Delta Airlines will be filling middle seats by May 1, making it one of the last to move toward making middle seats available again. In a statement, the airline expressed a departure from previous sentiments surrounding COVID-19, moving instead for an increase in cabin occupancy.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines blocked off middle seats to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Delta mentioned increased customer confidence, and President Biden declaring that the vaccine be made available to everyone above 18-years-old by May 1, as reasons for their decision to now fill middle seats again.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian had this to say on the airline’s changes, “The relationships we’ve built, together with the knowledge that nearly 65 percent of those who flew Delta in 2019 anticipate having at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by May 1, are what’s giving us the assurance to offer customers the ability to choose any seat on our aircraft, while also introducing new services, products and rewards to support the journey. We take great pride in the trust we’ve built with customers by listening and delivering on what they said was most important, and that is the approach you can continue to expect.”
It’s no secret the airline industry has been struggling since the pandemic. With fewer people flying, the move toward opening up the middle seat might be a way for the company to recoup some of its losses.
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