United Hands Domestic First Class Low-Fare Baton to Delta

FCF spots new trend, plus a look at First Class fares vs. domestic Premium Economy that may surprise you.

In January last year, FCF wrote about how Delta’s divide-and-conquer strategy led to higher domestic First Class fares, higher than American and United in many cases. Well that’s been turned on its head and it’s now Delta that’s doing the limbo-low deals, undercutting American and United on a wide range of routes.

And in many cases, grabbing the First Class fare is even cheaper than that extra legroom seat.

Backflip: Delta’s First Class Fares Now Lower than United
(and American) on Many Routes

The main story here is that Delta’s First Class fares are undercutting United’s (although we will touch on American fares too). Last year we compared United and Delta’s First Class fares, for example, on the Denver to NYC route (both fly this route non-stop). Back then, United charged $723, while Delta charged $869 (i.e. United charged $146 less).

But since then, we’ve seen a Simone Biles-style backflip with Delta, which now charges $725 for its lowest fare, while United charges $894 (Delta is now $169 less).

But this isn’t the only route on which FCF’s research has found new lower fares offered by Delta when compared to United. We’ve also found routes on which Delta charges half as much as United.

For example, San Francisco to Seattle First Class on Delta is $255 round-trip, a route where Delta offers the fare on six different flights. United on the other hand charges $535 on seven different flights. Big height difference in that jump.

See our list of sample fare routes below on which both airlines offer non-stop service.

First Class Fare Differences Between
American and Delta Vary by Route

While the big deal here is Delta vs. United, let’s get American on the floor too. Between American and Delta, the cost differences vary more than you might think. See our list of sample routes below on which both airlines offer non-stop service.