Delta is one of only two U.S. airlines to operate the Airbus A220 (formerly the Bombardier C-Series). They’ve been quick to fly the jet on short-to-mid-haul routes, as it is an ideal replacement for their aging Boeing 717s and MD-88s. It’s often billed as a regional jet.
But in an interesting move, Delta has now scheduled the A220 for a flight of over 5 hours. It’ll soon be flying nearly coast-to-coast!
The Incredible Range of the A220
The A220 is an interesting aircraft. With a 3-2 seating arrangement and a capacity of 100-150 passengers (depending on the model and configuration), it is an excellent replacement for Delta’s Boeing 717s and MD-88s. What is not similar to the two aircraft it is replacing is its range. The A220 can fly over 3,800 miles, allowing it to comfortably operate coast-to-coast routes.
What remained to be seen was whether airlines would schedule any such service. And now Delta has, hub to hub, no less. Delta will operate ATL-SEA with an A220-100 once daily, starting June 8, 2020. The block flight times are a little over 5 hours westbound and just under 5 hours eastbound. It’s an interesting addition to the route, which I would expect to be flown with much larger aircraft in general.
One blemish: the return schedule is awful, with a 1:19 a.m. arrival into ATL. Even if the flight was nice, that would taint the whole experience for me. I’m left wondering if this is just a test of the aircraft to see how it performs financially on the route.
Conclusion
I’ve yet to fly the A220, but I hope to at some point. I’m used to slimline seats on regional jets, which are uncomfortable for more than an hour or so. If Delta has decent seating on their A220, I’d certainly be up for flying it for 5 hours over 2,000 miles.
Would you fly the Delta A220 coast-to-coast?
H/T: OMAAT
Featured image courtesy of Delta News Hub via Flickr under CC-BY-2.0 license.
Interesting for sure that they would have the aircraft sitting at SEA for 8 hours before the return to ATL. I assume it has something to do with landing slots, perhaps gate availability in ATL. Doesn’t make any economic sense leaving it sit. I’d fly it between the 2 cities, just not at that time from SEA!!
Same. Such a terrible return time. First thing out of ATL is great, though.
The seat width is great but the pitch is a little rough at 30-31″, particularly for a longer flight. If the seats are slimline, it would make things a lot worse, but I haven’t heard whether that’s the case.
Visually comparing them to others, it appears they are not. They are also the widest, and the IFE is largest, in the fleet.
I would fly in an a220 over any other single aisle plane in coach.
Totally get it! It looks like a nice aircraft. Can’t wait to fly it someday.