Today, Delta Air Lines announced a new lease agreement with Air Lease Corporation (ALC) for two new Airbus A330-900neos, to be delivered in Q4 2020 and Q1 2021. Delta has also entered an agreement to accelerate the delivery of three A330-900neo deliveries.
With Monday’s announcement, Delta increased the number of A330-900s that will join their fleet in 2020 from five to seven. According to the press release, the two new aircraft will be leased from Air Lease Corporation (ALC) and be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines. Delta introduced the new fuel efficient A330-900neo to its fleet last July with service from Seattle to Shanghai. In September, they launched Seattle to Seoul-Incheon service and on October 27th the aircraft will begin operating on the Seattle to Tokyo-Narita route. Additionally, Delta announced the delivery acceleration of three Airbus A330-900s, with two to be delivered in Q4 2020 and the third in Q1 2021. In today’s press release, Delta’s SVP – Fleet and Technical Procurement, Greg May stated,
“These two incremental aircraft represent an opportunistic play to fulfill our near-term widebody aircraft needs for our customers and employees as older generation aircraft are retired and to support measured growth in 2021. We’re also pleased that the engines on these aircraft will be maintained by Delta TechOps professionals through our partnership with Rolls-Royce.”
Delta’s first delivered A330-900neo features Delta One suites, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin, with all new memory foam cushions. Additionally, the aircraft was the first in the fleet to offer a new wireless in-flight entertainment system (IFE) in every seat.
Source: Delta Air Lines