Delta’s Constant

Delta Air Lines, the Atlanta-based legacy air-carrier and founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance—has firmed an order for twelve Airbus A220-300 aircraft, thereby bringing the total number of the airline’s A220 commitments to an impressive 119 aircraft comprising 45 A220-100s and 74 A220-300s. Since 2018, Delta has placed four large orders for A220 narrow-body jets, and in 2023 is the type’s largest buyer and operator.

Delta vice president of fleet Kristen Bojko remarked: "These 12 additional A220 aircraft will help power our increasingly streamlined fleet while also providing our customers with the elevated in-flight experience they’ve come to expect from Delta.”

Airbus chief commercial officer and head of international Christian Scherer added: “Delta Air Lines was the U.S. launch customer for the A220 and this fourth reorder in just four years by a leading carrier as Delta [sic] is a most gratifying endorsement. The aircraft is currently connecting Delta passengers on more than one-hundred routes at 25-percent less fuel and CO2  emissions. If you want to connect today and tomorrow, you can’t do any better!”

Currently, Delta’s Airbus fleet numbers 415 aircraft, including 59 A220 jets, 266 A320 family airliners, 62 A330s, and 28 A350-900s.

The A220 is one of few aircraft purpose-built for the 100-150 seat market. The model features state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials, Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation GTF series engines, and a degree of automation many pilots and aircraft experts consider excessive. Airbus claims the A220’s noise footprint and NOx emissions are fifty-percent lower than those of competing aircraft.

To date, Airbus has delivered north of 246 A220s to 16 airlines operating on four continents. The consortium estimates that more than 70-million passengers have traveled aboard A220 aircraft to some 325 worldwide destinations via over 825 defined air-carrier routes. At the end of 2022, thirty customers had ordered a combined total of nearly eight-hundred A220 aircraft.

FMI: www.delta.com