Delta overhauls Delta One class with new seats, menus and tableware

Delta Airlinesthe country’s most profitable airline, has a problem serving its blue-chip customers: not enough Porsches.

The airline uses a fleet of 40 luxury vehicles to ferry its high-value travelers to the plane.

“What’s happened over the last few years is demand continued to increase, and we realized that the 40 cars we had were not enough to meet the demand. So we’re growing that fleet to 70,” Ranjan Goswami, Delta’s chief marketing and product officer, told CNBC.

It’s just one of many changes Delta is making for customers traveling in its most luxurious and expensive cabin, known as Delta One. The Porsche service is part of a VIP add-on option.

The carrier on Wednesday unveiled new cabin tableware, new Missoni mini-pillows and fresh food and drink menus, including champagne served over sorbet and Blanton’s bourbon. Most of the new items will appear on flights from Los Angeles later this month and on other routes in the coming months.

Delta also plans to launch updated suites with a larger screen and a more padded, lighter reclining seat when it begins flying its first Airbus A350-1000 planes early next year.

Delta has not announced any changes to coach and premium economy cabins.

Airline executives said the company was already considering adjustments on other planes, including smaller Airbuses and on Boeing 787 Dreamliners that Delta has ordered and which will arrive in the next decade.

“You have to keep thinking about the next cycle of what customers want, and you have to start planning for it now,” Goswami said.

He said Delta focused on details and quality with its latest project for Delta One so items, from the suites’ sliding doors to new tableware emblazoned with the Delta logo, were made to last. The company has tested some of these items for chipping, but there are other challenges, like customers liking them too much.

“I think people are going to love a few of the items, although we hope they don’t steal them,” he said.