Delta Air Lines plans to outfit its new Airbus A330-900neo aircraft with 281 seats, including its new business class suite product.
The Atlanta-based carrier will configure the A330-900 with 29 business class suites, 28 premium economy seats, 56 extra-legroom economy and 168 economy seats, a seating diagram in Delta's application for new Tokyo Haneda flights shows.
FlightGlobal had indicated, at the end of last year, that Delta would use this 281-seat configuration.
Delta has 35 A330-900s on order with the first due this year. It initially ordered 25 A330neos in 2014, adding 10 to its orderbook last November.
The airline anticipates operating six A330-900s by the end of March 2020, when it plans to begin sought Seattle-Tokyo Haneda flights with the aircraft, it says in the application to the US Department of Transportation.
Airbus
Delta will use the A330-900 to partially replace its fleet of aging Boeing 767s. It operates 79 of the type, shows Cirium Fleets Analyzer.
Airbus is marketing the A330neo to US carriers as a 767 replacement. However, only Delta has ordered the aircraft after Hawaiian Airlines cancelled its commitments for the A330-800neo in 2018.
American Airlines, favouring fleet commonality, opted for the Boeing 787-8 as its 767 replacement, and United Airlines continues to evaluate its options, including the A330neo and Boeing's proposed New Mid-market Airplane (NMA).
TAP Air Portugal took delivery of the first A330-900 in November 2018, and plans to introduce it on select US flights this year.
Delta operates 11 A330-200s and 31 A330-300s, in addition to its commitments for the A330-900, Fleets Analyzer shows.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
