Summary
- Delta has 68 aircraft A220s: 45 -100s and 23 -300s.
- The equipment operates 97 routes in January, all domestic; LaGuardia-Dallas Fort Worth is the most served.
- Salt Lake City is Delta's leading hub for the narrowbody.
Delta is the world's largest Airbus A220 operator. Part of Delta's mainline fleet, the type is renowned for having bigger and quieter cabins, larger overhead bins and windows, bigger bathrooms, and much better fuel efficiency than the older equipment they replace. Let us be honest. They fly higher, faster, longer, quieter, and cheaper than anything in the same class. While it might be unnecessary to state, it is important to remember the A220 is not a regional jet.
Delta's A220s: a summary
The SkyTeam member has 45 A220-100s, each with 109 seats. There are 12 seats in First (2-2 layout), 15 in Comfort+ (3-2), and 82 in regular economy (3-2).
According to ch-aviation, the first example, registered N101DU (shown below), arrived more than five years ago, in October 2018. Delta was the North American launch customer, and it remains the world's largest user of the -100 variant. The most recent example (N145DQ) arrived in March 2022.
Delta's first A220-300 arrived in October 2020, and it now has 23 of them. Each has 130 seats: 12 in first, 30 in Comfort+, and 88 in economy. This variant has twice as many Comfort+ seats as the -100. It welcomed three more -300s in December 2023, with many more on order. Delta is, for now, 'only' fifth globally for the -300, behind airBaltic, Air Canada, Air France, and JetBlue.
208 daily movements in January
Using schedules supplied by Delta to Cirium indicates that the A220 has a typical 208 daily movements (take-offs and landings) in January. That means that each aircraft has three roundtrip services per day on average.
Its -100s have a typical stage length of 932 miles (1,500 km), while it is 1,169 miles (1,881 km) for the larger -300. For context, the average of all equipment operated by all airlines globally is 912 miles (1,468 km). (All of these distances are longer than Southwest's average.)
Attesting to their size, number of seats in each class, and fuel efficiency, Delta's aircraft are deployed on much longer sectors than Delta Express' CRJ700s, CRJ900s, E170s, and E175s, which cover a typical 441 miles (708 km) in January.
Analyzed: Delta Air Lines’ Top 10 Airports In Early 2024
The airline is the largest carrier at seven of its top 10 airports.Where the A220 operates
Cirum says the A220 (both variants combined) will be used on 97 domestic routes in January. This includes 28 with just one to five roundtrip services across the whole month. Examining schedules shows that half of routes (48) are served daily or more. The map below shows the entire network, even if just one roundtrip.
LaGuardia to Dallas Fort Worth is the most-served A220 route. Salt Lake City-Orange County is next, followed by LaGuardia-Houston International, Salt Lake City-Boise, and Salt Lake City-Dallas Fort Worth. What do they have in common? The -100 and -300 are used on all five, although to very different degrees.
Given the top routes, it is not surprising that Salt Lake City is very much Delta's leading hub for the type. Nowhere else comes close, with number two being LaGuardia (19%) and then Seattle (18%). In contrast, Atlanta – by far Delta's busiest hub and the world's busiest airport – has zero A220 flights in January. They return in June.
Have you flown the A220 with any carrier? If so, share your experiences in the comments section.