Executives at American Airlines and Delta Air Lines see more premium opportunities 2026.
Both carriers expect the strong demand for premium air travel — think everything from premium economy seats up to the new Flagship Suites on American’s new Boeing 787-9P planes, where the “P” stands for “premium” — to continue into next year.
“We’re going to have a great year being the top end of the premium stack in travel,” said Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta, at a Morgan Stanley investor conference Wednesday.
Speaking later that same day at a Goldman Sachs investor conference, American Chief Financial Officer Devon May said: “We’re excited to be a premium global airline. We believe that’s where the demand trends will go.”
American’s new Flagship Suite Preferred on the 787-9P. CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
Delta is at the forefront of the shift to premium travel among U.S. airlines. The airline began the process in the years following its 2010 merger with Northwest Airlines, a trend that other airlines have copied to varying degrees in the years since. The shift accelerated after the COVID-19 pandemic, with even stalwart economy-only carriers, including Southwest Airlines, adding extra-legroom seats and considering first-class cabins.
Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines have also added some form of premium onboard product to their planes. And Alaska Airlines, which is in the middle of its merger with Hawaiian Airlines, plans to debut a “beautiful new international experience” on its 787s sometime next year.
And Delta’s main competitors, American and United Airlines, have both in the last few years unveiled upgrades to their fanciest offerings that even include a limited number of “first-class-light” seats. United has gone a step further with in-seat entertainment screens in economy across its mainline fleet rather than just streaming entertainment on a traveler’s personal device.
“Every airline in the United States has changed their strategy post-COVID,” said Bastian. “You talk about some of these other airlines, whether it’s Spirit going through a second bankruptcy and you got Frontier saying they’re going to put more premium offerings out, Southwest changing their mind, American changing — everyone has changed their mind except Delta.”
Bastian, showing some of his hallmark swagger, even described United management as “smart” for copying Delta.
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“United is doing their best to copy us and I don’t blame them,” he said. “I would copy Delta, too, if I was them.”
United’s new Polaris Studio suite. ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
Bastian did not comment on where his airline falls short on premium offerings. Its Delta One business-class suites, while they remain very good, date to 2017. The airline unveiled a number of mostly cosmetic updates last year.
And, despite having recently opened four business class-only Delta One lounges, only two — at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) — are at its five largest international gateways, schedule data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows. Atlanta, Delta’s largest long-haul international gateway, lacks a Delta One lounge — for now.
American, widely viewed as the No. 3 big U.S. airline behind Delta and United, hopes to catch up with its new Flagship Suites and premium economy seats that debuted on the 787 earlier this year. They will begin flying on the airline’s new Airbus A321XLRs from JFK to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Dec. 18.
May even acknowledged American’s laggard premium position in his comments Wednesday.
“I think if we had more [premium] today, we’d be more profitable today,” he said.
American, May said, sees 2026 as an execution year that will see it roll out more A321XLRs and 787s with its new premium offerings across its network. The airline also plans to begin retrofitting its Boeing 777 fleet with the product.
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