Airlines don’t make money on airplanes that sit on the ground, let alone those parked in long-term storage.
Yet that’s exactly the problem Delta Air Lines is currently facing with some factory-fresh Airbus A321neo single-aisle jets: Some of its new aircraft have been sitting in the desert because of a regulatory delay, having never flown paying passengers.
But now, Delta is doing something pretty exciting about it. Next summer, these planes will officially emerge from storage and take to the skies with an all-new, limited-edition configuration that features a whopping 11 rows of first-class seating.
This news was first rumored by aviation X account xJonNYC and later confirmed by Delta with additional details.
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These jets will feature an unusually large first-class cabin with 44 recliners, making it Delta’s most premium domestic configuration. The jet will also sport 54 Comfort+ extra-legroom seats and 66 standard economy seats.
While premium demand has been all the rage in recent months, most aviation observers didn’t expect Delta to start making such a big bet on premium.
And honestly, Delta likely didn’t think it would need to either.
You see, these A321neos aren’t actually earmarked to fly regular domestic routes. Instead, they’re going to sport lie-flat business-class pods (and presumably Premium Select recliners) in an all-new hyper-premium configuration.
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But these jets have been sitting in the desert because the new business-class seat hasn’t been formally approved by aviation authorities. With no end in sight to the certification process, Delta figured it might as well start flying the planes in this temporary configuration, as opposed to keeping them parked in the desert for longer.
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When these planes were delivered from Airbus, no seats were installed on the jet. Instead, the galleys were only positioned to accommodate the lie-flat seats once certified. And because Delta is planning to only temporarily fly this new domestic configuration, it didn’t want to bother moving galleys and rearranging the cabin. So, it’ll put 44 first-class seats in a cabin that will ultimately be home to 16 Delta One lie-flat pods.
Aside from the configuration, Delta hasn’t officially confirmed where it plans to fly the plane or how its flight attendants are supposed to handle the service flow. After all, there probably isn’t enough oven space in the galley to fit 44 first-class meals. So, Delta might need to either serve room temperature choices on this plane or figure out another system that works for the jet.
There will be up to seven A321neos in this configuration when they start flying next summer. The airline hasn’t decided how many planes it will retrofit because it probably wants to wait until it has a clearer picture of the timeline for getting the real business-class seats certified.
In a statement confirming the move, Delta said that the airline “continually explores new ways to make the most of our fleet to better serve our customers and support our business. Select A321neo aircraft are expected to begin their entrance into service next year with an updated seat configuration designed with comfort in mind. We look forward to sharing more in 2026.”
Delta currently has over 75 Airbus A321neos in its fleet. All of them currently feature a single unified configuration with 20 first-class recliners, 60 Comfort+ extra-legroom seats and 114 standard economy seats. The jet was first introduced in 2022 and was the first to feature the airline’s new domestic first-class product.
Note that the seats to be installed on the subfleet of A321neos will be the same as those on the existing A321neos.
Stay tuned to TPG for more information about these planes in the coming months.
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