A view from the Delta Sky Club at Los Angeles International Airport, September 2, 2022.
AaronP | Bauer-Griffin | GC Images | fake images
Delta Airlines Customers are getting used to first class.
Revenue from more expensive, spacious seats at the front of the plane could eclipse sales of standard coach seats for at least one or two quarters of next year, Delta executives said Thursday.
In the latest quarter, Delta said its premium cabin ticket revenue rose 9% from last year to nearly $5.8 billion, while main cabin ticket revenue fell 4% from a year earlier to just over $6 billion.
Chief Executive Ed Bastian said he has seen no signs that demand for premium travel is slowing, a trend that helped drive the airline's optimistic forecast, released Thursday, for the rest of 2025 and next year.
Airlines from Delta to Border have been working to court travelers willing to pay more for seats on board.
During an investor day last year, Delta said that only 43% of its 2024 revenue came from main cabin tickets, compared to a 60% share in 2010. Meanwhile, Delta said that about 60% of last year's revenue was generated by premium seats and its lucrative loyalty program.
Delta, the most profitable U.S. airline, has benefited from customers shelling out more for premium seats. Airlines have rushed to add more such seats to their fleets, some of them so elaborate — with reclining beds, ottomans and large entertainment screens — that they have delayed deliveries of new planes while regulators evaluate their design.
