Circa 2000. 767-300ER in B/E.

 

I doubt it. There's still only 16 seats up front, and DL does a good job of selling those seats for a premium price. There's usually only a few (if any) seats available for complimentary upgrades. Also DL doesn't open any upgrade inventory on these flights, all sell tickets up front until the GA starts to clear upgrades just prior to boarding. DL doesn't really gain anything by leaving their top customers in the back with empty seats up front.

 

I'd expect they would retrofit the entire 75E fleet rather than adding another 757 subfleet. DL has been trying to reduce the number of 757 subfleets, and converting all of them would give DL greater flexibility on these routes, where they can fly both transcontinental and international routes.

 

LOL
+1

 

They think they do... that's why int'l flights are no comp upgrades, M fare + miles/SWU only.

 

It usually phrased as "protecting the revenue premium" or something (ie: don't give away something if it means people won't pay for it), but given that many of these flights go out with J sold out or nearly so, the revenue premium is probably pretty well protected already.

 

Totally agree. If these pax truly were DL's "top customers," they wouldn't be flying in the back in the first place.

 

Seems like 752s will be configured with the 764 type seats? Too bad no 767 on SFO-JFK route, all in JFK-LAX and JFK-SEA

 

I dunno, they may be able to get away with herringbones. Something along the lines of the BE seats on the 777s, but obviously a 1-1x8 instead of a 1-2-1x7 in the front section. It's hard to get dimensions on the plane's subsections so I can't really do any better than an eyeball.

 

The BE seats on the ex-TWA 75E's are actually leased. Yes, the seats are leased.

Could it be that the lease term is expiring and DL has decided to invest in a more competitive product rather than recommitting to the tired old recliners?

 

Having given this more (logical) thought, it really doesn't make any sense for Delta to take away comped upgrades on this route. They have a great product that they increasingly sell out. On more than one occasion I have been #1 on the upgrade list and not gotten the upgrade, and am about 50% upgrade on the JFK-LAX route. So, if they're adding more capacity, why bother taking away the comp upgrade when it's hard to get anyways? All that would do would further diminish benefits.

As an example, forcing us to use a SWU with a K+ fare would only be valuable if it could be confirmed at the time of booking. Otherwise, you are back to the gate lottery. And while under this scenario you would technically be competing with fewer people for upgrades on any particular flight, I'm not sure the upgrade chances would greatly improve. From a benefits/customer relationship standpoint, there seems to be more downside than upside for them to do this.

 

The Thompson Vantage would fit 16 seats in an alternating 2-2/1-1 layout in 5 rows. The article says they will be in a 2-2 layout, so I'm not sure if the seats will be Thompson Vantage. As I stated earlier, a possibility could be the B/E Aerospace Diamond like what is on UA's PMCO 752s, which fit in a 2-2 layout on the 757.

 

In either case, it is certainly an exciting product and a clear enhancement (not meant ironically). I realize that service may not be what it once was, but hard product around the globe continues to improve (with the possible exception of E-)

 

Cynically, imagine DL starts requiring K+ to upgrade these routes. Given that there are people willing to buy M+ to have a chance at upgrading internationally, why wouldn't others buy K+ to have a chance at upgrading TCON? And whenever they do sell out J and nobody gets upgraded, they've further increased revenue by forcing a bunch of pointless buy-ups to K.

Of course, that's where B6+EMS starts looking a lot better than DL+EC.

 

The article states they will be in a 2-2 layout. I'm not sure if the Thompson Vantage will fit on the 757 such layout. Perhaps they will be the B/E Aerospace Diamond, similar to what is on UA's PMCO 752s.
It's nice to read that the 757 JFK-SEA/SFO/LAX transcons will be fitted with lie-flats within 24 months, but this falls well short of committing to lie-flats on all the 757 intercon routes, ie the select South America and Europe routes.
I'm surprised that DL is going to be stepping back from its policy of having direct aisle access for all new BE flat bed seats. Claiming that feature for all longhaul aircraft would be good marketing and allow for some straightforward ads without having to list exceptions.