Delta Air Lines planes to get cabin refresh

Delta Air Lines is giving its cabins a new look.

The Atlanta-based carrier Tuesday announced plans for a cabin facelift for its planes, featuring updated seat coverings, new mood lighting, and an overall refresh for the airline’s cabin aesthetic across the fleet.

Now, don’t board your next Delta plane expecting to see the updated look; it’ll be a bit of a methodical rollout.

By the end of this year, Delta plans to retrofit one of its Boeing 757 jets serving domestic and short-haul international routes with the new appearance. The new aesthetic will make its way onto a brand-new Delta Airbus A350 serving long-haul routes in early 2025.

However, the carrier eventually hopes to give its entire fleet a new — and uniform— look, Delta said Tuesday.

“This refreshed cabin interior infused utility with beauty to create an atmosphere that feels fresh, elevated, and timeless while reflecting our customers’ evolving tastes and expectations,” Delta vice president of customer experience design Mauricio Parise said in a statement announcing the news.

Delta’s cabin refresh

The changes will be evident as soon as you climb on board a Delta aircraft in the future. The airline’s royal blue seat coverings will be replaced by a much darker color palette, trimmed in bright red striping.

Read more: Delta’s futuristic first-class recliners are coming to the Boeing 737

New Delta branding and motifs will be evident around the cabin, too. Delta’s shooting for an interior that “feels fresh, elevated and timeless,” as the company’s statement put it.

To be clear, Delta’s not getting all-new seats, so don’t expect a major hard product overhaul. This is more of a cosmetic update.

The seats will get a new trim and finish, plus new cushions on its 757s.

On jets with the Delta One cabin, the carrier says its new leather seat covers — atop memory foam — are better for temperature regulation.

And, Premium Select and domestic-style First Class seats will also get memory foam cushions, adorned in leather seat coverings.

Plus, it wouldn’t be a cabin refresh without improved ambient lighting. Delta will offer a variety of mood lighting settings based on the stage of the flight, including a “warm and inviting” setting for boarding, with separate sunset and sunrise tones for overnight flights — not to mention a “candlelight” setting for dinner service.

The cabin itself will get a new trim and look, too, including new dividers featuring a “celestial sky pattern” and additional Delta branding.

New cabin timeline

Again, you won’t see these changes right away. By late 2025, new jets delivered to Delta will have the updated look, a spokesperson told TPG.

Delta has dozens of wide-body aircraft slated for delivery in the coming years, including an order of 20 A350-1000s announced in January. That’s on top of hundreds of additional narrow-body jets from Airbus slated for the fleet in the coming years.

The airline is also planning to retrofit its existing fleet with the new look. However, there’s no timeline, yet, for when those refits might take place:

“Additional aircraft will receive the new cabin design as Delta’s schedule and operation allows over the next few years,” the carrier said.

Delta’s premium push

These aesthetic improvements come as Delta aims to position itself as the top premium airline in the U.S. — a mantle on which it’s gotten increased competition in recent years from United Airlines, itself in the midst of an ambitious cabin overhaul and fleet growth.

Just last week, Delta cut the ribbon on its 10,000-square-foot all-business Delta One Lounge at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and has more swanky outposts slated for opening in the coming months.

Executives regularly tout the high-dollar spending charged by its loyal SkyMiles members to its suite of cobranded American Express credit cards. Delta made $1.8 billion from its Amex partnership during the third quarter of this year, the company reported last week.

Now, it seems, the carrier hopes a touch-up for its cabins will give its planes a fresh look in the years to come.

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