Delta’s Atlanta-Heathrow flights to get seats that lie flat

Delta Air Lines said its flights to London’s Heathrow Airport from Atlanta and New York will have lie-flat seats in BusinessElite class by next summer.

Delta will upgrade seven of its 767-400ER aircraft, and each will have 40 flat-bed seats in BusinessElite.

No Delta flights out of Atlanta have lie-flat seats yet, and the first Delta flight out of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to offer the seats will be Atlanta-Mumbai flights launching Nov. 1 on 777-200LR aircraft. With the launch, Delta is shifting its Mumbai service from JFK to Atlanta.

Atlanta-based Delta announced in February it would put the flat seats on international 767-400 aircraft. In coach class, it will install lighter “slimline” seats.

In the highly competitive U.S.-Heathrow market, corporate customers doing business in London have told Delta that they want flat-bed seats, particularly for business travelers who want to sleep on the trip across the Atlantic and be prepared to do business once they arrive in London, said Delta spokesman Kent Landers.

“We have a long-term vision of significantly expanding the full-flat experience,” Landers said. “We’ll be doing that over time.”

Delta also said its joint venture partner Air France next summer will begin flying from New York’s John F. Kennedy International to Heathrow, adding to Delta’s two daily nonstop flights on the route and one daily nonstop flight from Hartsfield-Jackson to Heathrow.