Hello from HKG. Weather here is hot and humid but Ships 1807 and 1809 are in full swing on the Lie Flat mod. It’s been some time since our last update so we have some catching up to do.
All 10 wingletted 767-300ERs are flying – seven of which are our 76T aircraft (12+ Hour flights with Main Deck crew rests). We’ll begin production on additional aircraft in the spring when our heavy maintenance line picks back up.
Delta now has 143 aircraft outfitted with winglets, 95 of which are the APB Blended winglet type. (This includes pre-merger NW aircraft).
On the 777-side, DL now has an homogenized fleet of 777-200LR aircraft as ships 7101 and 7102 were modified to add two incremental BusinessElite seats bringing the passenger count to 45 up front.
Additionally, we have begun modification of our 777-200ER fleet to add three Economy seats by door 3. Currently three of these aircraft are flying (Ships 7003, 7007, 7008).
Our 767-400ER modification is progressing. Pictured are two of our aircraft (1807 and 1809) stationed in Hong Kong at the HAECO facility being modified. A third aircraft is being modified in Atlanta (1805). I want to give a big prop to both Delta Base Maintenance teams and HAECO maintenance for an excellent job in support of these mods.
Lastly, all (8) pre-merger DL 757-200 ETOPS (75E) aircraft scheduled for the SATCOM install are now equipped and in-service.
Mike Kotas
Fleet Programs
June 16th, 2009 at 8:19 am
Any update on upgrading the 777-200ER BE to the lie-flat seats? If you are modifying 7003, 7007, 7008 with the 3 new economy seats… wouldn’t that be a great time to start the previously promised BE upgrade?
June 16th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Hi Clinton, adding 3 Y/C seats to the 777 is far simpler then outfitting the whole F/C cabin with new palletized J-Seats. That’s why the 3 Y seats are being installed.
That said, the 777 Flat Bed seat is in motion and the team is going through the design process as we speak but an exact time frame is still being vetted out.
June 16th, 2009 at 11:04 am
What does the timeframe on getting the entire 764 fleet flat beds look like? How long does it take to change the seats out on one?
Also, where are the old seats going? Delta selling them :-)?
June 16th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
what routes are the 764 with lie flat seats flying?
June 16th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
Hey Chris, the remaining 764 Fleet, the 14 aircraft currently flying with our existing B/E product is under review. You’re looking at about 18-24 months after we’re given the go-ahead before the entire fleet is homogenized.
The mod itself is more then just seats, it include a galley swap out, lav reorganization, a lower lobe crew rest installation, and Y/C Seat IFE upgrade. Our current turn time is around 32 days for follow-on aircraft.
So you’re interested in purchasing an old B/E seat?
Nutriadv: The flat bed product is currently flying on JFK-LHR and DTW-LHR. It may occasionally appear on other routes as ops requires it to but those above are the primary routes at this time.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I have been wondering as well, what is to be happening to the old B/E seats? I’m sure some will be held on to for spares, etc. Are there any plans to make any available to the public or employees for purchase/auction?
Also with the lie flats in 1804, are there any photos/reviews of the product now in service? I know the one photo taken mid-mod:) was removed as it wasn’t very flattering. I just haven’t seen any photos in service. Hopefully I can experience it for myself in the next couple weeks. I’ve been on the 77L, and a flat bed makes a BIG difference.
Thanks
June 17th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Good to know that the 764 will only be on a few routes, I had just assumed that they would upgrade more planes in case one went MX.
Will MSP/ATL-LHR be on the 764 lie-flat as well? I know that had been announced.
As for buying a seat… if the price was right.
June 17th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Does Delta have a lie-flat seat conversion schedule posted somewhere on the web? I’m a long time Platinum and have been disappointed. In ‘06 or ‘07, Delta put out a press release saying that their fleet would be converted to lie-flat seats in 2008. That didn’t happen. I understand that there were some economic concerns with the price of oil, reduced passengers, etc. But, I think DL will lose biz-class customers if they don’t provide a forecast for total fleet conversion. BE is better with the new pillows, duvet, and food - but if I can’t sleep because I’m uncomfortable, my productivity is affected when I arrive at the office in Europe.
I personally have switched most of my transatlantic biz-class tickets to LH/UA and now accrue most of my DL miles on NW flights to Asia. UA seat is 180 lie flat, pretty nice except there is no storage. LH seat is angled, although slightly better than the NW seat. Our corporate rates are the same with DL, so why should I cram myself into that old shabby cradle-style BE seat, hope that I might get some sleep while uncomfortable, when I have a viable alternative?
June 17th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
I’m scheduled to fly on NW0781 which is the Delta Operated 767 from LHR to DTW on June 26th. The post above suggests this has been converted to the full-flat business class seats but the seat map on the NWA site suggests otherwise. How do I find out in advance one way or another?
June 18th, 2009 at 3:41 am
Hi All,
I just wanted to say once again thanks for all comments, good and constructive. I’m sitting here in NRT on a lay-over after having a successful trip to HKG to visit one of our suppliers and figured I’d log back in to see what is going on.
GE90:
The Mid-Mod Photo is still on the blog. You’ll need to dig deeper into my historic posts to find it. I’m not worried about it being flattering, I think many of us like to see items like that to give a sense of movement in the mod. As for the old seats, naturally some are being used as spares however many of them will be routed to our outside sales that will be made available for purchase. If you are interested in purchasing a seat (and they’re not cheap), please feel free to use the email button below and ask for it to be routed to me unless of course you are an employee then look me up in the directory.
Chris:
I know ATL-LHR is on the scheduled list for the aircraft once the 7 A/C are complete. SEA and MSP are both being looked at pending demand.
Cincy:
I’m sorry for your disappointment in the Flat-Bed deployment schedule. There is not one posted on the web. As you know, the economy, bankruptcy, and the merger have all impacted our timelines while the requirements for the valuable but limited capital dollars is often reviewed to ensure we are making the right decisions at the right times. I do hope that you continue to fly with us as often as possible but obviously you’ll do what’s best for you.
What I can tell you is that we will be converting our (8) 777ER aircraft from the Millennium product to the Solar Eclipse product to make the cabin virtually identical to our LR aircraft. This mod is expected to induct in the fall of 2010. The rest of the fleets including decisions on the 744, A330, 763 and 764 aircraft are being made rapidly. Just to point out, Delta’s newly combined wide-body international fleet now stands at 134 hulls while the entire fleet is fluctuating at the 750 level.
fxJ:
We have 1 A/C with Flat Bed seats flying a blend of departures between the JFK and LHR routes. What will happen is if the aircraft gets routed onto that leg, our Res Op Center will re-accommodate pax day of departure. Unfortunately, your departure dates is too far out in the future for our routes to be locked down.
Well folks, I’m happy that everyone is participating in the blog. Thank you once again for contributing and for flying Delta Air Lines.
Have a great weekend!
Mike
June 18th, 2009 at 8:15 am
Mike, First I’d like to say how pleased I am to see you replying to eveyone’s comments (and how polite you are). As I consumer, living in 2009, I have to say that I understand the financial pressures that Delta in under. Last thing anyone wants is for Delta to overspend and eventually go out of business. However, I assume that Delta’s finance people are balancing budgets with comments like that of “cincyworldtraveler” above. If the quality of service is good on Delta but lower than other airlines, you will lose customers to the other airlines. I agree that I would choose a lie-flat product over a bucket seat any day of the week… even if it meant flying an airline that didn’t have any FF benefits.
I wonder… with all new 777-200LR Delta just received… and the upcoming cancellation of the ATL-PVG and ATL-ICN flights…. what is Delta going to do with these 4 planes? Any chance they will be used for some current 200ER routings (thereby giving customers a better BE product and hopefully winning back some customers)?
June 19th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I am glad to see the lie-flat.
My first question (pardon me if I had missed something in the past): Are they true 180 lie-flat? There are so many 160, 170 out there and calling themselves lie-flat.
Second question: Is there any plan putting on plane for ATL-MUC? If yes, when?
Third question: Is Delta planning more international route out of JFK? I travel a lot out of JFK to Asia and Europe. A lot of time, I have to go through Korean Air, which it has some lengthy lay over time. I understand that NWA has a big op at NRT. Is DAL ramping up flights through NRT?
June 28th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Mike,
I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me?
Im going to be on an upcoming flight from amman direct to JFK, on a 767-300ER and was wondering what to expect on business class.
Will the seats be the new lie flat design, and if not what can I expect, if possible could you respond with a link of the older seat model if thats what i will be flying on. Thanks
July 8th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Mike:
I was wondering if you might be able to answer a question for me. I will be flying next Thursday the 16th July from LHR to ATL and was wondering if the 767-400ER would be the updated Business Class. I was reading the posting on July 7th, 2009 by Jeff Francoeur and it mentioned the 767-400ER he saw was going to be on that route. The part I actually care the most about is the flight on the 9th August from ATL to LHR because I want the flat seats to enable me to sleep on the way back to London. I live here now and really looking forward to a great business class product that would be equal to or better then BA. Miss flying my home town airline!
Love the post on the plane stuff, keep up the great work.
July 15th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I have what I hope is a simple question. Do the current the flights between ATL and JNB have the upgraded Business Elite with lie-flat seats? I think the answer is yes, but I’m not sure how to confirm that. If you know the answer, it would be greatly appreciated.
July 20th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
I just flew RT from JFK to LHR on plane 1807. This has been modified with the new lie-flat BE seats. I have to say, it’s a big improvement over the cradle type seat. The configuration is 1 -2 -1 and I was in the 2 on the way over, and the 1 on the window on the way back. My preference is the 1 as they all have access to the isle and window, and have a very private feel with plenty of room for you and all your items. I was told by the FA’s that this was one of 3 planes in the rotation, so I’m hoping that it will be on the route when I fly this next in September.
July 22nd, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Hi Mike,
I was reading the article on the Boeing 767-300ER winglets and I am wondering if you were interested in watching an 11 minute video I posted on YouTube with ship 1610 in the “star” role. This video was made using Microsoft’s Flight Simulator. I painted the model in Delta’s livery. I hope you and anyone else watching it will enjoy it. It looks a whole lot better if you view it in “HD” and in a full screen mode. Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bIoj1ERkm0
Hernan Anibarro
Delta Retiree 2005
August 10th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Help:
I have searched all over for an answer and this is my last hope for finding an answer. I am flying to Sydney on Delta’s Business ELite. Does Delta provide noise cancelling headphones or should i expect to bring my own. Thank you so much for your time.
SB
August 10th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Delta does hand out headsets in BE that completely cover the ears. I don’t know if they are similar to the Bose noise canceling, but they look similar.