Delta Air Lines Takes Delivery Of 15th Airbus A330-900
Major US carrier Delta Air Lines took delivery of another brand new A330-900 from Airbus at the end of the week. The April 29th delivery marks the 15th A330neo to join the Delta fleet from a total order of 35. Let's look at the delivery and what else Delta is expecting in the months to come.
Delivery details
On April 29th, Delta's 15th Airbus A330-900 departed France for Atlanta. The aircraft, registered N418DX, took off from Airbus' assembly facilities in Toulouse at 12:24 local time and made the nine-hour flight to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International. The jet touched down at 15:33 local time.
The delivery was conducted after the aircraft had completed a total of six hours and 55 minutes of test flying across just four test flights. The plane's very first test flight took place on April 1st, with subsequent tests occurring on April 13th, 15th, and 22nd.
All of Delta's A330-900s have just one type of seating configuration. Comprised of four classes, the breakdown is as follows:
- 29 Delta One Suites
- 28 seats in Delta Premium Select (premium economy)
- 56 Comfort Plus seats*
- 168 seats in Delta's "Main Cabin" (standard economy)
Almost halfway there...
As Delta's 15th A330-900, the recent delivery from Airbus means that the airline has 20 more of the type yet to be delivered.
This order originally goes back to November 20th, 2014, when Delta placed a massive order for 50 Airbus widebody aircraft. This was divided equally, with 25 A350-900s and 25 A330-900s. The order itself marked a significant shift for Delta, which had previously been a majority-Boeing airline. For those unaware, Delta's older A330-200s and -300s come from its merger with Northwest Airlines, which took place in 2008.
Almost exactly four years later, Delta boosted its commitment to the A330-900, adding another 10 of the type to the order book for a total of 35. Commenting on this adjustment, Gil West, Delta’s Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer said at the time:
“Expanding our A330 order book not only ensures that Delta’s near-to-medium-term widebody needs are taken care of, but also drives our strategic, measured international growth.”
Other new types incoming to Delta
It's not just A330-900s that continue to be delivered to the US carrier. Indeed, Delta is expecting another 10 A350-900s to join the fleet over the course of this year as well as from 2023 through 2025. On the narrowbody side, Delta is expecting over 150 Airbus A321neos as well as about 40 more A220-300s.
All of these upcoming deliveries show Delta's trust in Airbus' products - having a much higher proportion of the European planemaker's aircraft in its fleet than its US rivals. American had adopted an order for A350s due to its merger with US Airways, but this was eventually canceled. Meanwhile, United Airlines still has an outstanding order for A350s, which has been adjusted and deferred for multiple years.
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