Major US airline reveals 'basic' first and business class seats arriving this year

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in the first us airline, Delta Air Lines An executive at the airline said it would launch “basic” business and first class fares in 2026.

A base fare means fewer perks — such as ticket flexibility, earning loyalty points, or free checked bags — by splitting the ticket into multiple options (called splitting).

Airlines promote it as a way to offer more choice while hoping to encourage customers to pay more to avoid restrictions. This also means they can compete with budget airlines on price.

Delta's basic offering is a first for a U.S. airline, but there are plenty of international carriers offering stripped-down premium seating. The picture shows the business class of Delta A330-900neo — Delta’s basic offering is a first for a U.S. airline, but there are plenty of international carriers offering stripped-down premium seating. The picture shows the business class of Delta A330-900neo (Chris Rank)

delta A basic economy option was introduced in 2012 (renamed “Main Basic” in 2025), and Comfort Plus seats with extended legroom were launched last November. Now, Delta President Glen Hauenstein has confirmed that the fare class is a “2026 initiative” for its premium cabins.

On an earnings call this week, he said: “We’ve discussed dividing each product into three categories, basic, primary and additional. And that continues to evolve.”

“We used these products for Comfort Plus, and the results from the implementation were actually slightly higher than our internal forecasts.

Delta Air Lines to launch 'base' fares for Comfort Plus seats in November 2025 (pictured) — Delta Air Lines to launch ‘base’ fares for Comfort Plus seats in November 2025 (pictured) (Chris Rank)

“So, you’re going to see us continue to take it a step further and allow customers to not only select the seat, but the actual product they want to purchase with that seat and break it down.

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“This should be rolled out throughout 2026. This is one of our plans for 2026.”

Hauenstein explained that selling some premium seats at a lower price can improve overall profitability because seats that might otherwise be empty may be sold.

While the move is a first for a U.S. airline, there are many international airlines offering reduced business class seats, including Qatar Airways, Emirates AirlinesFinnair, Air France and Etihad Airways.

Delta Air Lines also revealed this week that it will add 30 new aircraft boeing company Chapter 787 Dreamliner Wide-body aircraft were added to its fleet.

The 787 will be a new fleet model for Delta Air Lines, complementing its previous order of 100 Boeing 737-10 Max aircraft.