Delta to unveil roomier coach seats

It’s not all mergers and billion-dollar losses with Delta these days, at least not according to the numerous bloggers who’ve reported that the airline plans debut comfy new seats in economy class on some of its 777s and 767s by 2010. Delta is supposedly working with Thompson Solutions, a Northern Ireland-based company that designed the new full-flat bed seats for the airline’s BusinessElite class.

For economy passengers, Thompson’s “Cozy Suite” seating promises to give two extra inches of legroom, more privacy, and a “fixed cocoon” design conducive to comfortable sleeping. In the past, airlines have been loath to provide more legroom in economy because doing so generally means some seats must be removed, thus reducing the number of paying passengers that can fit on an aircraft. However, Thompson’s seat design attempts to alleviate this problem by staggering seats in a way that makes better use of available space, giving passengers more room without the airline having to lose as many (or any) seats.

With Delta hemorrhaging money right now, we’ll have to see if these new seats really come to pass. At press time I couldn’t find a news release on Delta or Thompson’s website indicating this is a done deal.