Delta Amenity Upgrades Coming To Europe

Delta Air Lines this week said it intends to install lie-flat beds in its BusinessElite business class cabin on all services to Europe by 2013. The beds have been introduced on routes between the United Sates and London Heathrow in the past year, but now aircraft serving all 42 destinations in Europe are to be brought up to the same standard. Beds also will be installed on transpacific routes.

Delta flies to a substantial number of secondary European cities, including Manchester, Düsseldorf, Berlin and Valencia, which it serves largely with Boeing 767-300s. This fleet is being upgraded in economy class as well, with the roll out of audio and video on demand for the first time.

The airline announced a total of $1 billion in service improvements for the next three years, which it said it is making at the expense of fleet renewal. "Rather than invest in new aircraft, Delta will be spending its capital to improve the quality and consistency of the on-board product and efficiency of the aircraft we already own," said Ed Bastian, president of the airline.