View of the cabin of a Delta flight between Minneapolis and Baltimore on April 25, 2020.
Sebastien Duval | AFP | Getty Images
Delta Air Lines will continue to limit the number of passengers it allows on each flight through early January in an effort to win over potential customers who have concerns about flights during the coronavirus pandemic, the carrier said Thursday.
Delta had previously said it would limit capacity to 60% of its headquarters by the end of September. But after that, it will increase the limit to 75% of its main cabin, blocking some middle seats, and will continue to do so through “at least” Jan. 6. In the hope that holiday travelers will choose the carrier over competitors. It said it would re-evaluate capacity limits by the end of October.
Carriers, faced with weak demand because concerns about the virus keep many travelers at home, have struggled to find ways to convince customers that flying during the pandemic is safe.
The physical distance policy of the airlines on their flights is different, with Delta, JetBlue and Southwest among the airlines temporarily limiting capacity, while America and the United States have no limits. The capacity caps are coming at a time of much depressed demand, so blocking some seats this year is not as difficult as last year’s entire summer season.
All US airlines each require passengers to wear face masks such as masks on board and some passengers have prohibited non-compliance.
They have also increased aircraft cleaning and raised physical barriers in some of their airport facilities.
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