Delta Air Lines Plays Final Note for Song

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines said Friday it was ending its discount Song flights but incorporating some of its features into long-distance flights.

The bankrupt airline’s move, which begins to take effect next May, marks a retreat in Delta’s bid to compete against cut-rate carries in the lucrative East Coast market.

Through the end of 2006, Delta will reconfigure its Song fleet into a two-class, long-haul standard and introduce them on transcontinental routes. In all, more than 100 aircraft will be outfitted for Song service, giving customers access to the largest fleet of video-on-demand aircraft in the United States, the airline said.

The conversion plan includes adding 26 first-class seats to Song’s existing fleet of 48 Boeing 757-200 aircraft and converting another 50-plus Delta aircraft to two-class Song service.

Song was launched in April 2003.