Delta Enters the Seat Recline Wars
Delta Is Reducing How Far Some Seats Recline to Ease Crunch on Laptops
(Bloomberg) -- Delta Air Lines Inc. will reduce the amount that seats recline on some planes by about two inches (five centimeters), aiming to preserve the workspace of multitasking business travelers.
The first Airbus SE A320s to get the modified seats will debut this weekend, the carrier said Friday. The distance that seats recline will drop to 3.5 inches from 5.4 in first class, and to 2 inches from 4 in Comfort Plus and coach. The A320s generally are used on flights of two hours or less.
The change -- made in response to customer complaints -- should make life easier for business travelers trying to work on laptops perched on tray tables, often while viewing mobile phones and seat-back video screens, Delta said.
“It’s all about protecting customers’ personal space and minimizing disruptions to multitasking in flight,” the Atlanta-based airline said by email.
Altering the seats can be done overnight and will take two months for all of Delta’s 62 A320s. Delta isn’t reducing the space between rows on the single-aisle jet, which seats 157 passengers. Feedback from travelers and employees will help determine whether Delta retrofits other aircraft.
The change was reported earlier by The Points Guy travel blog.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Schlangenstein in Dallas at maryc.s@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Tony Robinson
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