Delta begins A330 flat-bed seat installation
Delta Air Lines is upgrading its Airbus A330 fleet with the addition of new flat-bed seats in the BusinessElite cabin.
The upgrade of the first A330 has already been completed, and the twin-aisle aircraft has now entered service on the trans-Atlantic route between Detroit and Amsterdam.
In total, Delta has a fleet of 32 A330s, each of which will be equipped with 34 flat-bed seats in the business class cabin. As well as reclining 180⁰, the new electronically-controlled seats feature power outlets, USB port and personal LED reading lamp, plus a 15.4-inch in-flight entertainment screen. Streaming of movies and TV shows to laptops and tablets will also be available from this summer.
As with the existing Boeing 777 and B747 cabins, which have already been upgraded, Delta’s A330 BusinessElite cabins will be configured in an angled reverse herringbone layout, with aisle access for all seats.
“A restful night’s sleep is critical to our customers who are flying halfway around the world and we are thrilled that the full flat-bed seats will soon be offered throughout our international fleet, providing them with a more relaxing and productive journey,” said Glen Hauenstein, Delta’s executive vice president of marketing, network & revenue management. “Once complete, Delta will be the only US carrier to offer a full flat-bed seat with direct aisle access across the entire wide-body international fleet.”
Delta has now upgraded more than 60% of its international wide-body fleet, including all 16 B747-400s, 18 B777s and 21 B767-400ERs. Thirty-five B767-300ER aircraft are also currently flying with the new BusinessElite seats, with the entire fleet of 58 aircraft scheduled for completion by the end of 2013. The airline’s full international wide-body fleet of more than 140 aircraft will be completed by mid-2014.