That may sound like a busy week for the entire industry, but those headlines came from just one carrier: Delta Air Lines.
I’ll have more on Delta in a moment, but other airlines were busy, too. American Airlines detailed its first grab-and-go lounge, matching offerings like those recently rolled out by United Airlines and Delta. And American Express announced an overhaul of its lounge offerings, including two new locations and a new lounge concept.
Back to Delta. It was the first U.S. carrier to report earnings this quarter, and that came with a slew of stories that we’re still talking about.
Among those is the possibility of a “basic business” fare class. Economy flyers have long gotten used to “basic” fares where everything beyond boarding the plane costs extra. But what about in international business class, where customers already pay thousands of dollars for posh lie-flat seats?
Would an airline really dare charge $150 for an advance seat assignment to a passenger who’s already paid $4,000 or more for a ticket? It’s already happening on some European carriers, and Delta did not shoot down the idea that it could soon do the same.
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