[ad_1]
Around this time last year, news surfaced that Delta Air Lines would be further growing its Airbus A350 fleet with the acquisition of widebodies coming from LATAM. It’s been a seemingly lengthy process for the airline to integrate these jets into the Delta fleet, with one part of the process almost complete.
N569DZ off to Singapore
On April 13th, the Delta Airbus A350-900, registered as N569DZ, took off from Seattle for a lengthy flight to Singapore Changi airport. This aircraft is the 8th ex-LATAM A350 to fly to facilities in Southeast Asia to be repainted from a LATAM livery to Delta Air Lines’ colors.
This jet was previously registered as PR-XTB, flying with LATAM Brasil between 2016 and 2020. After being stored during the pandemic, the now seven-year-old aircraft was officially transferred to Delta Air Lines in September 2022.
It is expected that N569DZ will spend the next two to three months in Singapore, if the duration of previous Delta A350 visits is any indication of how long the repainting procress takes.
The status of other ex-LATAM A350s
It would appear that Delta has two more ex-LATAM Airbus A350-900s left to be painted. One of these, registered N570DZ, was ferried from Seattle to Singapore on February 25th. Thus, we should expect it to return to the US in Delta colors in the next month or so.
The other A350, registered N568DZ, was officially acquired by Delta Air Lines in July 2022. However, the aircraft is marked as stored and has not conducted any flights for months.
Photo: Delta Air Lines
The remainder of Delta’s ex-LATAM jets have been repainted and are conducting regular passenger services. As per data from Planespotters.net and FlightRadar24.com, their registrations and repainting dates are as follows:
- N571DZ: In Singapore from January to April. Aircraft will conduct first post-retrofit passenger service today.
- N572DZ: In Singapore from November 2022 to January 2023. Re-entered passenger service in mid-February.
- N573DZ: In Singapore from September 2022 to December 2022. Re-entered passenger service in January 2023.
- N574DZ: In Singapore from June 2022 to August 2022. Resumed service in September 2022.
- N575DZ: In Singapore from February 2022 to June 2022. Resumed service mid-June 2022.
- N576DZ: In Singapore from March 2022 to July 2022. Resumed service in August 2022.
Cabin retrofits underway
The news of Delta’s acquisition of LATAM A350s generated some negative news for the carrier. Indeed, One Mile At A Time penned an article titled “Delta’s Inferior ‘New’ Airbus A350s.” The outlet pointed out the the ex-LATAM jets’ inferior-interiors would be due to the following:
- No direct aisle access from every business class seat
- No premium economy cabin
- No Wi-Fi connectivity
Indeed, for an airline that values product consistency, Delta Air Lines was likely caught in the dilemma of meeting customer expectations while also getting the aircraft into service as soon as possible to meet surging demand.
Photo: Delta Air Lines
In January, some good news arrived for Delta customers as the airline announced that it had selected Airbus Services to retrofit and upgrade its nine ex-LATAM aircraft. This deal will convert the cabins of the newly-acquired aircraft into Delta’s own custom configuration.
At the moment, it would appear that all ex-LATAM A350s actively flying passengers retain the South American carrier’s cabin configuration of 30 business class seats and 309 economy seats. However, the two most recent jets sent to Singapore for repainting appear to have had their interiors changed in advance of their new liveries being applied. Indeed, Planespotters.net indicates that the aircraft registered N568DZ and N569DZ are already fitted with Delta’s 306-seat, three-class configuration. Thus, they’ll enter service with Delta harmonized with the bulk of the airline’s A350 fleet.
Have you flown on any of Delta Air Lines’ ex-LATAM A350s? If so, was the difference quite noticeable? Share your experiences by leaving a comment!
Sources: Aviation Flights, Planespotters.net, FlightRadar24.com, One Mile At A Time
-
Delta is not keen on an equal split compromise either. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
Delta Air Lines
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- DL/DAL
- Airline Type:
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s):
- Boston Logan International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, New York JFK Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Salt Lake City International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
- Year Founded:
- 1929
- Alliance:
- SkyTeam
- CEO:
- Ed Bastian
- Country:
- United States
[ad_2]
Source link