Suites in the skies — airline seats with doors that slide shut to give passengers total privacy — have become de rigueur in international first class: Emirates and Singapore Airlines are two of the carriers that offer them on long-haul flights. But an all-suite business class? It has yet to be heard of, according to Delta, and the carrier wants to be the first in the industry to change that with the fall 2017 debut of the Delta One suite in its Delta One business-class category. “This product is meant to be as close to a private jet experience as possible and is driven by our customers, who were telling us that they wanted more privacy,” said Tim Mapes, Delta’s CMO. The suites will not be an additional category on top of Delta One business class, but a replacement for it entirely on some long-haul flights, primarily those with a flying time of more than 12 hours, like the 14 to 15 hours it takes to reach Sydney Airport from Los Angeles International Airport (besides Delta One, the airline has one other class, main cabin — its name for economy). The suites are expected to debut on Delta’s first Airbus A350 plane in September 2017, and although tickets for the new aircraft are to go on sale in November, the route it will fly is still being determined. “Right now, we are focused on what these suites give our passengers, and that’s more privacy and much more personal space,” said Robbie Schaefer, Delta’s onboard product manager. The initial all-suite Delta One cabin will have 32 seats, compared with the 26 to 38 seats on Delta One classes. Besides a fully flatbed seat with direct aisle access, which the airline introduced eight years ago in Delta One, each suite will have a door that slides shut and is as high as the seat.<br/>