Delta Air Lines is set to introduce the first truly flat business class seats from a U.S. carrier. In early 2008, Delta will take delivery of two new Boeing 777 Long Range aircraft with the new configuration. Beginning in the fall of 2008, the airline will add sleeper seats to the rest of its 777 fleet and by 2010 will have rolled out the seats to the rest of its international fleet. This has got frequent flyers and the media buzzing. Although other U.S. airlines, notably American, Northwest, and United, have horizontal seats, they are not truly flat. Delta is gambling that frequent flyers will embrace the difference between stretching out at a slight angle compared to a flat surface and will fly Delta. “Stretching” being available if you’re less than 6ft 3in tall — the length of the seats. Regardless of the long wait for flat-seat availability, this is good news for frequent flyers with Delta. A BusinessElite SkySaver award seat to Europe goes for 90,000 miles. When you compare the business class offerings of today’s airlines against the first class of years past, you can see that frequent flyers are getting a much better value for their miles. How long this will last remains to be seen. Will airlines raise redemption rates as the quality of the travel experience rises?