Delta has increased its Airbus A321 order commitments by 30 aircraft. The airline now has 155 outstanding orders for aircraft from Airbus’ popular A321neo family, as the aircraft comes in addition to an existing firm order for 125 planes of the type.
The Airbus A321neo has been a popular aircraft, with many planes from the core aircraft, the A321LR and A321XLR aircraft being ordered by airlines worldwide. Delta is already an avid user of the A321ceo, with over 120 in its fleet. While it is yet to take an A321neo, the airline now has 155 of the aircraft on order, alongside A220s, A330s, and A350s.
Commenting on the Airbus A321 order increase, Delta’s SVP of Fleet and TechOps Supply Chain, Mahendra Nair, said,
“Adding these aircraft strengthens Delta’s commitment to replacing older fleets with more sustainable, efficient jets, and offering the best customer experience in the industry. Delta appreciates the extensive partnership with the Airbus team in support of our strategic growth plans, and we look forward to continuing to work together throughout the recovery and beyond.”
What to expect from Delta’s A321neos?
Delta will install 194 seats inside its Airbus A321neo aircraft across three classes of cabin. At the front of the aircraft will be 20 first class seats. Behind this, passengers will find 42 seats in the Delta Comfort+ cabin, with a further 132 in the main economy cabin.
Delta revealed that it is primarily planning to operate the A321neo on its domestic network. This would fit with the airline’s current A321ceo network, which sees the jet flying domestically, with a few flights to destinations in the Caribbean according to the airline’s August 2021 A321 schedule.
Delta revealed that the A321neos would be used to replace older fleets that are less efficient. As such, it seems unlikely that the A321neo will be a direct replacement for the current A321ceo fleet. According to fleet data from ch-aviation.com, Delta currently has 121 A321-200 aircraft, with an average age of just 2.9 years old. The oldest jet is 5.53 years old, while new ceo aircraft are still being delivered with six outstanding orders.
The airline’s other narrowbody families have an average age of,
Airbus A320-200 – 25.6 years
Boeing 757-200 – 24.8 years
Boeing 717-200 – 20.2 years
Boeing 737-800 – 20.0 years
Airbus A319-100 – 19.6 years
Boeing 757-300 – 18.6 years
Boeing 737-900 – 5.0 years
Airbus A321-200 – 2.9 years
Airbus A220-100 – 1.9 years
Airbus A220-300 – 0.7 years
Airbus aircraft built in the USA
Airbus is widely known as a European plane manufacturer. The manufacturer does have the facilities to build aircraft in the United States, and Airbus will produce many of Delta Air Lines’ A321neo aircraft in Mobile, Alabama. The manufacturer is hoping to deliver the first A321neo to Delta in early 2022.
The aircraft will join the airline’s 358 strong Airbus fleet. As of the end of July, this includes 50 Airbus A220s, 240 A320 family jets, 53 A330s from both the ceo and neo family, and finally, 15 Airbus A350 aircraft. Of these, 87, or around a quarter, were built in the United States.
This article originally appeared on Simple Flying
Photo: Airbus