Keeping travelers engaged and interested in this mid seasons seems the goal for airlines. Some are announcing new Michelin star menus, others like Delta and Cathay Pacific are unveiling their new cabin interiors. Delta specifically has announced a major update for all its travel classes on both narrow and wide body planes. Here’s what’s in store for passengers.
The Cabin Changes The Delta Aircraft Interior Update Will Bring
This is quite the product update Delta has just released. The American carrier will be refreshing the design and interiors of all its planes in all travel classes. There is something in store for all Business, Premium Economy and Economy Class passengers.
The changes don’t really influence the way the seats are laid out in the cabin or their size or other things of this sort. What will change primarily is the materials, the theme and the finishings of the seats themselves in all cabins.
New more modern materials will be introduce to give a more premium feel to the experience onboard. That will be accompanied by new mood lighting to make every moment aboard a relaxing and pleasant one.
The color palette will follow the corporate Delta colors. That means the dominant color throughout all cabins will be the dark Delta navy blue with red finishings and details.
Finally the toilets will also be spruced up. They will feature lighter colors to make the space more welcoming to passengers.
Creating a More Uniform and Consistent Experience Throughout the Fleet
Along with refreshing the interiors of their planes with an all new look, renovating the entire fleet will have another effect too. By retrofitting these new interiors fleet-wide Delta will finally achieve hard product consistency with a uniform offering. Regardless which plane you get on, narrow or wide body, you will already know what is in store for you. Seats will be same across the fleet with little to no discrepancies between various aircraft types.
A lack of cabin consistency is an airline’s nightmare. It opens the door to leaving passengers dissatisfied with their experience as the risk for expectations not being met becomes higher. This is not that much of an issue in Economy and Premium Economy, but it is a huge one in Business and First Class. Two prime examples of this are Air France and Qatar Airways. Both these airlines have a variety of seat configurations and layouts with some also being outdated in the current market. Ending up on an older seat when you thought you would be getting the latest model, of course will disappoint you.
That is exactly why Delta is working to fit these new cabin interiors not only on its new planes but also on its older ones. Surprisingly we won’t have to wait too long for the first retrofitted plane to fly. The first to fly with these new interiors will be a Boeing 757 in this fall 2024, with the first wide body, an Airbus A350, scheduled to start flying in 2025. Progressively the rest of the fleet will also be retrofitted over the next couple of years.