Delta's futuristic first-class recliners are coming to the Boeing 737
Delta Air Lines' latest inflight product will soon be flying on another jet.
The Atlanta-based carrier confirmed on Monday that it has begun installing its futuristic domestic first-class recliner on the Boeing 737-800 fleet.
This seat, which debuted on the Airbus A321neo in May 2022, has generally received positive reviews from travelers. It features an all-new design for domestic first class, which has historically just been a standard, no-frills recliner.
These new seats sport large privacy wings, extra storage areas, enhanced inflight entertainment systems and more.
Delta will install 16 of these seats on board each Boeing 737-800 in an industry-standard 2-2 configuration.
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In addition to the new first-class seats, Delta will also retrofit the rest of the jet with new economy seats. The main upgrade at the back of the plane will be new 11-inch seatback inflight entertainment systems, which sport the latest upgrades from Panasonic.
Other nose-to-tail enhancements include refreshed lavatories that feature touchless flushing and hand-washing sensors.
Unfortunately, Delta stopped short of installing new oversized overhead bins on these planes, so passengers will likely still need to gate-check carry-on bags during full flights.
As for the timeline, the first retrofitted Boeing 737-800, registered N3744F, reentered served on Jan. 20 and will cycle its way through the airline's network.
Delta's remaining 76 Boeing 737-800s will also receive cabin upgrades in the coming months and years, with reports saying that the entire process will be completed by the end of 2025.
For its part, Delta shared that "we are committed to maintaining an elevated and premium customer experience across all touchpoints of the travel journey – this includes making improvements to our aircraft interiors as part of ongoing, planned retrofits."
The airline also teased that it plans to share more details about its premium products shortly. It wasn't immediately clear what the airline was referring to, but it's possible that the carrier may finally reveal details about its upcoming premium-heavy Airbus A321neo configuration that's expected to feature lie-flat pods and premium economy recliners.
For Delta, expanding the footprint of its new domestic first-class recliner comes as the carrier has been laser-focused on chasing premium revenues over the past few years.
The carrier has tried to position itself as the country's most premium airline and, as part of that, has introduced product enhancements to upgrade the onboard experience.
Though United Airlines has since debuted its own iteration of a new first-class recliner, Delta's version remains the most futuristic one flying in the domestic skies.
As this product's footprint grows, Delta loyalists should also be excited to see the carrier updating some of its oldest jets in the fleet. The 737-800s used to feature outdated cabins with seatback screens that might even be smaller than the latest iPhone models.
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