Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ed Bastian has confirmed the carrier's first A220-100 will be deployed to New York once deliveries begin in spring 2018.
Speaking during a 2Q 2017 earnings call, Bastian declined to specify the exact routes the aircraft would be deployed on. However, he did note the Bombardier Aerospace (BBA, Montréal Trudeau) jets would be used to both upgauge capacity on existing routes while eventually opening up new ones.
Initially, the CS100s will be used to replace 76-seater CRJ700/900s operating "long range" services. "That will free the two class RJs to replace 50-seat airplanes that are continuing to exit the fleet and then we’ll certainly have a few new markets next year," he said. "Having 100-seat long range jets does open up some new market opportunity that we don’t have today."
Aside from the US East Coast, the carrier is also looking at Los Angeles International for a West Coast base for the twinjets. An internal memo seen by Bloomberg indicates Dallas, Texas could also see a signficant C-Series presence.
Delta has orders for seventy-five CS100s with options for fifty more. The carrier has the option of converting a number of the aircraft into A220-300s at a later date.
