Business class is booming as travelers increasingly splurge on premium travel — and Delta Air Lines just unveiled its fanciest seat yet.
At a New York City event on Tuesday, the airline showed off its next-generation Delta One suite planned for its future Airbus A350-1000s.
It will be Delta’s biggest plane flying — stretching longer and wider than its current Airbus A330s and future Boeing 787s — so the team had a lot of cabin real estate to work with.
Ekrem Dimbiloglu, Delta’s managing director of fleet and uniform experience, told media during the tour that customers care most about sleep and privacy, so Delta stretched the bed to 6 feet 9 inches long, which he said is enough to fit “99.999% of Americans.”
The seats also angle toward the window rather than being forward-facing, adding more privacy, and feature new and improved perks like a dedicated laptop holder and an overhauled food and drink menu.
Here’s a closer look at some of the best upgrades coming to the bougie new Delta One suite.
The new suite will debut on A350-1000s in early 2027.
The new seat, which took two years to design and is part of Delta’s larger $1 billion fleet investment, will first fly transoceanic routes from Los Angeles in early 2027. Delta has 20 firm orders for the A350-1000.
Delta is also adding upgraded door-equipped Delta One suites to A330 planes.
Among the biggest upgrades are privacy and the bed.
Dimbiloglu said the 81-inch bed is three inches longer than before, and that about one in 44,000 men are taller than that — meaning virtually all Delta One flyers can fit.
It also angles in toward the window as a reverse herringbone design, providing additional privacy beyond the sliding door.
The beds come with linens and amenity kits made by the Italian company Missoni.
The new Delta One still boasts fan-favorite doors.
Speaking of doors, Delta kept the staple. That’s a no-brainer, considering Delta was among the first US carriers to introduce doors in business class back in 2017, and the perk has become table stakes for travel these days.
And Dimbiloglu said the doors would be “certified from day one.”
That contrasts with carriers like American, which have introduced new cabins before their seats were fully certified by the Federal Aviation Administration for flight. That has forced airlines to fly with suite doors locked open or fly with business-class seats empty while certification is completed.
The suite has a giant 24-inch seatback screen with Bluetooth.
Dimbiloglu said it’s the largest screen across any US airline’s standard business class. The ones on United and American’s standard business seats are 19 and 17 inches, respectively. United also has extra-large Studio Suites with 27-inch screens.
There’s also plenty of charging ports, headphones, and a remote.
There are several thoughtful new storage nooks.
I’ve flown business class a dozen times and find that storage is hit-or-miss. Between my laptop, shoes, and chargers, it’s sometimes hard to keep everything organized, depending on the carrier.
The new Delta One has several purposefully designed nooks: one for a laptop, one for shoes, a hook for glasses, and a slot to string a charging cable so it’s out of the way.
There’s also a larger cubby and tabletop space.
The Delta logo is everywhere.
Dimbiloglu said the Delta widget — the red triangle branding you see on its planes and uniforms — is on the lamp and one of the cubby backdrops.
“We’re tying in our people and what we wear in our uniforms into the Delta One experience,” he said.
Delta has overhauled its business-class menu with new meals and wine.
Members of the media who attended the event tried a number of new Delta meals and drinks coming to business class, developed by Delta’s culinary team in partnership with Michelin-starred British chef Simon Hulstone and Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson.
Options include a wagyu burger, tomato soup, short rib, sea bass, and braised lamb. There are vegetarian options, too, along with a number of white and red wines, Champagne, and strawberry sorbet.
Everything was delicious, and I liked the plating and tableware. Taste can change at altitude, so it’s yet to be seen whether the flavors do; though, in my experience, Delta catering has been among the best in the US.
The experience will first be available on transoceanic flights departing Los Angeles this fall before expanding across Delta’s global network in early 2027.
The new Delta One does not have an ottoman seat option.
Several airlines offer oversize business-class suites, such as United’s Studio Suite, with an ottoman seat so two people can eat, meet, or socialize during the flight. The upgrade often costs extra.
Delta did not unveil an ottoman suite in its new Delta One — something I was disappointed not to see — but Dimbiloglu said to stay tuned.
“We’re working through that, and I know our competitors are moving in there,” he said. “We’re not announcing it today, but you can rest assured we’re watching that, and know how important it is for customers,” he said Tuesday.
The new suite is impressive, and it’s clear Delta knows how to cater to its highest-paying customers.
Delta bills itself as the US’s most premium airline, though that’s up for debate depending on who you ask.
I’ve flown in Delta’s current business class a number of times, including in versions with and without doors. I love the latest version with doors and good storage, but the forward-facing layout paired with no doors on its 767s — which fly a big chunk of international long-haul — is not ideal.
So I’m glad Delta’s future A350s and its A330s will offer more privacy, especially as doors have become an industry-wide expectation rather than an exclusive perk.
And I personally like the oversize ottoman design popping up across airlines — and I wonder if Delta will ultimately decide it’s worth the investment.
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