We’re seeing quite some nice improvements to the long haul business class products of major US airlines. We recently saw American introduce its new Flagship Suite business class, soon United plans to introduce its new Polaris business class, and next up it’s Delta’s turn. We’re getting more of a sense of what we can expect…
Delta installing VantageNOVA seats on A350-1000s?
Delta has 20 Airbus A350-1000s on order, which will eventually be the carrier’s flagship aircraft. Not only will this be Delta’s largest aircraft, but it’s also expected to be the most premium configured plane. Unfortunately at this point, we’ll have to wait until 2027 for the first of these planes to be delivered.
So, what can we expect onboard? We’ve heard some rumblings over time, though JonNYC has some interesting new insights, as usual. Jon suggests that Delta’s new business class suite on the Airbus A350-1000 will be the Thompson Aero VantageNOVA product, and that the airline will install 50 business class seats on the aircraft, which is the most business class seats Delta has ever installed on an aircraft (though still short of the 64 business class seats United will have on its new 787-9s).
It makes perfect sense that this is the product that Delta is going with, given that Delta already has a close partnership with Thompson Aero for its business class seats (the A350-900s have the Thompson Aero Vantage XL product).
Like many new products nowadays, the VantageNOVA product is pretty flexible, and airlines can elect one of the two layouts, all in a 1-2-1 layout:
- All seats can be reverse herringbone, meaning the window seats face the windows, and the center seats face the center
- It can be a hybrid cabin, with the window seats facing the aisle (herringbone), and the center seats facing the center (reverse herringbone)
I think it’s safe to say that most people would prefer the former layout compared to the latter. It’s worth noting that this is intended to be a very efficient product to install, with seats having as little as 40″ of pitch.
Like many new premium products, Thompson Aero also promises a front row “business class plus” product, taking advantage of the extra space in the first row.
The VantageNOVA product was only unveiled in 2024, and isn’t yet in service. Thompson Aero says it has a launch customer for this product, though that customer hasn’t been disclosed. So I think it’s highly likely that Delta is the launch customer being referred to.
My take on Delta’s potential new business class seat
What’s interesting is that American and United are both in the process of rolling out a new business class product as well, and they’ve selected exactly the same seat — the Adient Ascent product. But like many airplane seats, there’s lots of flexibility there for customization.
So, what should we make of Delta’s new business class seat? Well, I’d say it looks very similar to the Adient Ascent product. Both are intended to be efficient, and offer the option of a combined herringbone and reverse herringbone configuration. Still, it’s hard to know comfort level for sure, since this product isn’t yet in service with any airline.
I think we’ve reached the point now where business class seats aren’t actually getting much more comfortable, but instead, it’s just about whether they have a door, and how good the seat tech is (entertainment screens, charging, bluetooth audio, etc.).
For that matter, what counts most is how many planes an airline has with its latest generation premium seats. Take Emirates as an example. Emirates has its amazing “Game Changer” first class, which was introduced in 2017… it has been installed on a total of nine(!!!) planes. At the current pace, the entire fleet may be reconfigured with the product by 2275!
So yeah, it’s great that we’ll see the first plane with this product enter service for Delta in 2027, and I question whether Delta will reconfigure any planes with the product (I doubt it, since this product can’t be retrofitted on A330s and 767s, and I doubt Delta thinks the investment is worth it on existing A350s).
Bottom line
We know that Delta plans to introduce a new business class product on its Airbus A350-1000s, which should be delivered as of 2027. Rumors suggest that Delta will be installing the Thompson Aero VantageNOVA product, with 50 of these seats being installed on Delta’s new flagship aircraft. I suspect Delta will be the launch customer for this seat, so I look forward to learning all the details.
What do you make of Delta’s new business class plans?