Delta Air Lines has unveiled what it describes as “one of [its] biggest investments in the Main Cabin dining experience” for travellers on its international flights.
Due to begin rolling out in November and continuing into 2018, the Main Cabin dining experience refresh will launch with the introduction of “customer experience menu cards” detailing at what times different services will be offered along with in-flight food and beverage information. This will be followed in December with new Main Cabin cutlery.
In mid-2018, this will be expanded to include new meals and serviceware, designed to give travellers what it describes as “a restaurant-style dining experience”.
“We know that people eat with their eyes, so investing in our serviceware and cutlery onboard to enhance the overall presentation and functionality of our meals is a big part of our culinary strategy,” said Lisa Bauer, Delta’s vice president of on-board services. “Customers also told us that they’d like to have more information on when and what they’ll be served, so we’ve created customer experience menu cards that will provide more details to our customers, so they can sit back, relax and enjoy their flight without wondering when their next service will be.”
Along with dining options, pillows in Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin will be upgraded on all international long-haul flights.
Meanwhile, travellers on domestic-only itineraries using the latest version of the airline’s Fly Delta app will now be automatically checked-in 24 hours prior to their departure.
While the function does eliminate the need to manually enter in your details ahead of your flight, the process is not entirely automated. Customers will still need to open the app after receiving a push notification or email in order to acknowledge the federal government’s mandate for restricted items before receiving their boarding pass.
Additionally, functions such as seat selection, upgrade purchasing and adding checked bags can all be done via the app by going into the “Today” mode. That said, the auto check-in function is only available to travellers who already have a seat assignment or are auto-assigned a seat.
“We’ve approached the app experience with the intention of making it as intuitive as possible,” said Rhonda Crawford, Delta’s vice president of global distribution and digital strategy. “Take, for example, the bag button in ‘Today’ mode: once a customer adds a bag, the bag button will dynamically change to display ‘Track My Bags’ so they can take full advantage of Delta’s industry-leading RFID [Radio-Frequency Identification] bag-tracking capabilities, through the app.”
Auto check-in also won’t be available for travellers requiring special assistance, such as unaccompanied minors or those travelling with a pet, who will still need to check-in with an agent at a desk.
These additions follow the introduction of prosecco being served on long-haul flights, as well as the launch of free in-flight WhatsApp messaging.
