Delta plans to replace 20 percent of older, less-efficient aircraft by 2020.
By Mia Taylor, TravelPulse
Delta is poised to be the first U.S. airline to take delivery of a state-of-the-art A220 aircraft as part of a sweeping program to modernize its fleet.
Formerly known as the “C Series,” the A220 is a narrow body jet that offers all of the amenities and luxury of a widebody aircraft. The airline will start selling top domestic business routes on the new A220 this Saturday.
Inaugural flights are scheduled to depart on January 31, 2019, from Delta's hub at New York's LaGuardia airport to its growing operation at Boston Logan International, and from LaGuardia to top business destination Dallas-Ft. Worth.
Among the A220 routes that will be available for sale starting October 13 are:
— New York-LGA to Boston
—New York-LGA to Dallas/Ft. Worth
—Detroit to Dallas/Ft. Worth
—New York-LGA to Houston-IAH
—Salt Lake City to Dallas/Ft. Worth
—Minneapolis/St. Paul to Dallas/Ft. Worth
—Houston-IAH to Detroit & Minneapolis/St. Paul
—Houston-IAH to Salt Lake City
—New York-JFK to Dallas/Ft. Worth
Delta’s effort to upgrade its fleet will include replacing less-efficient aircraft with highly efficient and state-of-the-art aircraft like the A220 as well as new Boeing 737-900ERs, Airbus A321s, Airbus A350s, the Airbus A330-900neo and Airbus A321neo.
"This aircraft is the culmination of years of listening to our customers and responding with design innovations that continue to improve Delta's domestic in-flight experience," Tim Mapes, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, said in a stateent. "From high-resolution seat-back entertainment screens to the widest Main Cabin seats in our fleet, the A220 will deliver an experience our customers will look forward to every time they fly."
The new A220 includes 109 seats, with 12 in First Class, 15 in Delta Comfort+ and 82 in the Main Cabin. The state-of-the-art interior also features seat-back screens, 2Ku Wi-Fi and among the widest seats of any narrow-body aircraft.
The plane also features high-capacity overhead bins, extra-large windows and full-spectrum LED ambient lighting.
Main cabin seats are to be 18.6-inch wide, making them the widest Main Cabin seats in Delta's fleet. Each customer will also have personal power ports and complimentary premium entertainment on individual seat-back screens.
The Comfort+ portion of the plane includes such extras as more legroom, dedicated overhead bin space and a customer-preferred two-by-three seat configuration.
First Class meanwhile, will feature the debut of a new, modern seat design in a two-by-two layout, including the largest IFE screens of any Delta domestic First Class seat.
The A220 has been designed with advanced technology and composite materials that are aimed at delivering an expected 20 percent improvement in fuel efficiency over similar-sized aircraft.
The first of these new planes rolled out of the paint shop last month is now undergoing finishing touches on the assembly line. Delta is expected to take delivery later this month.
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