Delta Air Lines to offer Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding in BusinessElite

MANILA, Philippines - Delta Air Lines is transforming the sleep experience in the air by offering Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding, designed and manufactured exclusively for Delta, in all of its BusinessElite cabins throughout the world.  

The new Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding product will be available on all BusinessElite International flights, as well as BusinessElite flights between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle and between Atlanta and Honolulu, beginning in June 2013. BusinessElite customers will receive a Westin Heavenly sleeping pillow and a comforter with extra-luxurious loft.  Passengers on flights over 12 hours also will receive a lumbar pillow.   

“Delta is committed to providing our customers with the best possible sleep experience in the skies and we’re excited to partner with another leader in the travel category, Westin Hotels and Resorts, who shares this goal,” said Joanne Smith, Delta’s senior vice president – In Flight Service. “In recent surveys, customers have told us that the most important part of the in-flight experience is sleep.  The new Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding product is just one of the new amenities Delta is introducing to ensure customers achieve a restful, rejuvenating in-flight experience.”

“We are delighted to bring the Westin Heavenly experience to thousands of Delta travelers around the world, especially at a time when Westin is experiencing tremendous growth in key markets around the world,” said Brian Povinelli, global brand leader for Westin Hotels. “Getting a good night’s sleep is the number-one priority for our guests and we are renowned for providing travelers with the best bed and sleep experience in the business. Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding will ensure Delta’s customers will be renewed and refreshed when they land.  Now consumers can experience the brand’s Heavenly sleep experience in-flight, in our hotels and even in their homes.”  

In addition to the new Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding, Delta is making investments in several other products and services to revamp the in-flight sleep experience. These include a white noise channel on Delta Radio, and new BusinessElite amenity kits featuring Tumi and Malin+Goetz products.

Delta is also enhancing the sleep experience by expanding full flatbed seating.  Delta is introducing full flatbed seats in the BusinessElite cabin of all transcontinental flights operating between New York and Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle beginning in March 2013. All of Delta’s Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft serving these transcontinental markets will offer the flatbed seats over the next 24 months.  Delta’s decision to install full flatbed seats on its transcontinental flights complements the airline’s current investment in full flatbed seats on its entire international wide-body fleet of more than 140 aircraft.  By summer, all trans-pacific flights will have full flatbeds installed. By the end of 2013, 70 percent of all Delta aircraft will have flatbeds and, in early 2014, Delta’s entire wide-body fleet is scheduled to be complete.

As a direct result of customer feedback, flight attendants are also modifying their in-flight service to better foster sleep.  BusinessElite flights now offer an “Express Meal” that features lighter fare and a one-step delivery process on all international flights departing after 9 p.m. and flights between JFK and London’s Heathrow Airport. Delta will be designing a similar express meal menu for BusinessElite flights that are less than 10 hours long, as well as transcontinental flights.

To create a more restful cabin environment, flight attendants also are now proactively adjusting for appropriate lighting based on the time of day and streamlining cabin announcements to decrease noise disruptions.  

Delta is showcasing its renewed focus on sleep at TED2013 in Long Beach, California, Feb. 26 to March 1.  The airline will host a talk by renowned Oxford neuroscientist and sleep expert Dr. Russell Foster addressing jet lag and how the eye tells time and demonstrate his research in action with the world’s first Photon Shower — a small light chamber that conference attendees can enter for a short period of time to help reset their body clocks through a personalized, rejuvenating light treatment. The Photon Shower, along with Delta’s new amenity kits, charging stations and a juice bar, will live in Delta’s “Power Up” lounge, a space designed to help revitalize and energize TED attendees. Conference goers can also relax and wind down in Delta’s “Power Down” lounge, a second activation space featuring flatbed seats with Westin Heavenly In-Flight bedding, nap pods, and white noise calming music. Delta’s Sleep Bar at the Westin Long Beach will also provide conference attendees premium items and hospitality focused around aiding sleep.

Known as the travel industry’s innovative leader, Westin revolutionized the travel industry with the 1999 launch of the Heavenly Bed, an icon that inspired countless imitators.  Due to incredible popular demand, Westin became the first hotel company to sell a signature retail line with the unveiling of the Heavenly Bed in-room catalogue in 2000.