Delta offers several categories of seats on its planes. For US domestic flights, you’ll get to choose from these categories:
- First Class – Delta’s premium domestic product, offering wider seats, power outlets, better seatback entertainment and additional legroom.
- Delta Comfort+ – Available on domestic and international flights, these seats have increased legroom and dedicated overhead bin space.
- Main Cabin – Basic Delta seats located in the back of the plane, most of which have access to seatback entertainment and charging ports.
Delta segments its Main Cabin offerings by selling “Delta Preferred” seats and basic economy tickets. I’ve recapped our experiences in those seats but have yet to explain what you’ll get when buying a Delta Comfort+ seat.
Boarding
Delta Comfort+ passengers get preferred status in the Delta boarding process. Only First Class and Delta Diamond Medallion passengers get on the plane earlier than people sitting in Comfort+.
Comfort+ passengers also have dedicated overhead bin space.
Seating
The seat in Comfort+ is the same as you’ll find throughout Delta’s Main Cabin area. The only difference is that the Comfort+ seats have extra legroom. Delta includes the bulkhead and exit row seats in the Comfort+ category.
Get situated and stretch out with up to 3 more inches of legroom on all flights, compared to a standard Main Cabin seat.
Since the Comfort+ seats are in the front of the cabin behind First Class, you’ll be one of the first passengers off the plane.
In-Flight Service
In Comfort+ you’ll get the same snacks as the rest of the Main Cabin passengers. In addition, Comfort+ passengers get free beer, wine and spirits on eligible flights.
Is it worth it?
The price for Comfort+ varies depending on the flight length and seat you’re selecting. The bulkhead and exit rows are the most expensive, while the middle seats are a few dollars cheaper than the window or aisle seats.
However, many people sitting in Comfort+ aren’t paying for the seats.
Delta Diamond and Platinum Medallion members can confirm Comfort+ seats at booking if available. Gold Medallion can upgrade seats 72 hours before a flight and Silver Medallion can upgrade at 24 hours. Available seats are fluid because as lower status levels become eligible, other seats become available as the highest level members get upgraded to First Class.
But if you’re paying for the seats, is it worth it?
On our trip, we needed to sit in Comfort+ because they were the only seats available on the plane. In my opinion, it’s not worth $79 for 3 inches of extra legroom and complimentary alcoholic beverages on a 2-hour flight.
Delta’s Main Cabin seating is relatively comfortable, and I can use my MacBook on the tray table. Whereas with other airlines, I can’t work without the extra inches of space between seats. In addition, I’d much rather pay for Spirit’s Big Front Seat or JetBlue’s Even More Space, which gives an extra 7 inches of legroom.
If you get the upgrade for free, the extra space is nice but I don’t feel that it’s worth the money to pay for Delta’s Comfort+ seats. Your Mileage May Vary.
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9 comments
To your comment, “in my opinion, it’s not worth $79 for 3 inches of extra legroom and complimentary alcoholic beverages”, does that not depend on time in the air. On a 6 hour flight, if you wanted to have a few drinks and snacks, a $79 fare difference would at least be a toss up. That said, the pricing is all over the place for Comfort+. I’ve seen it as low as $19 and also well into the $hundreds.
In editing the post, I accidentally removed that this was an FL-NY flight of 2+ hours.
One other thing I’d like to point out is that there are others who will board before those in Comfort+. The boarding order is: 1) people who need additional time/assistance (pre-boards), 2) active and retired military members, 3) DeltaOne/First Class, and 4) Diamond Medallion members.
Additonally, you really only get 1 drink, so I dislike when Delta says free drinks. They only come once through cabin on flights 2 hours or less. You really have to bug them if you want more drinks…
I think internationally the Comfort+ seats have more like 4-5 inches of extra legroom. We have used Comfort+ to Europe when we could not afford Premium Select. The trick to make it even more comfortable is to pick a row of seats that it will be unlikely for someone to buy the middle seat. So in the middle rows of wide-body aircraft, each of you would reserve/purchase the aisle seats, leaving the middle hopefully empty.
I vehemently disagree with the author of this post whom I am going to guess is not extra tall. I fly Delta regularly as there are only 2 airlines at my small airport and after flying comfort+ and then flying regular main one time when comfort+ wasn’t available, I vowed only to fly Comfort+ or First Class and have ever since. the price differential varies from flight to flight but even when it is $ 100 or more, I will pay the difference. I don’t drink alcohol so that benefit doesn’t matter to me but the extra legroom really does as I am tall. also, as an older woman (age 65) with a smaller bladder in my old age, getting off that plane relatively quickly is a really big deal, and having to wait for all the people ahead of you to pull down their overhead bags is maddening. so the privilege of being rows 10-13 MOL is a big deal to me. also on a longer flight, we older people start getting back and leg pains so getting off a longer flight sooner rather than later, is also a big deal. I fly Comfort+ aisle seats, no overhead, to ensure I get off quickly. Additionally, I get a free checked bag or 2, 1 of which I believe is attributable to the privilege of flying Confort+. Finally, you can sometimes buck the hugely long baggage checking lines, saving 30 min or more sometimes, with Comfort+ which depends on the airport, so you have to read the small point on the sky priority checkin line to see if you are eligible for that. I think the decision to spend the extra money on the Comfort+ status is a very individual one taking into account many factors, and for me, it is well worth the extra expense.
I would also like to chime in on the extra value of priority boarding and dedicated overhead bins. As a person with Social Anxiety Disorder, this makes traveling by plane much less stressful, get on the plane early and relax while the hoards jockey for line position for no reason other than maybe to get adequate overhead storage space. I also like the free adult beverage and extra legroom, but those are just a bonus for me
That’s another good point. While it might not be right for me, you may feel the price is worth what you get.
So many times flight attendees pass you bye