Goodbye Empty Middle Seat. Delta To Start Selling All Seats

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It's the end of one of the silver linings of the coronavirus pandemic. Delta Airlines announced on Wednesday that the airline will begin unblocking the middle seat beginning May 1st.

For many travelers, one of the few advantages of flying during the coronavirus pandemic was that the middle seat on most airlines wasn't sold. That meant that travelers had a little extra elbow and leg room.

Delta is actually the final United States based airline to leave the middle seat blocked in 2021. Southwest decided to unblock their middle seats in December of 2021. I remember flying after the great unblocking of seats. The flights were packed and people were eager to travel.

The decision to start selling all seats on plans comes as more and more people are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 according to CNN.

It is another sign of a rebound in demand for air travel and greater willingness of people to resume pre-pandemic activities.
"As vaccinations become more widespread, consumer demand and behaviors show us that confidence in travel is on the rise and customers are ready to reclaim their lives," said Delta's statement Wednesday.

Delta reminded employees that the pandemic is not over and there are still rules about wearing masks and cleaning protocols for the airline. Delta is hoping to bring back food service soon as things begin to get closer to normal.

I know the airlines have to sellout the aircraft to make money but I think we can all be honest and say that traveling without the middle seat filled was enjoyable. Just having that extra bit of space was nice.