ATLANTA — Yesterday, January 8, Delta Air Lines (DL) hosted a celebration at its Tech Ops center to unveil the new livery for its sponsorship of the Milano-Cortina Olympic Games. On display was N531DN, an Airbus A350-941, the first aircraft with this livery and Delta’s 40th A350.
The jet is also the ninth plane to feature the airline’s new interior, designed to elevate the onboard experience.
The livery was designed by Alex Brannon, Art Director at DL. The livery features 26 stripes in reference to the 2026 Olympics.
“I think there’s no other business that’s more of a team sport than the airline business,” said Ekrem Dimbiloglu, Managing Director of Uniform and Onboard Brand Experience. “When you think about the 5,000 flights Delta has every day and what it takes to make that happen. And it’s awesome now that we get to fly Team USA to the Olympics. We are the largest US carrier to Italy. And in January and February, we’ll have seventy-plus flights to the country out of Atlanta and our hub at JFK.”
Mr. Ekrem took us on a tour of the aircraft, which is divided into four cabins: Delta One (business), Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort, and Delta Main.
The 40-seat Delta One cabin is highlighted by lie-flat seats; wireless charging ports; a color scheme featuring "celestial sky,” a shade designed to be inviting and relaxing to customers; and proprietary cloth seating with memory foam designed to enhance the passenger’s ability to sleep during the flight. Toilets throughout the plane have also been redesigned to be more inviting and accessible, with additional, brighter lighting.
Erik Snell, chief customer experience officer, said, “Over the past decade or so, we’ve been intentional about elevating the premium experience, adding more premium seats and amenities to our aircraft. And this redesign is really leaning into those upgraded features, providing a more elevated and comfortable experience throughout all the cabins.” Outside the aircraft, Snell says it all comes down to the Delta employee base. “We’ve got the best people in the world, and it’s about leaning into that level of care and empathy and humanity we have for our customers. It’s supporting our people and giving them the tools to do what they do best, which is delivering the world-class flight experience and being consistent across all customer touch points.”
Over the next few years, cabin upgrades that promote the new look and feel, as well as food and beverage enhancements, will roll out across the entire fleet, including narrowbody aircraft.
Featured/All images: John Huston/Airways
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