
Delta Air Lines is
unveiling a “fully reimagined” business class experience for Delta One, providing a better sleep experience and higher-end food and beverages. And it is introducing the upgrades with its
first-ever Delta One brand campaign.
Delta introduced Delta One, its premier international and long-haul business-class cabin, in 2015. This revamp is significant enough to merit its own
campaign, Ranjan Goswami, Delta’s chief marketing and product officer, told Fortune: “We spent two years building this product. We’re now ready to launch
it.”
The airline is aiming to match the inflight amenities to the level of its Delta One airport lounges, which it introduced two years ago.
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The revamp comes as the
numbers prove it: Delta reported premium ticket revenue up 18% in the September quarter to $6.82 billion, while main cabin revenue rose 12% to $6.80 billion. Delta execs havenoted that the top
40% of Americans are $40 trillion richer than they were just a few years ago. Fortune reports that Delta will continue that trend by eliminating some coach seats to make room for more premium
seats. When a 787 replaces a 767, premium seating increases from 30% of the plane to more than 50%.
In an expansive announcement, Delta detailed the painstaking changes, from redesigned
service wear, including individual pepper grinders and a teapot with a spout that prevents sloshing, to brand names meant to impress foodies. The menu includes Wagyu beef burgers, seasonal risotto,
and a Champagne Taittinger sorbet pairing, washed down with $200 bottles of Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, and premium Kentucky bourbon from Blanton's.
The carrier says it’s been just as
attentive to the new Delta One suites, which will debut on the Airbus A350-1000, the most premium aircraft in Delta's history. The lie-flat seats are cushier and longer, and each suite has a bigger
screen. So far, about 50% of Delta’s existing cabins have privacy doors, a number expected to rise to 60%.
The upgraded food and beverage changes will begin next month, initially serving
key long-haul routes out of Los Angeles, including flights to Auckland, New Zealand, and Brisbane, Australia. The new suites debut early next year, on routes in Asia and the Middle East.
"It's
about the suite meets a brand-new food and beverage experience, meets a new sleep experience, all converging together," the CMO said in an interview with The Points Guy, a leading travel platform.
But the revamp extends beyond that, including increasing the
fleet of Porsches used to ferry high-value passengers to the plane. Goswami told CNBC that there will now be 70 such cars, up from
40.
The service also offers brand-friendly new amenities, like specialty socks from Bombas and pillows from Missoni.
Delta waited 11 years to give Delta One its own campaign.
It’s betting the product finally lives up to the pitch.