Delta Air Lines improves international Economy cabin experience

Delta turns up the hospitality with new service designed by flight attendants, endorsed by customers

Delta is raising the bar on hospitality as its reinvented international Main Cabin service officially takes flight. Designed to delight, the new service launching today worldwide* features thoughtful touches like welcome cocktails, hot towel service, bistro-style dining and more.

“How we make every customer feel across their travel journey is extremely important to us,” said Allison Ausband, Delta’s Senior Vice President — In-Flight Service. “That’s why our team designed this new service through the eyes of our customers – putting their ideas into action and giving them a delightful experience that exceeds their expectations. We want every customer, no matter where they sit on the flight, to know how much they’re appreciated.”

There’s more to the new service than meets the eye

Since the beginning, Delta has had a design team comprised of more than 20 flight attendants who’ve been leading the charge, rigorously testing and refining the service along the way to get it just right. The airline tested this service on more than 1,200 flights – making it the longest-tested service in Delta’s history.

The flagship service includes a multitude of thoughtful enhancements that are sure to delight customers throughout their long-haul flights, including:

• A welcome cocktail to help settle in: Shortly after reaching cruising altitude, Main Cabin customers will be presented with a welcome cocktail to kick off the experience. For its first welcome cocktail, the airline landed on an Italian classic: the Bellini, a combination of sparkling wine and peach nectar. It’s globally known, fit for a celebration, and offers a subtle nod to Delta’s Georgia roots.

• Bistro-style dining and elevated serviceware: During meal service, customers can select their choice of upgraded appetizers and larger entrees – mixing and matching much like they would while dining out. Standard meal trays will be replaced with more elegant, custom-designed serviceware made with 30 percent bio-based materials, featuring upgraded cutlery that ditches the plastic wrapper in favour of a new, sleek placemat for use on the tray table.

• On-demand snacks, available for the long haul: In addition to the welcome cocktail and refreshed dining options, Delta is debuting a new anytime snack basket that will be available for guests after meal service. The basket will include a rotating variety of sweet and savory snacks, such as Cheez-It crackers, Tillamook cheese, OREOs, KIND Bars and the airline’s beloved signature Biscoff cookies.

What’s new in Delta’s international Main Cabin? Click here to view the full experience.

“This is about rethinking the entire Main Cabin experience to wow our customers,” said Ron Walk, a Portland-based flight attendant and design team member who’s been involved in the service since the very beginning. “The thoughtful touches we’ve incorporated throughout are aimed at making connections with customers to show them how much they’re valued.”

Delta’s reinvented Main Cabin experience has already received rave reviews from customers – with increased customer satisfaction scores on the routes it’s been tested on over the past year.

Delta’s new international Main Cabin service is part of the airline’s multi-billion dollar investment in the overall customer experience. In the past several years, the airline has also made significant enhancements to the Main Cabin experience including free Main Cabin meals on select domestic coast-to-coast routes, free mobile messaging, free in-flight entertainment, upgraded Main Cabin snacks, the addition of sparkling wine, access to Wi-Fi on nearly all flights and refreshed Flight Fuel food-for-purchase options. Recent upgrades to the Delta One in-flight experience include upgraded TUMI amenity kits, the introduction of seasonally rotating, chef-designed Delta One menus with the option to pre-select first choice of entree, an Alessi-designed collection of serviceware and more.

*Including international flights scheduled for 6.5 hours or longer, plus select shorter international flights where Delta One or Delta Premium Select is offered.