Delta Air Lines celebrated the inaugural flight of their first Airbus A321neo from Boston Logan International Airport today with service to San Francisco International Airport. The aircraft is powered by quiet and fuel-efficient Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engines.
On Friday (May 20, 2022), Delta Air Lines announced the inaugural flight of their first Airbus A321neo with service this morning from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines, the aircraft offers a 20 percent reduction in fuel burn versus Delta’s current A321ceos. Delta’s new A321neo has been configured for 194 passengers with 20 First Class, 42 Delta Comfort+ and 132 Main Cabin seats, and will be deployed primarily on domestic routes, complementing Delta’s 125-strong fleet of Airbus A321ceos. In addition to San Francisco, the new A321neo will be deployed on routes from Boston to San Diego (SAN), and Denver (DEN) from July 11th, as well as on select flight to Seattle (SEA) starting July 20th. Delta has purchase commitments for a total of 155 A321neos scheduled for delivery through 2027. In total, the airline currently has new aircraft order commitments for 233 widebody and narrowbody aircraft.
In Friday’s announcment, Delta Air Lines’ SVP – Fleet and TechOps Supply Chain, Mahendra Nair, said,
“Delta’s A321neo product will deliver a superior premium travel experience for our customers in Boston and around the country. The introduction of this state-of-the-art, more fuel-efficient aircraft to our fleet is also an important commitment on our Flight to Net Zero, our journey to decarbonize aviation.”
Delta Air Lines' New Airbus A321neo - Courtesy Delta Air Lines
Delta’s new A321neo features an improved cabin experience including an industry-leading First Class seat with larger, improved privacy space, more storage, as well as enhanced memory foam seat cushions in all cabins. Customers will also enjoy the inflight entertainment experience with 50 percent more hit movies, TV shows and music than on other aircraft in Delta’s fleet, along with fast-streaming Wi-Fi for purchase, power ports at each seat and spacious overhead bins.
Today’s inaugural BOS-SFO flight took off as Delta continues to grow as Boston’s No. 1 global carrier, with more flights and seats than any other airline. For summer 2022, the carrier will offer up to 150 daily nonstop departures from Boston to over 50 destinations, 10 percent more capacity than before the pandemic. By mid-August, Delta will serve 20 of Boston’s 20 most popular markets including new service to Tel Aviv (TLV), Athens (ATH), Baltimore (BWI), Denver (DEN) and San Diego (SAN).
Gallery of Delta Air Lines' New Airbus A321neo - Courtesy Delta Air Lines
In a separate announcement on Friday (May 20, 2022), Pratt & Whitney also celebrated the first passenger revenue flight of Delta’s first A321neo powered by Pratt & Whitney’s quiet and fuel-efficient GTF engines.
Commenting on Delta’s Inaugural GTF-powered A321neo flight, Pratt & Whitney’s Chief Commercial Officer, Rick Deurloo, said,
“Today we celebrate another milestone with the Delta team as they enter service with their new GTF-powered A321neo aircraft. We thank Delta for their confidence in Pratt & Whitney and look forward to building upon our 90-year relationship.”
Pratt & Whitney’s GTF engines deliver industry-leading sustainability benefits, mature dispatch reliability and world-class operating costs. The engines for the A320neo Family deliver a reduction in fuel consumption and carbon emissions of 16 percent, as well a 75% reduction in noise footprint and a 50% reduction in NOx emissions below the ICAO CAEP/6 regulation.
Pratt & Whitney powers over 230 aircraft in Delta’s fleet including Airbus A220 and A330s, as well as Boeing 757s and 767s. Delta’s Airbus A220 fleet is the largest in the world with 55 aircraft. In 2019, Delta TechOps joined the GTF MRO network, which supports GTF A220 and A320neo Family aircraft worldwide.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is the global U.S. airline leader in safety, innovation, reliability and customer experience. The carrier operates over 4,000 daily flights across more than 275 destinations on six continents. Delta has over 75,000 team members and has served as many as 200 million customers annually. For the last decade, the carrier has led the industry in operational excellence, while maintaining their reputation for award-winning customer service.
Source(s): Delta Air Lines, Pratt & Whitney