Industry Delta Air Lines orders 15 additional Airbus A220-300

With this new order for 15 additional A220 aircraft, Delta Air Lines now has 90 of the new generation aircraft on order. Initially, the carrier ordered 75 A220s back in 2016. The first aircraft was delivered in October 2018. Currently, Delta is already operating with a fleet of four A220-100s.

In addition to the order for 15 aircraft, Delta also announced it will convert 35 aircraft to A220-300s. This brings the number of -300 series aircraft on order to 50. Deliveries of the A220-300 will being in 2020. All aircraft are planned to be delivered form Airbus´ assembly facility in Mobile, Alabama.

Gil West, Delta’s Chief Operating Officer stated: “These additional A220 aircraft will continue to strategically enable Delta to refresh our fleet, drive further advances in the customer experience and serve as an excellent investment for our customers, employees and shareowners for Delta into the next decade.”

Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer said: “Delta has always been deeply focused on the passenger experience, and the A220 fits perfectly with that philosophy [...] The A220 will provide passengers with a level of comfort and convenience that makes flying a pleasure again, while meeting Delta’s high standards for efficiency and reliability.”

Last year, Airbus delivered the first A220 aircraft from its factory in Mirabel, Canada. Starting next year, the manufacturer hopes to utilize its assembly facility in Mobile, Alabama. For that, Airbus will begin with construction works on the site at the end of this month. The manufacturer will use and expand the existing Airbus A320 assembly facility for its A220 series and hopes to hire approximately 600 new employees over the next 18 months.

Initially, Bombardier developed the CSeries 100 and CSeries 300 aircraft. After Airbus´ acquisition of the aircraft programme in 2018, the company renamed the aircraft models to A220-100 and A220-300 so that the aircraft fit in the line-up of products.

The A220 offers between 100 and 150 seats and is being equipped with latest-generation Pratt & Whitney PW1500G turbofan engines. They allow the aircraft to run with an at least 20 percent lower fuel burn per seat compared to aircraft from the previous generation. The A220 can fly up to 3,200nm (5,920km).

To date, Airbus has noted more than 500 orders for the programme. At the beginning of this year, JetBlue and Start-Up airline Moxy announced they will purchase 60 A220-300s each.

Delta Air Lines is the second-largest airline in the world with headquarters at Atlanta, Georgia. The airline was founded in 1924 and operates with a fleet of over 870 aircraft. Delta is member of the SkyTeam alliance and has operational hubs at cities like Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, Salt Lake City and Boston.