Delta Air Lines has announced an order for 40 new Airbus aircraft made up of 10 A330-300 and 30 A321 aircraft. The A330s will be equipped with 34 Business Elite seats, 32 Economy Comfort seats, and 227 Economy seats. The A321s will seat 20 in First Class, 22 Economy Comfort, and 148 in Economy.
The ops guy in me tends to favor fewer rather than more aircraft types, but these aircraft will be joining existing Airbus family jets already operated by Delta. I know Delta loves math so they must’ve gotten an economically favorable deal from Airbus. I expect we will see those A321s replace aging 757s as those head towards retirement. You can read Delta’s press release here.
MJ, September 4, 2013
OMG. 190 pax on a 3 cabin 321? Can you say tight. Jetblue will have 190 in their all coach 321’s.
Just wish the replacement would come in time for my 757 DFW to Lima at the end of this month. A seven hour flight in “business” class which is really domestic First. Just dreaming.
This order was definately due. We knew DL needed some a330s to top off the long haul fleet and with the impending 757 retirements and delivery pace of the 737s, DL needed another order. Glad to see the a321, but wish there were more F seats. The CFM choice and a321 “classic” is not surprising as DL probably got a cheap price for it.
20 seats in F on those A321s is a big cut from 24-26 on the 757s. 🙁
Good point. I’m always on an MD80 of late so it’s 4 more than I’m used to. But I think I will take out my “yes!”