Yesterday, nearly 40,000 employees of Northwest Airlines hung up their old uniforms and put on their Delta uniforms for the first time. Delta’s investment of nearly $500 million to integrate the two carriers is now evident at former Northwest lounges, ticket counters, gates, baggage claims, etc. The old Northwest signage is now pretty much gone; at least at the airports.
It’s not just the airports and the staff / crew of the airlines that are changing over to the Delta looks, but also the aircraft. So far, 33 pre-merger Northwest mainline aircraft have been painted in the new colors. By the end of the year, Delta plans to have 250 pre-merger Northwest mainline aircraft repainted in Delta colors and soon with similar interiors.
The changes still are not 100% visible yet. Here are some features coming:
– Expanded First Class food offerings: More meals served on flights 900 miles or greater, as well as a wider variety of snacks on flights over 250 miles. Exclusive entrees created by acclaimed chef Michelle Bernstein will be featured on select flights.
– Expanded Economy Class food offerings: Customers traveling in Economy Class on all Northwest-operated mainline flights of more than 250 miles will enjoy the return of free snacks, as well as the introduction of Delta’s food-for-purchase program, EATS, on flights over 600 miles.
– Expansion of Signature Cocktails by Rande Gerber: Signature cocktails by nightlife entrepreneur Rande Gerber – including Delta’s Mojitos and Margaritas- will now be available onboard all Northwest-operated flights.
– Expanded onboard entertainment: Customers flying on Northwest-operated flights see the return of in-flight entertainment to Economy Class in the U.S., including overhead movies on select long-haul flights. Delta’s safety video debuts on all Northwest-operated flights worldwide.
– New Inflight Magazine.
Those are just a few of the new things comining from Delta this week. A good portion of integrating the two carriers has already been completed. It seems that Northwest and Delta will be a good fit afterall.
I enjoy the “tough” decision of whether the new Delta will go with Coke or Pepsi. Northwest uses Pepsi while Delta is Coke. It is easy to say Coke because both Delta and Coke are based out of Atlanta, but remember…. Bastian use to be a Pepsi executive.
That’s pretty interesting. I never knew that. That actually may end up being a tough call.