Delta Air Lines and Travelport have reached agreement to sell the airline’s premium economy seats, Economy Comfort, through Travelport’s global distribution system (GDS).
The agreement will create Economy Comfort booking access later this year for travel agents connected to the Galileo, Worldspan or Apollo GDS.
“Customers today can purchase Economy Comfort directly with Delta at delta.com, through a reservations agent or at the airport via a kiosk or ticket agent,” said Wayne Aaron, Vice President of Marketing Programs & Distribution Strategy at Delta. “Partnering with Travelport broadens the availability of this popular product to Travelport-affiliated travel agents. We are always willing to work with partners like Travelport who bring value to the distribution chain and can deliver our product on a cost-effective basis.”
Delta’s agreement with Travelport marks the airline’s largest ancillary service partnership to-date and enables Travelport to integrate these merchandising capabilities into the standard travel agency desktop.
“We’re delighted to provide Travelport-connected travel agents globally with the ability to offer their customers Delta Air Lines’ Economy Comfort seating later this year,” said Derek Sharp, Travelport’s President for the Americas. “This agreement with Delta Air Lines underscores that Travelport is ready, willing and able to deliver technology to merchandise ancillary products and services through the travel agency channel to provide travelers with additional options and added convenience.”
Economy Comfort features 3-4 inches (7.6-10.2cm) of additional legroom on Delta’s fleet of two-class aircraft, as well as offering priority boarding. On long-haul international flights, the seats also have up to 50% more recline than standard economy class seats and customers receive complimentary beer, wine and cocktails. Economy Comfort is available on all Delta mainline aircraft.
