With air traffic levels expected to be significantly down for the Thanksgiving and year-end holidays, Delta Air Lines has pledged to carry on blocking the middle seat until spring 2021.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said it will continue limiting capacity on flights through March 2021, due to feedback from risk-averse customers.
"We’re announcing today that we’re extending the middle seat block through the end of March because customers tell us that that adds confidence to their travel experience," Bastian said in an interview.
Bastian also said the post-election surge in Covid cases across the country was another factor in keeping middle seats blocked.
"We’re expecting over the Thanksgiving holiday period starting on Friday, for the next 10 days, about two million customers, so we’ll have a meaningful number of customers traveling on Delta, but it’s still significantly off from where we would expect in normal times," Bastian said.
"I think our protocols are working and customers feel very good when they are onboard the airplane, that they’re safe."
Written by Ray Montgomery, US Editor
