Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Delta Air Lines introduced a brand-new First Class seat product roughly two years ago when the carrier brought the Airbus A321neo to its fleet.
From what we heard, the plan was to install the new seats into the airline’s narrowbody planes, starting with new aircraft and retrofitting older ones.
It seems the retrofits are here.
TPG’s Zach Griff reports Delta confirmed that its Boeing 737-800 aircraft are starting to be retrofitted for the new First Class recliners and souped-up Main Cabin seats.
Why the “Yay?”
I rode on Delta’s inaugural A321neo flight from Boston (BOS) to San Francisco (SFO) in May 2022. I sat in First Class so I could experience the brand-new, cool-looking seats. In fact, I referred to them as a “flying office.”
But I didn’t exactly love them.
My biggest gripe is that the legroom is awful — especially for First Class. The window seat, in particular, is no picnic if you want to get out of your seat during the flight.
I do like that there’s plenty of space to store your electronics. The electrical and USB outlets are easily accessible.
There are little wings at the top of each seat designed to bring a little extra privacy to your experience — and they do. I mean, you’re not isolated but if you don’t enjoy chit-chatting with the person next to you, this will help your cause. But if you’re traveling with someone with whom you want to talk. Be prepared for a lot leaning forward and repositioning.
As for the Main Cabin seats: I was supposed to ride in one during an A321neo hop from Detroit (DTW) to Los Angeles (LAX) a few weeks ago — but that didn’t happen. I’ve been booked on several A321neo flights only for Delta to reassign different aircraft during Schedule Change Saturdays. So, I have yet to experience them.
Their seatback screens are 11” — a vast improvement from the current monitors that are slightly bigger than most smartphones. They also feature Bluetooth, allowing you to wirelessly connect to your screen’s audio feed.
Also included: improved restroom features, cabin carpeting, and interior lighting schemes.
Will your next 737-800 have the new look and feel? Don’t get your hopes up. Mr. Griff points out only one aircraft (N3744F) has the retrofit and is flying passengers. By the end of next year, the rest of Delta’s 77 738s should look like brand new.
Final Approach
Delta Air Lines is retrofitting its Boeing 737-800 fleet’s interior to resemble something closer to its A321neos.
Have you ridden in the A321neos? What did you think of the seats? Please share your thoughts in the below Comments section!
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I do hope they have improved the padding on the seats. They look great, but are horribly uncomfortable on the A321 NEO
The seats themselves have horrible padding. I have taken them several times across the U.S. only to wake up to extreme butt pain from the lack of a cushion. Not a good first class experience .
Arguably some of the worst first class seats on Delta. Legroom is not great and if you’re not in row 1 when the passenger in front of you reclines it just gets worse.
Yeah, I experienced that on my flight.
Flew BOS – SLC in first class on a Delta A321 neo. First few hours were OK but the last couple hours my butt was super uncomfortable. I have now purchased a blow up butt pillow just for flying on Delta A321 neos. Reminds me of when the “bean counters” at Delta tried to save some money with poor quality wine in a can. I do not doubt these hard seats will last longer (saving Delta some money) but once again at the expense of the customers experience.
Flew these RT from Seattle to Kona a few months ago – we started calling it “fake first class” due to the awful, uncomfortable seats.
I’ve had the same sore butt experience in First.
Actually the seats in EC seemed much better. Have the pleasure to try the FC seats again next week cross country. Hopefully better.
The cushioning is awful. And that’s saying something for relatively brand new seats. Just think how much more awful they will become after repeated use over the years. Instead of a neck pillow, I’ll have to start bringing a butt pillow.