Delta’s first Airbus A321 arrives (Photo: Delta)
Last week Delta welcomed a brand new aircraft to its fleet, the Airbus A321. This narrow-body aircraft seats 192 passengers– about as many as Delta’s workhorse 757s. In coming years, Delta’s new 737-900s as well as the A321s will replace its old and unloved fleet of Boeing 757s, which seat around 185 passengers, depending on configuration.
Delta will take on a total of 15 A321s this year, and 30 more by 2018. Initially the planes will come from Airbus’ assembly facility in Hamburg, Germany, but later on, deliveries will come from a new Airbus plant in Mobile, Alabama.
Initially the A321s will be deployed on routes between Atlanta and Florida cities, but eventually they will be used on longer haul domestic flights.
The A321 is super popular among US carriers these days– for example, both American and JetBlue use the A321 for their transcontinental flights between New York and California. American alone flies about 180 Airbus A321s.
Delta currently has about 125 Airbus A319’s and A320s– so how can you spot the difference between an Airbus A319, A320 and an A321? Read this TravelSkills planespotting post to find out! (Hint: Look at the doors.)
First class on a Delta A321 (Photo: Delta)
Delta’s A321 will seat 20 in first, 29 in Comfort+ and 143 economy. Delta says seats on the A321 are “among the widest in the industry.” All seats get live seatback satellite TV, wi-fi and 110v power outlets.
The plane also features larger, high-capacity overhead bins, LED ambient lighting, Delta’s new textured seat design.
Seatback entertainment and power plugs at every seat on Delta’s new A321 (Photo: Delta)
Comfort+ on Delta’s new A321 (Photo: Delta)
Delta’s A321 arrives (Photo: Delta)
UPDATE April 29: Today Delta announced that it has ordered 37 more Airbus A321s, and now has 82 of the new birds on the books.
Readers: What do you think of Delta’s newest jets? Are they better than its tatty 757s– most of which are more than 20 years old? Please leave your comments below.
Related: Learn to spot the difference between Airbus A319, A320 and A321
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Some Delta 757s are nice with good WiFi, power, and AVOD. Many are horrible–worn, no AVOD, no power, and even no WiFi. Have a trip to Maui this week on a 757-200 listed as “no amenities.” So, some can be love; some can be hated.
I wish Delta would add some 787 Dreamliners to their fleet. I don’t mind the 757’s as much as I mind the 767’s.
No worries
Apparently I’d found an outdated fleet summary when I made my earlier comment. Please pass the crow…
The only think I don’t like about the A321 is the teeny-tiny windows. Not sure why they made them smaller than the 319/320.
That’s a novel thought, building planes with wider seats. Guess I will believe it when I sit in one.
American has 179 A321s. Remember they got all the pre-merger US ones
Unloved 757!! What a great plane. It is definitely my favorite. Especially in First where once your seated there isn’t a steady stream of people coming though. 321 another no character bus.
There is nothing great about these planes, except for new upolostry. Still crowded and same ole service.
Count me among those who love the 757. It is a great airplane that was and probably still is ahead of its time. On transatlantic routes with relatively light traffic it has to be a moneymaker compared with its larger competitors.
American’s web site shows 5 A-321s in operation and 240 A-320 series airplanes of various vintages and sizes on order, so it’s going to be a while before the number of A-321s at American reaches 180.
I’m an amateur pilot and my biggest beef about the A-320 series airplanes is the way they (overly) rely on automation. Anyone who can fly a small plane can likely fly a 757. I’m not sure that holds true for what I jokingly refer to as the Airbus video games.
unloved 757? Speak for yourself. It is still my favorite narrow body jet of any U.S. carrier’s fleet. Plus it is a rarity and the only narrow body jet with my most favorite of features: the mid-cabin boarding door. With the exception of the A321T on AA, everyone boards at 1L.
Not all that much extended, it only has 2 more rows than the 739. Agreed, the interior was designed very much like the 739. I think DL will use these two subfleets for very similar purposes
I wish Delta did the interior of their A321s like American did their Transcon aircraft. It looks like an extended version of the dreaded 737-900ER that Delta users on cross country flights. 747 and 757 have a better ride than the 737s.
Thank goodness these new A321s don’t have lavatories or windows so this won’t be a problem anymore!! Oh wait…
Agreed Mike, 757 is one of the favorite planes of all my DL frequent flyer friends. Old does not mean bad. 747s are older and everyone loves those.
Sure took Delta a long time to recognize what a money maker the 321 can be. (See US Airways after the boys in Tempe took over) Much more comfortable in coach than any series of a 737.
Hey Mike– you are right… they are not all that bad. But on one of my most recent ATL-SFO trips, I ended up in row 45 stuck between the lavatory and the window. The memory is hard to erase! 😉
I wouldn’t call the 757s unloved. Many of them have brand new interiors and are still some of the most comfortable aircraft in the Delta fleet. Are they old? Yes. But they’re also very well maintained.