Delta Air Lines became the largest airline in the world since it merged with Northwest Airlines a decade ago. Currently, that position is held by American Airlines after merging with US Airways. Regardless of the numerical position, Delta still continues to be one of the world’s most renowned airlines.
Delta was founded on 30th May 1924. It was then called Huff Daland Dusters. Operations for the airline began on 17th June 1929 when Collett E. Woolman acquired the airline and renamed it to Delta Air Service.
Delta flights product offering differs depending on your choice of flight route and class of service. Here is everything you need to know about Delta flights before making a booking. This article will help you decide the type of ticket you should buy and which booking sites you should use.
- Flights
Delta flights are a part of the renowned SkyTeam alliance. This alliance includes airlines like Air France, Korean Air, Aeromexico, China Eastern Airlines, and KLM. Delta is also involved in codeshare partnership with airlines like Virgin Atlantic, WestJet, GOL, and Virgin Australia. These codeshare partnerships allow Delta to sell tickets virtually around the globe. Due to its wide range of partners, a flight may be marketed and sold as a Delta flight. However, this flight could run on the operating line of one of Delta’s partners. Hence, it is important to ensure that you get to fly on a Delta plane. To do so, you need to make sure the plane flies on routes where both Delta and partner airlines operate. Additionally, remember to check the flight details closely to see whether it states ‘operated by another airline’. In many cases, Delta sells tickets to places where they do not actually fly. In such a case, you may fly in a Delta plane for part of your flight and then move to a partner airline.
- Locations
Delta flights use Detroit, Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Salt Lake City, and Minneapolis as their hubs. Austin, Nashville, and Cincinnati are some other focus cities. You have much higher chances of flying on a Delta-branded plane if you are flying from a small city.
- Basic economy vs. the standard economy
Delta holds the distinction of being the first major US carrier to introduce a basic economy ticket option. The purpose of introducing this fare was to counter the ultra-low-cost of carriers like Frontier and Spirit. While basic economy passengers and standard economy passengers are seated in the same area, there are a few differences between the two services. The primary point of difference between Delta’s standard economy and the basic economy is that the latter does not receive a seat assignment until the passenger has checked-in. In addition, basic economy passengers are not allowed to have ticket changes or upgrades. Hence, for customers looking for customizability, it is recommended to always choose the standard economy. On the brighter side, Delta’s basic economy fare allows its passengers to bring a standard-sized carry-on bag along with one personal item. This is a pretty good deal for the cheaper rates of tickets. Checked bag fees for both basic and standard economy are the same in domestic as well as international flights. Delta slightly adjusted this recently in order to compete with WOW Air, Norwegian Air, and other transatlantic carriers. European and North African Delta flights charge $60 each way for your first checked bag on basic economy fares. The lowest fare offering for Delta flights is commonly the basic economy fare. Depending on your route and travel dates, the upgrade to main cabin fare is variable. It can either be very minimal or it can be a drastic difference in the two fares.
How to book a flight with Delta
A majority of Delta flight tickets are sold through third-party booking engines. However, the rest are sold on apps like Hopper, Hipmunk, and CheapAir. If you only use these sites, you are likely to miss out on better Delta fares through comparison. Some sources give you the chance to compare prices and choose the best one through multiple sites.
Check-in for a Delta flight
You can go online to check-in for your Delta flight. However, this can be done only within 24 hours of departure. You have an option to either print your boarding pass or get an e-boarding pass. This facility is only available at certain airports.
Delta flights also give you a chance to automatically check-in through the Fly Delta app. The app will give you an alert 24 hours before the departure. All you have to do then is acknowledge a federal mandate regarding restricted items. At this stage, you will receive a mobile boarding pass on your device.
