Delta introduces all-new fares and products, with a focus on 'extra'
You'll now need to make a few "extra" decisions when booking a flight with Delta Air Lines.
That's because the Atlanta-based carrier just announced a fully rebranded fare structure for flights as of Oct. 1. Delta will start selling two to three different fares within each of its five products.
If that sounds like a mouthful, it is. Here's everything you need to know.
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Delta's new products
Going forward, Delta is rebranding the onboard products (i.e., the seats that it sells) into five different categories, as shown below:
- Delta Main (formerly Main Cabin)
- Delta Comfort (formerly Delta Comfort+)
- Delta First (formerly First Class)
- Delta Premium Select
- Delta One
This is strictly a nomenclature change on Delta's part. The airline isn't changing anything about the onboard experience, so when you buy a ticket in Delta First, your experience on the plane will not change from what's available today.
What will change, however, is the fares that are available within each of these products. More on that below.
Delta's new fare 'experiences'
Delta will offer two or three fare options for each of the five aforementioned products. The airline will call these fares "experiences," and you'll be able to search all the different experiences available for your flight during the booking process.
Delta Main will be the only experience that (currently) offers three experiences: Basic, Classic and Extra. All four other products will exclusively offer Classic and Extra experiences.
The good news is that Basic and Classic experiences are simply a rebranding of existing booking options. Basic replaces basic economy, and Classic is the standard ticket that's currently offered.
Things really get interesting with the introduction of the Extra experience, which is designed to replace the refundable booking option that travelers can buy today.
For those keeping track at home, Delta will offer a whopping 11 total product and experience combinations going forward:
- Delta Main Basic
- Delta Main Classic
- Delta Main Extra
- Delta Comfort Classic
- Delta Comfort Extra
- Delta First Classic
- Delta First Extra
- Delta Premium Select Classic
- Delta Premium Select Extra
- Delta One Classic
- Delta One Extra
The Extra experience
Going forward, Delta will offer an Extra experience for all five of its products. This new fare type is designed to replace the refundable option, and it includes far more than simply a full refund back to your original form of payment if you decide to cancel. It's seemingly designed to get more people to buy up to a higher fare.
In addition to refundability, the Extra experience will include an additional 2 Delta SkyMiles for every dollar spent. In total, travelers booking the Extra experience will earn the following number of Delta SkyMiles:
- General member: 7 SkyMiles per dollar spent
- Silver Medallion: 9 SkyMiles per dollar spent
- Gold Medallion: 10 SkyMiles per dollar spent
- Platinum Medallion: 11 SkyMiles per dollar spent
- Diamond Medallion: 13 SkyMiles per dollar spent
Extra tickets will also include a higher boarding priority for Delta Main flyers who aren't also Medallion members. (Medallion members get a higher boarding priority than the one included with the Extra experience.)
Furthermore, Extra tickets will include free same-day confirmed changes for all SkyMiles members.
The other noteworthy inclusion with the Extra experience is a higher upgrade priority for elites, meaning that as of Oct. 1, the experience you purchase will become a tiebreaker on the upgrade list.
Going forward, Delta's new upgrade priority will be as follows:
- Medallion status (Diamond, Platinum, Gold and Silver Medallion)
- Product purchased (Delta One, Delta First, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort and Delta Main)
- Million Miler status
- Experience type (Extra, then Classic and Refundable)
- Additional tiebreakers: select Delta American Express credit card holders, corporate travelers, annual Medallion Qualification Dollars, and the date and time of the request
For example, a Diamond Medallion member who purchases the Classic experience will still be prioritized over any Platinum, Gold or Silver Medallion members on the same flight, even if those members purchased the Extra experience. A Diamond Medallion who purchases the Extra experience will be prioritized over Diamond Medallion members who purchased the Classic experience.
Other changes
There are several other important considerations with Delta's rebranding. The first is that the carrier isn't changing mileage redemption fares, meaning the Extra experience will be limited to those who purchase their tickets with cash.
The Classic experience will continue to include free mileage redeposits back to the original form of payment, so the biggest selling point of the Extra experience — refundability — is moot.
Furthermore, Delta isn't offering the Basic experience for any products other than Delta Main. This mirrors how basic economy fares are currently sold, but it is an interesting decision given all the rumors that the airline is considering adding a "basic" bare-bones version of its premium cabin fares.
Perhaps Delta's announcement lays the groundwork for this to be introduced in the coming months — we'll be following this one closely.
Additionally, it's worth noting that Delta will only offer these new experiences for flights departing from the U.S. and Canada. The existing experience will remain unchanged for other flights, and you'll be able to see all the details when you're purchasing a flight.
Note that you won't be able to upgrade your experience after you purchase. You can upgrade your product by upgrading your cabin, but you can't switch from a Classic to an Extra fare without canceling and rebooking your flight.
Bottom line
Delta's big fare unbundling is finally here. This move has been teased for nearly a year, and it comes as the carrier seeks to extract as much revenue as possible from each traveler.
In a way, the new experiences offer a "good, better, or best" choice throughout each section of its aircraft.
Of course, a wider menu of choices should be more useful to travelers, but the big question is what happens to prices.
It's too early to tell how Delta is training its revenue management algorithm, but with all the new inclusions in the Extra experience, I'd bet that these tickets will be more expensive than the existing prices for the refundable ticket that Extra replaces.
"As we listen and learn about what our customers want when it comes to their travel, we know that clarity and choice are paramount," Eric Phillips, Delta's chief digital officer, said in a statement. "Our reimagined shopping experience gives customers more options and flexibility to pick the travel experience that works best for them, and a full picture of all the benefits of flying with Delta."
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