New Delta-Amadeus Agreement Includes Economy Comfort Seats

Delta Air Lines signed an agreement to distribute its Economy Comfort seats through the Amadeus GDS.

The deal is part of a long-term, expanded content agreement under which Amadeus will continue to be a “competitive booking source,” providing travel agents in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who participate in the Amadeus Content Plus program with access to Delta content without being subject to surcharges.

Delta encouraged
As part of the new agreement, Amadeus will work with Delta on initiatives in the areas of traveler authentication and personalization to further transform the distribution of Delta’s products and services.

In a statement attributed to Wayne Aaron, vice president of marketing programs and distribution strategy at Delta, the carrier said it is “encouraged by the direction of the technology innovation at Amadeus, and this partnership demonstrates that Delta is listening to its valued corporate and agency partners by broadening the availability of our popular Economy Comfort seating.”

Branded fares
Delta said Amadeus also will distribute the carrier’s branded fares under the new agreement.

Branded fares, or fare families, generally include a menu of “attributes” for each fare type. For example, Frontier Airlines’ Classic Plus fare includes extra-legroom seating, two checked bags, priority access and other perks and is fully flexible and refundable with no change fees.

The Classic fare includes advance seat selection and two checked bags; changes incur penalty fees. Economy, the lowest fare, incurs bag fees and higher change penalties.

Delta was not able to respond immediately to queries about what its branded fares will entail. Most searches on delta.com return two fare groups — economy and first/business. For selected routes from Detroit to Florida, Delta also offers Basic Economy, a stripped-down E fare that Delta is “testing.”

Economy Comfort, Delta’s premium economy seats, offer three to four inches of additional leg room and priority boarding. On transoceanic flights, it includes complimentary alcoholic beverages and seats with 50% more recline. It is not a branded fare; it is an add-on.