dailynewsnblog
Although premium economy has been around since the 1990s, it really started becoming mainstream in the 2010s as more airlines around the world introduced the cabin. In the US, American Airlines was the first airline to debut premium economy in 2016, and 
Delta Air Lines followed the year after with Premium Select, while United introduced Premium Plus in 2019. Today, Delta offers this cabin on nearly all its widebody aircraft (save for a select number of older Boeing 767s).
The carrier prices all tickets dynamically, including award fares, so prices are set by demand and capacity. However, ticket prices generally stay within a specific range, so you can get a general idea of what a Premium Select ticket costs on specific routes. Although it’s available throughout Delta’s long-haul network, the added space and comfort of Premium Select make it most valuable on ultra-long-haul routes like Atlanta to Johannesburg or Los Angeles to Sydney.
Overview Of Delta Premium Select
Premium Select is Delta’s premium economy cabin, slotting below Delta One business class and above Delta Comfort extra-legroom economy seating. The cabin is featured on all of Delta’s widebodies apart from four of its oldest Boeing 767-300ERs, which will be retired rather than retrofitted. This means that the product is available on all Airbus A330s, A350s, most 767-300ERs, and all 767-400ERs. In addition, Delta also plans to operate a subfleet of Airbus A321neos in the future with Delta One lie-flat seats and Premium Select, although these planes are not yet operating.
As is standard in the industry, Delta configures Premium Select with 38 inches (96.5 centimeters) of pitch on all aircraft types. As is standard on the following aircraft types, the airline installs seven seats per row on the A330, eight seats per row on the A350, and six per row on the 767. On all its widebodies, Delta uses the Collins Aerospace MiQ, a popular seat model used by American and United for premium economy, while the future three-class A321neos will be equipped with the Recaro CL4710.
Delta installs 18 Premium Select seats on the 767-300ER and 20 on the 767-400ER, while the A330-200 and A330-300 feature 21 Premium Select seats. The carrier’s A330-900s are equipped with 28 Premium Select seats, while Delta offers either 40 or 48 Premium Select seats on its A350s. Delta’s A350-900s with 48 Premium Select seats continue to feature the largest premium economy cabin in the US, and although they’re being retrofitted with a new layout that cuts a row of Premium Select, the airline will take A350-1000s in the future with 48 Premium Select seats.
Cash Prices For Premium Select On ULH Routes
Delta’s longest route is from 
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to Johannesburg O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), followed by its route from ATL to Cape Town International Airport (CPT). Its third-longest route is from 
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Melbourne Airport (MEL), followed by its nonstop services between LAX and Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD). Rounding out the top five list is Delta’s route between LAX and Hong Kong International Airport (HKG).
Cash fares between ATL and JNB typically cost between $3,400 and over $5,100 when departing the US on a one-way ticket, while fares for the CPT flight are fairly similar. One-way prices on the Australia routes are much lower, as they rarely climb above $3,000 and can drop to as low as $1,200 for a Premium Select ticket. The same is true for the HKG route, with tickets usually ranging from $1,200 to $3,000 one-way. However, prices depend heavily on your point of origin, and we see some cost differences when departing from the spoke rather than the hub.
Origin | Destination | Distance (NM) | Distance (km) | Aircraft Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ATL | JNB | 7,334 NM | 13,582 km | Airbus A350-900 |
ATL | CPT | 7,064 NM | 13,083 km | Airbus A350-900 |
LAX | MEL | 6,883 NM | 12,748 km | Airbus A350-900 |
LAX | SYD | 6,507 NM | 12,051 km | Airbus A350-900 |
LAX | HKG | 6,309 NM | 11,684 km | Airbus A350-900 |
When flying from JNB to ATL, Premium Select ticket prices tend to peak at roughly $4,700 but can fall to as low as $1,490. The CPT route also has similar Premium Select fares when departing from South Africa. Meanwhile, Australian routes have a similar price floor and ceiling regardless of the origin point. Finally, Premium Select tickets on the HKG route can be as low as just over $1,000 one-way for those departing Hong Kong, though they can rise to just below $3,000.
Redeeming SkyMiles For Premium Select
Delta SkyMiles hasn’t published an award chart in over a decade because it’s a revenue-based program with dynamic pricing. As with cash fares, award ticket pricing is driven by supply and demand, so prices can change dramatically for the same flight. Delta Air Lines is also known for very expensive award pricing, with premium cabin tickets typically costing six figures (in miles). These prices can be especially high on its longest routes.
On the South Africa routes, Delta routinely charges in excess of 300,000 miles one way for a Premium Select ticket, and can be surprisingly close to Delta One award pricing, which is usually in excess of 400,000 miles. However, Australia routes tend to be more affordable for Premium Select passengers, ranging from 120,000 to 300,000 miles in most cases. On the Hong Kong route, meanwhile, Delta regularly asks for below 200,000 miles for Premium Select.
These prices all reflect Delta’s position in each respective market. The airline is well established in the US-South Africa market, and Atlanta is also its biggest hub (and the world’s largest airline hub). As a result, it can command strong fare premiums. However, Los Angeles is much more competitive, as is the direct market between LA and Australia, resulting in lower prices. Meanwhile, Delta’s Hong Kong route is a new service for the company, and it’s breaking into a market with serious competition, resulting in more aggressive pricing tactics.
Delta’s Strong Pricing Tactics
The prices that Delta charges for Premium Select, as well as its other cabins, can be quite high. Company leadership openly states that the company commands fare premiums over competitors, meaning Delta charges higher prices than most competitors and customers regularly pay. This applies to cash prices, but also to the loyalty program, as Delta’s miles are routinely cited as having a lower typical value than those of many major loyalty programs. Yet, SkyMiles is the largest frequent flyer program in the world.
The standard metric for measuring the value of points redemptions is cents per mile, and 1.5 cents per mile is the benchmark for what is considered poor. Delta miles are generally valued at 1.1 to 1.2 cents per mile, but this naturally varies by transaction. On Delta’s longest routes in Premium Select, you can find some good values that can exceed two cents per mile, but there are also examples of award tickets offering poor values on these routes.
Although SkyMiles doesn’t always offer the best value, Delta has built an incredibly desirable brand that customers perceive as elevated and aspirational. The carrier also offers a competitive product within the US and in many foreign markets, with some considering Delta the best major US airline from a product perspective. Regardless of personal opinion, the public views Delta as an airline offering a high-quality product and is therefore willing to pay higher prices, whether in cash or miles.
High Prices For Premium Economy
Premium economy is positioned as a middle ground between economy, which many people find uncomfortable today, and business class, which is extremely pricey while offering a radically different experience. Premium economy essentially offers more comfort than economy without being as expensive as business class, and some have stated that the product hits the ‘sweet spot‘ in many long-haul markets. However, the issue is that premium economy pricing, especially by US airlines, is often very high for what you get.
Premium economy fares can creep close to business class pricing, but the seat and experience are much closer to economy than a lie-flat business class suite. When premium economy prices are close to business class, this actually represents a fairly poor value. This happens because demand for premium economy is at an all-time high, while supply is restricted because airlines have generally been very conservative with premium economy cabin sizes.
Delta was actually the most liberal of the US carriers with premium economy, as its A350s and 777s were configured with 48 Premium Select seats. However, these added seats came at the expense of Delta One seats, since these layouts were done before the current explosion in premium travel. Delta is now reconfiguring its A350s with two more rows of Delta One and one fewer row of Premium Select, while the rest of the fleet has fairly conservative Premium Select cabins. Until more aircraft add additional Premium Select seats, expect this cabin to stay expensive.
