Delta Air Lines, emerging from several years of restructuring and its merger with Northwest Airlines, is finally spending again on the "customer experience," a top executive says.
Delta President Ed Bastian, in a talk to the Atlanta Aero Club on Wednesday, cited more lie-flat seats in business class and in-seat video screens in coach on international flights as examples.
"One of the challenges that Delta has had over the last five years, I'd say, is not only the fact that when you go through a restructuring you're a bit capital-constrained because you're using your cash to stay alive," Bastian said. "Following the merger with Northwest . . . our capital then went to the integration and the wiring of these two legacy systems."
Bastian said Delta hopes the improvements will pay off by generating more revenue. Earlier this month at an investor conference, Bastian said Delta was seeing "revenue gaps" in some of its international markets.
Last week, Delta announced a new premium economy section on long-haul international flights.
“I kind of think Delta is playing catch up" to other airlines, said Terry Trippler, owner of airlinerulestoknow.com. For the last two years, "Delta concentrated on getting bigger. Now it looks like Delta is finally concentrating on getting better.”
Delta is also planning for a new terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and in New York, renovating airport lounges, adding more in-flight wi-fi and making improvements to its website and computer systems.
From a technology standpoint, "We realize that we're not where we need to be," Bastian said.
About the Author
