{"id":125137,"date":"2026-05-09T12:12:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T15:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/deltas-new-plane-with-whopping-44-first-class-seats-set-for-takeoff\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T12:12:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T15:12:24","slug":"deltas-new-plane-with-whopping-44-first-class-seats-set-for-takeoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/deltas-new-plane-with-whopping-44-first-class-seats-set-for-takeoff\/","title":{"rendered":"Delta’s new plane with whopping 44 first-class seats set for takeoff"},"content":{"rendered":"


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When life gives you lemons … install more first-class seats. At least, that’s what Delta Air Lines’ philosophy seems to be with its newest plane.<\/p>\n

Later this month, the carrier plans to launch service on an aircraft sporting one of its wildest configurations yet: a whopping 44 first-class seats.<\/p>\n

First class on this Airbus A321neo is so big that the front cabin practically reaches the over-wing emergency exits.<\/p>\n

Check out the photo below. Every seat you see between here and that first bulkhead is first-class.<\/p>\n

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SEAN CUDAHY\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s easily one of Delta’s most premium-focused jets yet, and it will take off this spring and summer from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to some of its top West Coast markets.<\/p>\n

But this wasn’t actually supposed to happen.<\/p>\n

A very premium ‘plan B’<\/h2>\n

Delta had planned for these A321neos to get lie-flat seats as part of a true international-style business class.<\/p>\n

In fact, that’s still the plan.<\/p>\n

But those Delta One suites still aren’t certified for this aircraft, and the Atlanta-based carrier had several of these jets just sitting in storage out in the desert for more than a year.<\/p>\n

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SEAN CUDAHY\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, instead of keeping its brand-new airplanes grounded, Delta over the last year concocted a temporary solution that produced one of the more luxe backup plans imaginable.<\/p>\n

In place of lie-flat pods, the carrier jammed the aircraft full of standard domestic first-class recliners.<\/p>\n

Arranged in the typical 2-2 configuration, these 44 seats span an unprecedented 11 rows of the plane.<\/p>\n

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For context, most similar planes that Delta currently flies have five rows of first-class seats.<\/p>\n

When I stepped on board, I was taken aback at the sheer size of the cabin \u2014 and I say that as someone who has written about this aircraft for months<\/a><\/span> and literally flew to Atlanta to see it.<\/p>\n

Behind first class, the carrier’s extra-legroom Comfort section is a little smaller than similar A321neos flying today.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the regular economy seats take up a mere third of the on-board real estate.<\/p>\n

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Delta’s Airbus A321neo seating comparison<\/b><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Cabin<\/b><\/th>\nCurrent Airbus A321neos<\/b><\/th>\nNew premium-heavy configuration<\/b><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
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20 recliners (five rows)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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44 recliners (11 rows)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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60 seats<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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54 seats<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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114 seats<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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66 seats<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

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194<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

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164\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

How will the first-class service stack up?<\/h2>\n

Now to the big lingering question frequent Delta first-class flyers may rightly ask: How will the service stack up in a first-class cabin that’s this enormous?<\/p>\n

Time will tell, but Delta said it’s adding a fifth flight attendant to these aircraft and plans to staff three of those cabin crewmembers up in first-class. Usually, on the A321neo, one or two crewmembers work up front.<\/p>\n

And, yes, there will<\/i> be hot meals on these flights; the carrier added an extra oven to the front galley.<\/p>\n

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Delta added an extra oven to accommodate 44 first-class passengers’ hot meals. SEAN CUDAHY\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Delta spent months running tests with flight attendants on its inflight meal service, including arranging 44 chairs to simulate a faux first-class cabin, according to Michael Steinfeld, the carrier’s head of on-board product.<\/p>\n

“Trialing boarding, trialing predeparture service,” he told me. “All those core components that the customers are used to are still here. The challenge is around, ‘How do we execute it with the flight attendants that we have?'”<\/p>\n

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SEAN CUDAHY\/THE POINTS GUY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Which routes will Delta’s new A321neo fly?<\/h2>\n

The first real test will be on May 20, when Delta puts this neo into service on flights from ATL to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).<\/p>\n

By summer, Delta will have six of these planes in the air, and a seventh by fall \u2014 all based out of its Atlanta home.<\/p>\n

You’ll see the aircraft on the following routes:<\/p>\n