Those who prefer traveling in groups or with children understand the importance of keeping the group together. Delta Air Lines has announced a new dynamic seat-map algorithm to help them travel next to each other.
The algorithm, which was first implemented right before the pandemic, uses “historical booking and seat assignment data” to assist the airline in determining how many rows in the main economy cabin should be designated for groups.
According to the carrier, as a customer-focused company, the airline is always striving to provide the best possible travel experiences, and this is just one way to improve the customer experience.
“Taking a dynamic approach with our seat map displays is one way of doing that by providing preferred seating choices in all cabins – at the time of booking or at the gate when working with an agent – for customers traveling alone or with a group,” a spokesman for Delta, told Travel and Leisure.
To do end, more rows of seats are reserved on routes popular with families than on routes popular with corporate travelers. But, Delta can vary the number of seats available for groups as circumstances change -even on a single flight.
“For instance, flights between New York and Fort Lauderdale—a leisure-heavy route—shows that the airline is holding back five rows, but for shorter flights, the airline will only reserve two rows.”
On any given flight, there is no final “rule” for how many seats are reserved. Right now Delta is only blocking the last few rows on each plane, but that may change in the future.
The algorithm varies by plane, route and other criteria, and is changed in real-time if the system determines that more solo travelers are booking flights than groups or families.