Delta Officially Rolls Out Economy Comfort Cabin

In February Delta announced they’d be adding a premium economy cabin to their international flights – a decision which I hailed as a tall traveler. These seats are the same exact seats as coach, but they come with 4 more inches of much needed legroom and up to 50% more recline. If they are anything like KLM’s Economy Comfort seats (which I adore), I will be a happy man. Granted, after my 3 Delta trans-Atlantic flights to Stockholm and Copenhagen, I’ve sworn off international coach travel (at least until the next amazing mistake fare), but I do look forward to trying out this new product. I heard they would be on  the JFK-LAX BusinessElite equipped planes, though I didn’t notice them on my recent JFK-LAX flight because I was upgraded to BusinessElite.

Economy Comfort is free for Diamond and Platinum Medallions and up to 8 guests who are on their same itinerary.
Golds get a 50% off discount and Silver is 25%. There are no discounts/freebies on award tickets at this time.

This week they officially announced that Economy Comfort is ready for purchase on flights after June 1, 2011. Seat maps have been updated to show Economy Comfort seats by a green shading.

You can’t select an Economy Comfort seat at the time of purchase – you have do go in after the trip is booked and then select the EC seats. A non-Medallion friend is flying JFK-Madrid this summer and she is being offered EC for $80. Personally, I’d pay that in a heartbeat, but I wonder about other people. Is 4″ of legroom, 50% more recline and unlimited cocktails worth an extra $80 for a 6-9 hour flight?

Overall, I think this is a great addition to the Delta offering and I hope it’s a smart business move that encourages other airlines to offer a reasonable alternative for those who can’t afford business class fares, but need more room than traditional coach seating provides.

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