Delta Air Lines to Stop Blocking Seats in First Half of 2021

Delta Air Lines has vowed to block middle seats through at least January 6, 2021, longer than any other airline. Nonetheless, the policy is likely to go away sometime in the first half of 2021, Delta CEO Ed Bastian confirmed on the airline’s September quarter earnings call this week.

According to Bastian, “consumer sentiment and confidence in air travel” will ultimately determine when the carrier begins filling planes to capacity, but he did not provide a specific date.

In the meantime, Delta is likely to benefit from the decision, giving it a leg up on the competition during the busy holiday travel season. According to a recent survey, air travelers are willing to pay an average of 16-17 percent more to fly on airlines that block middle seats.

American Airlines and United Airlines did away with capacity restrictions this past summer while Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines are currently blocking seats through November 30. Meanwhile, JetBlue will keep seats open until October 15 before capping passenger loads at 70 percent through December 1.

While Delta’s recent financial results show that customers are willing to pay more for added space amid the pandemic, the carrier will ultimately need to open up more seats in the months to come in order to return to profitability.

Air travel is beginning to recover, albeit slowly. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened more than 984,000 passengers on October 11, the most since mid-March when the coronavirus pandemic was first declared.

“While our September quarter results demonstrate the magnitude of the pandemic on our business, we have been encouraged as more customers travel and we are seeing a path of progressive improvement in our revenues, financial results and daily cash burn,” Bastian said in a statement accompanying the airline’s latest financial results. “The actions we are taking now to take care of our people, simplify our fleet, improve the customer experience and strengthen our brand will allow Delta to accelerate into a post-COVID recovery.”