Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines has announced a start date for the Airbus A220-300. The new narrow-body will be based at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) and will begin operations on November 10, 2020.
Delta will put the newest aircraft in its fleet on routes to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Huston from its home base in Utah. These two Texas routes will dominate Delta’s A220-300 schedule until it is put on the Salt Lake City to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) starting November 27, 2020.
Delta’s A220-300s have 130 seats
Delta’s A220-300s will be configured into three classes of service with
12 first class seats in a 2+2 configuration. Delta Comfort+ will have 30 seats configured in a 3+2 configuration with extra legroom. Delta Economy will have 88 seats also in a 3+2 configuration.
Delta Air Lines says that its new A220-300s will have WiFi, in-seat power, and USB points along with satellite television streamed to personal video screens. These facilities will be available in all classes of service.
Delta has retired older planes
The first A220-300 to be delivered to Delta Air Lines rolled off Airbus’s Mobile, Alabama assembly line in March but did not enter directly into service. This was mainly due to circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic that has had airlines cutting back on flights. The coronavirus has also made airlines decide to retire older, less fuel-efficient planes sooner and bring in modern, efficient passenger-friendly planes like the new Airbus A220-300.
As the number of people taking to the skies starts to pick up, the SkyTeam alliance member sees November as the right time to introduce the newest member of its family to the public.
Delta already has 31 Bombardier-designed Airbus-built A220-100s in its fleet and a further six on order according to aviation website Planespotters.net. As for the A220-300, the Salt Lake City plane marks the first of a six plane order with the European planemaker.
To make way for the new jets, Delta has retired its Boeing 737-700s and its McDonnell-Douglas MD-90s and MD-88s. By retiring these planes, Delta is hoping that the 130 seats A220-300 will be a worthy replacement.
Delta is the only US carrier with the A220-300
Currently, Delta is the only airline in the United States to operate the A220 series of aircraft but will soon be joined by JetBlue and Breeze Airways. In case you have not heard about Breeze Airways, they are a start-up airline by industry veteran David Neeleman. The airline is coincidentally headquartered in Salt Lake City and will have a fleet of 60 Airbus A220-300s and 35 Embraer E195s.
Airlines worldwide flying the Airbus A220-300 include airBaltic, Swiss, Korean Air, Air Tanzania, EgyptAir, Air Canada, and Egyptian carrier Air Sinai. Simple Flying’s Tom Boon flew on one of airBaltics’ A220-300s from Riga to London and loved the plane. You can read his trip report and learn a little more about the Airbus A220-300 by clicking on the link.
Have you flown on an Airbus A220-300 yet? If so, please tell us about it in the comments.
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