Delta customers, including those who purchased tickets via third parties, can now purchase premium products like Delta Comfort+ and First Class as an add-on purchase for all or part of their journey to further customize their upcoming travel experience. And customers can use a different method of payment than used for the original ticket purchase to do so.

“This is all about consumer choice,” said Rhonda Crawford, Vice President – Global Distribution & Digital Strategy. “This flexibility is what our corporate travel customers, in particular, have told Delta they want because it lets them select their desired experience, regardless of how or where their ticket was bought.”

Delta’s new features build on the airline’s innovative Branded Fares program designed to give customers greater flexibility and choice when making travel plans.

Here’s how it works:  After an eligible ticket is purchased, a customer can go to delta.com or call Delta Reservations to buy Delta Comfort+, First Class, or Delta One as an add-on, or ancillary purchase, as available – regardless of where the original ticket was purchased. The customer can select a premium product on any individual segment of their journey, or the entire trip, and use the same or a different method of payment for the transaction – only itineraries wholly operated by Delta are eligible for post-purchase upgrades, subject to availability. This new function gives customers choices beyond what has been previously offered in shopping experiences and will soon be available via the Fly Delta App.

Until now, Delta had given customers the ability to purchase upgrades by direction. For example, a customer can purchase a Main Cabin ticket going from Savannah, Ga., to Los Angeles, and Delta Comfort+ on the return trip from Los Angeles back to Savannah. Both of those flights connect through Atlanta. Delta’s new post-purchase upgrade flexibility is what will allow customers to buy one product on SAV to ATL and a different product from ATL to LAX.

One-Touch changes give SkyMiles Medallion Members more upgrade control

Delta has also developed another way for SkyMiles Medallion Members to take control of their complimentary upgrades. In addition to the current automatic upgrade clearing process, Medallion Members may choose, instead, to self-select upgrade seats from the seat map once their eligibility window opens. The seat map will also allow a Medallion Member to choose to revert back to Main Cabin with one touch if they aren’t happy with their upgrade seat assignment, for example, to a middle seat. This improvement is designed for customers who value exact seat selection more than the ease of automation.

“Delta constantly asks customers for feedback so we can listen and react to what they say is most important to them,” Crawford said. “These new capabilities build on Delta’s Branded Fares program by providing more control and choice during the purchase and upgrade phases of travel. Customers deserve the ability to select the personalized travel experiences that best fit their needs.”

Delta’s purchase and upgrade enhancements are the latest examples of the airline’s commitment to developing innovative, meaningful customer experience solutions, including RFID baggage handling, real-time bag tracking and interactive wayfinding via the Fly Delta mobile app, more efficient and high-tech security lanes, more thoughtful customer service driven by ‘big data’ and a groundbreaking app that helps Delta pilots avoid turbulence for a more comfortable flight.