In today's airline news: in an effort to follow social distancing guidelines and keep passengers' safety in mind, Delta has announced that it will block off certain seats from being booked. In total, travelers should expect 50 percent of first-class seats and 40 percent of main cabin seats to be off-limits on each flight.
Back in April, the company announced that middle seats weren't going to be bookable for a while. Now, that ban extends to certain window and aisle chairs across all cabins through, at least, June 30.
When booking your flight, you won't even be able to select those seats. Traveling with someone? You'll have to talk to an agent upon arrival at the gate to explain the situation and request to be placed right next to each other, according to Delta's official press release.
That's not all: the airline also announced the introduction of "seat blocks for narrowbody and regional jet aircraft" this week. Delta's decision to invest in seat blockers is part of a larger conversation that companies have been having while preparing for post-virus travel. Prototypes by Italian design company Aviointeriors, for example, make heavy use of dividers while French aeronautics engineer Florian Barjot came up with a removable kit that would be placed in-between seats to provide extra protection.
Although things are certainly looking different, we're excited at the prospect of being able to fly across the world in the (hopefully) near future—no matter where we're sitting.