Delta has announced that it is to add the Airbus A220-300 to its fleet in November this year. Since the Airbus A220-100’s (the shorter version of the A220-300) entry in service with Delta in early 2019 (Delta was the 4th global airline to operate the A220), the airline already operates 31 Airbus A220-100s, and has 50 orders for the A220-300, the 2 aircraft types respectively carrying a maximum of 133 and 160 passengers. It is yet to receive its remaining 14 A220-100s.
Originally, Delta was supposed to begin operating the A220-300 in March, after it’s 1st A220-300 rolled off the production line at the Airbus assembly unit in Mobile, Alabama, where A220s are produced. At the same time as this, the 1st waves of the coronavirus started to mysteriously flood the world and Delta was busy retiring its McDonnell Douglas and Boeing 767-300 fleets, forcing the A220-300’s entry into service to be delayed.
Delta is to become the 8th worldwide operator of the A220-300, along with Swiss, airBaltic (the flag carrier of Latvia), Korean Air, Air Tanzania, EgyptAir, Air Canada and Air Sinai (an Egyptian carrier that serves as a ‘paper airline’ for EgyptAir). Delta is the only operator of the A220 on the American continent, but won’t be for longer, as US carriers Breeze and JetBlue have ordered 60 and 70 A220-300s respectively… if there are no problems in the supply chain. 28th of September 2020.
Aeronews24 