Delta Air Lines’ premium ambition is showing up in the numbers

Key findings:

• Delta’s Consideration score has risen appreciably in the last four years.
  
• Quality perceptions climbed across all income groups, strongest among higher earners.
  
• Delta’s Value lead expanded from roughly 3.5 to 5.9 points over the industry baseline.

Delta has been clear about the kind of airline it wants to be. The company has repeatedly signalled its intent to operate as a premium brand by differentiating itself through service and a premium experience. But how has that ambition translated into how consumers perceive the brand — and how likely they are to choose it?

Consideration climbing ahead of the category

Delta’s Consideration score has been steadily rising over the last four years, gradually pulling further ahead of the industry average. It must be noted that Consideration scores are based on responses only from consumers who are aware of the brand in the first place.

Delta’s Consideration score has risen from 36.3% to 40.5% over the past four years, based on a 26-week moving average. Over the same period, the broader airline industry average increased modestly — from 18.4% to 19.5%. That means Delta not only maintained a significant lead but has slightly expanded the distance between itself and the category baseline.

Quality perceptions lifting across the income spectrum

Delta’s emphasis on elevating the travel experience is perhaps reflected in its rising Quality scores. Among all US adults, the Quality score rose from 23.0 to 29.2, but the story becomes more pronounced when broken down by income groups:

• Higher-income Americans: from 20.9 to 37.6 — the steepest rise
• Middle-income Americans: from 23.9 to 32.1
• Lower-income Americans: from 24.7 to 26.9

The broadened lift suggests that Delta’s experience upgrades are resonating beyond the top end of the market, strengthening its overall Quality signal.

Value advantage widening over competitors

For brands, an increase in Quality delivered can sometimes come at the cost of perceived Value, but Delta has inched upwards in this department as well – with net Value scores rising from 9.5 to 12.9. More importantly, Delta’s lead over the industry average has expanded meaningfully: what was a gap of 3.4 points four years ago has grown to 5.9 points as of November 12.

For a carrier pushing a premium proposition, that widening spread is notable. Consumers increasingly see Delta not only as higher quality but also as offering better value relative to alternatives.

Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. An airline's score is based on the question: Which of the following airlines do you think represents GOOD QUALITY? / Now which of the following airlines represents POOR Quality. Scores are reported as net scores from –100 to +100, based on daily surveys of US adults. Data is weighted using a propensity scoring methodology with targets from the American Community Survey (ACS) to ensure representation by age, gender, race, education, and region. Figures are shown as a 26-week moving average with sample size ranging from 9419 to 11180 between Nov 13, 2021 to Nov 12, 2025.

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