Delta Increases Capacity on West Coast Shuttle
Delta is one of the few airlines in the world who operate the Boeing 717-200 aircraft. According to Wikipedia, They operate 88 of the 156 717-200 aircraft that were ever built. Today they announced that some of the planes are coming to the West Coast.
In September 2013 Delta launched their “West Coast Shuttle” with hourly service between LAX & SFO. Currently the route is being served by E-175 aircraft with a total of 76 seats.
Delta announced today that 8 of the 15 daily flights on the route will be changed over to 717s in June, adding 40% to the total capacity. The company calls the 717s more “fuel efficient” and more convenient for business travelers with power at every seat.
Delta’s Shuttle Sounds Really Good
Delta’s Shuttle Service looks pretty decent with a number of perks over normal service. Among the perks are:
- Check-in as close as 30 minutes prior to departure
- Dedicated check-in counters exclusively for Shuttle customers
- Gates located near security
- Complimentary newspapers
- Complimentary onboard snacks provided by Luvo, a California-based lifestyle food brand, offering great-tasting, good-for-you food
- Complimentary beverages in-flight, including craft beer and wine in all classes of service
This service must be popular given their decision to increase capacity. I think being able to fly on a larger jet will be a benefit of this move.
Prices & Conclusion
I checked a few random dates and found that American, United, Delta & Virgin America all have the same price for those dates.
Delta is still my favorite domestic airline service wise, so I would probably opt to fly on one of these 717-200 aircraft in lieu of other regional planes if given the chance.
For more, take a look at the full press release and the Delta 717 seatmap.
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When I saw the headline, I thought “oh boy, what have they done now”. Sadly, “Delta” and “enhancement” in the same sentence is usually a euphemism for “we’re making our customers’ travels more unpleasant”. Kinda sad when you think a pleasant title is satire.
BTW if you want to see all about the inside of the 717-200 in Delta colors I have a review here: http://deltapoints.boardingarea.com/2014/04/04/delta-717-200-seats-ride-first-impressions/
I take Delta Shuttle LAX-SFO monthly, and often times more. It’s such an easy experience. Delta is my primary domestic airline to begin with, but when they added this service and standardized the offerings it really became the best option. They’re small planes (even a 717), so you’re on and off quick. Both planes operating the route are comfortable… The snacks, free beer/wine, and free streaming content make it a no-brainer for me. I guess the only airline I’d rather be flying would be Virgin America, but I can’t bring myself to give up the MQMs–even if it is only 1,000 per round trip (that’s still 15,000-20,000 a year I won’t get, and there are years when I have trouble re-qualifying for platinum). Also, with as many flights as they have, my upgrades almost always clear at the 5-day mark. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t get it.