-90 has the steepest climb rate after takeoff, which plane nerds enjoy. Regular passengers (especially couples) like the 3-2 seating in coach.

  10. I don’t fly United – you assumed that. I fly Virgin America. Of course they don’t fly widebodies either but I’d rather be in a A321 than an old 757 or 767.

    I just don’t like 767’s. Maybe not rationale but more generally Delta runs old planes and I like new planes. Heck Delta is still flying rear-engined planes around aren’t they?

  11. That’s a pretty strange comment. The 767 interiors are new: 1-2-1, flat bed, direct aisle, satellite wifi, big screen. If you travel coach, 2-3-2 (only 1 middle seat!) is actually better than the bigger planes. Sure, the plane’s frame is older and the fuel economy isn’t that great, but those things don’t impact the passenger experience in any way. Seems like you’re struggling to justify your decision to stick with a quite inferior airline. By the way, I’m SFO-based too. I made the switch almost 10 years ago. A connecting flight on DL beats a non-stop on UA, more often than not (and I get higher status with the extra miles)

  12. I don’t count 767’s. I’m talking about newer widebodies like 777, 787, A330, A350.

    And anyway Delta isn’t much use if you’re in the Bay Area. It flies to maybe half a dozen cities.

  13. Actually, the problem is that you fly United!! On DL’s premium transcon routes (JFK-SFO/LAX) about half the frequencies use widebodies with 1-2-1 all direct aisle access. Not much luck is required, if you’re flexible by an hour or two, you can book those exclusively

  14. Well, that just indicates a bigger problem that US airlines have – they won’t use widebodies on domestic routes. A 777 or 787 with a 1-2-1 configuration in First or Business isn’t unusual internationally. But good luck finding that in the US.

    OK, United run the odd 777 trans-con. But in the end it’s 737’s, 757’s and Airbus A320’s. Can anyone spell “boring”?

  15. I can only hope that these seats find there was on more Washington Dulles to California flights. Amazing what a little competition does to get these guys to act.

  16. The policy is, and always has been, all direct aisle access for Delta One widebodies. To the best of my knowledge, no airline in the world has all direct aisle access on a 757. The only way to do that would be a single seat on each side of the aisle, with the world’s widest aisle in between. It wouldn’t be profitable.

    When the seat is full flat, it’s fairly low to the ground. It’s not too difficult to step over the seat

  17. Diagram for Delta One on 757 looks like Delta has abandoned their “all direct aisle access for Delta One” policy. Is that correct? Based on the image, looks like it would be impossible for the window seat passenger to get out if the aisle seat passenger seat is flat.

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