Delta unveils new suite design, posh plane; plans upgrade for old, dated cabins

Quick summary

Delta is introducing a next-generation business-class suite on its upcoming Airbus A350-1000, arriving in 2027, featuring 53 suites—33% more than current models.
The new suites will offer lie-flat beds with pillowtop layers, sliding doors, wireless charging, and 24-inch 4K seatback screens, along with enhanced storage and lighting.
Premium economy and main cabin seats will also see upgrades, including larger screens and Bluetooth connectivity throughout the aircraft.
Delta will begin retrofitting 42 older Airbus A330s with updated business-class suites and walk-up snack bars starting in September.

What to consider

The new A350-1000 will have a range of 8,700 nautical miles, targeting long-haul routes to destinations such as India and Saudi Arabia.
Retrofit upgrades for A330s will include some, but not all, features of the new A350-1000 suites.
Most Delta One seats across the fleet will feature sliding doors by 2030, except for certain Boeing 767 models.

What you'll miss from the article

A detailed comparison of seat features, cabin layouts and how Delta's upgrades stack up against competitors.

Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.

It’s been nearly a decade since Delta Air Lines raised the bar for U.S. business-class with the debut of its fancy Delta One cabin. With lie-flat beds and sliding privacy doors, Delta One cemented flying suites as the new industry standard at the front of the plane.

Now, as Delta has watched its two top rivals up their game in the front cabin, the Atlanta-based carrier isn’t standing pat.

Delta on Monday announced what it’s billing as its next-generation Delta One product, which will make its debut next year on the carrier’s newest plane: the Airbus A350-1000.

Delta One cabin on Delta Air Lines' new Airbus A350-1000. DELTA AIR LINES

Set for arrival in 2027, this aircraft will be Delta’s most premium yet.

The Delta One suites won't just have a new design and features — there will be 53 of them, 33% more than you'll find on any Delta planes today.

The same A350-1000s will also be outfitted with the carrier’s newest technology, including the spiffy seatback screens the carrier has been teasing for well over a year.

But for loyal Delta flyers, the arrival of this high-end plane might actually be the second-biggest news of the day.

That’s because the airline also announced that a major (and badly needed) upgrade is finally imminent for some of its most outdated long-haul aircraft.

Here’s everything to know about the changes the airline announced for its fleet.

Delta’s new Airbus A350-1000

Delta’s new A350-1000 will sport a whopping 101 premium seats between the carrier’s business-class and premium economy cabins.

For aviation enthusiasts keeping track, that’s two more than what United Airlines will offer on its luxe, new Boeing 787-9 “Elevated” Dreamliner (which, by the way, is Singapore-bound starting next week).

Here’s how the cabins break down on this Delta plane.

Cabin	Seats
Delta One	53 suites
Delta Premium Select	48 recliners
Delta Comfort	51 seats
Main Cabin	152 seats

A ‘new’ Delta One

The biggest upgrade from past Delta planes on this A350-1000 will be the next-generation Delta One suites, which will be a step up, executives say, from the existing flagship business-class product that has been a repeat TPG Awards winner.

“It’s an optimization of a product that’s already great,” Mauricio Parise, Delta's vice president of brand experience, told TPG, “really creating the next generation of product for our [widebody planes] that allows us to keep evolving.”

A next-generation Delta One suite on the Airbus A350-1000. DELTA AIR LINES

This is an all-new seat for Delta and its longtime Delta One seatmaker, Northern Ireland-based Thompson Aero Seating.

Expect many of the same bells and whistles you’ll currently find in Delta One: lie-flat seats, sliding doors, wireless charging and soft product touches like Missoni bedding.

The seats will be arranged in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration, with seats angled toward the windows.

Lie-flat mode for Delta Air Lines' newest-generation Delta One suites on the Airbus A350-1000. DELTA AIR LINES

But Delta’s new product will have some notable additions:

The lie-flat seats will measure 83 inches, 3 inches longer than the existing setup.
According to Delta, the beds will also be more plush thanks to a pillowtop layer added into the seat cushion.
And, customers will find additional upgraded features like a glasses hook, a shoe cubby, a bedside tray for your phone and improved in-suite accent lighting.

These suites will also sport 4K seatback screens measuring 24 inches, Delta’s largest ever.

Here's how those screens stack up against similar competitor business-class cabins.

Product	Seatback screen size
United’s extra-large Polaris Studios (found in the front rows of its new business-class cabins)	27 inches
Delta’s next-generation Delta One Suites	24 inches
United’s next-generation standard Polaris Suites	19 inches

‘Optimization’ of an award-winning product

One feature not mentioned for Delta’s A350-1000s? An extra-large business-class row up front.

Increasingly, we’ve seen global airlines — in lieu of a true international first class — outfitting their flagship planes with an elevated business-class row.

But it appears Delta will ride with this new “standard” Delta One offering. It’s possible (though not 100%) that you may also see these same suites later this year on the future long-haul planes, like the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners it just ordered.

Premium economy and coach

Delta’s A350-1000s will sport six rows of Premium Select recliners arranged in a 2-4-2 configuration and equipped with 16-inch screens from Thales.

Every seat, including those in the main cabin, will have Bluetooth connectivity to the seatback screens.

Exactly half of the seats on this plane will be regular coach seats — a nod toward how premium the aircraft skews.

Where will Delta fly its Airbus A350-1000s?

Where will these new planes fly? A long way.

The A350-1000 has a huge range of 8,700 nautical miles, so expect it to be deployed to far-flung destinations.

“So you’re going to see the Indias of the world that we expect to start flying, the Riyadhs,” Parise said. “All those 12-plus hour missions where the demand for those premium seats are higher.”

A delta a350 1000 plane flying in the sky — Rendering of a Delta Air Lines Airbus A350-1000. DELTA AIR LINES

We should note: Delta has not yet announced nonstop service to India, but it has revealed plans to start flights to the Saudi Arabian capital later this year.

Retrofits coming to outdated Airbus A330s

There’s nothing like “new plane smell.”

But avid Delta flyers may be even more enthused to know that the airline is finally moving forward with plans to upgrade some of its most outdated long-haul jets.

Delta One Airbus A330-300 — Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-300 Delta One cabin. ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

Beginning in September, the carrier will start nose-to-tail cabin refreshes for 42 of its Airbus A330-200 and -300 aircraft.

Delta One on the Airbus A330-200 and -300. DELTA AIR LINES

Most notably, these A330s will at last get true Delta One suites — the existing Delta One product, not the one that’ll be on its A350s, though Delta plans to outfit these pods with some of the latest features it's planning for its newest A350s, like the pillowtop mattresses and the fancier technology.

On-board snack bar

Also, these A330s (along with the new A350s) will get walk-up refreshment stations!

A refreshment station planned for Delta's retrofitted Airbus A330-200 and -300 jets. The A350-1000 will also get this amenity. DELTA AIR LINES

These on-board snack bars have quickly become a popular new feature for airlines. United, for instance, is planning to offer them in the economy cabin of its newest planes.

Snack bar on United Airlines' Airbus A321XLR. UNITED AIRLINES

New A330 cabin look throughout

They’ll also get a higher number of Premium Select and/or Comfort seats, depending on the aircraft.

These are planes Delta once got via its 2008 acquisition of Northwest Airlines. A fixture on routes to Europe, South America and Hawaii, the cabins are a far cry from the experience the carrier offers in its most modern jets.

Delta Comfort on an existing Airbus A330-300. ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

Delta Comfort seats as planned for the Airbus A330-200 and -300. DELTA AIR LINES

“I think that’s a huge gap,” Parise said, acknowledging that some of these planes may have less than a decade of flying left in them — but that's enough time, he said, to warrant a refresh.

“It’s easier to make a ... financial decision to close your eyes and let the plane fly for seven, eight, nine years with the current product,” he said. “We choose not to do that. We ensure that we need to keep the bar high.”

Looking ahead

Delta now expects 90% of its Delta One seats will be suites with sliding privacy doors by 2030. A key exception: its Boeing 767-400s, which have relatively updated interiors — but no door. Its Boeing 767-300s are slated for retirement in the coming years.