Delta Air Lines completed the installation of full flatbed seats in the BusinessElite cabin of all Boeing 747-400 type aircraft. The last of 16 Boeing 747 aircraft, each with 48 BusinessElite seats, has been retrofitted with full flatbed seats. It entered scheduled service this week on a flight between Singapore and Tokyo’s Narita airport, before making its way to Atlanta.
“A full flatbed seat with direct aisle access is a premium cabin feature that’s important to our customers and one of the many ways we’re keeping our commitment to making flying better,” said Glen Hauenstein, executive vice president-network, revenue management and marketing. “The 747 is an iconic aircraft and with this nose-to-tail modification complete, it will serve as the crown jewel of our fleet taking our customers everywhere they want to go — from Australia, Asia, the Middle East and back again.”
Delta previously completed installation of the full flatbed modification on its Boeing 777 and 767-400ER aircraft types. To date, 13 767-300ER aircraft have received the modification and three more will be complete by month’s end. In total, approximately 50 percent of Delta’s widebody international fleet has received the upgrade. In addition to flatbed seats in BusinessElite, the cabin overhaul includes upgraded seats in the Economy cabin with personal entertainment at every seat. The airline’s entire widebody international fleet of more than 140 aircraft will receive the full aircraft modification in both cabins by the middle of 2014.
Delta recently announced plans to install full flatbed seats on its transcontinental flights between New York JFK and Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. This autumn, Delta announced plans to add Wi-Fi to its entire international fleet. The airline is already the largest operator of Wi-Fi-equipped aircraft on more than 3,000 flights serving more than 400,000 customers every day. When complete, Delta will offer Wi-Fi on more than 950 aircraft, from 747s to two-class regional jets.
The installation of flatbed seats is a major component of the airline’s more than $3 billion investment in enhanced global products, services and airport facilities through 2015.
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