Delta's Airbus A350-900 Fleet: A Complete Guide (2024)

Equipped with information from the aviation and statistics website ch-aviation, today we will look at Delta Air Lines fleet of 28 Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Delta Air Lines can trace its history back to Macon, Georgia, to an aerial crop dusting operation called "Huff Daland Dusters." After being founded in Georgia on March 2nd, 1925, by the summer, Huff Daland Dusters had relocated to Monroe, Louisiana, to help farmers battle Boll weevil beetles that were destroying their cotton crops.

Photo: Ad Meskens | Wikimedia Commons.

After graduating from Louisiana State University, Collett E. Woolman joined Huff Daland Dusters as a chief entomologist. Once the summer growing season in the United States ended, Huff Daland Dusters needed work for their 28 crop dusters. To remedy the situation, Woolman convinced the company to relocate to Peru, whose growing season was opposite that of the United States, as it was in the Southern Hemisphere. While in Peru, Woolman partnered with the Peruvian Airways Corporation to offer passenger flights. However, the arrangement lasted only a short time, but it gave Woolman the experience of transporting passengers before returning to Louisiana.

Delta Air Services is born

Armed with this new knowledge, in 1928, Woolman convinced banker Travis Oliver and several other prominent business people to purchase Huff Daland Dusters. The new company was called "Delta Air Services" on December 3rd, 1928. It was given the name because, initially, the new airlines planned to offer flights in the Mississippi Delta region.

Delta Air Services first passenger flight took place on June 17th, 1929, between Dallas, Texas, to Jackson, Mississippi, with stops at Shreveport and Monroe, Louisiana. The airline extended its scope a year later, flying east to Atlanta and west to Fort Worth, Texas. In October 1930, Delta Air Services stopped passenger flights after losing a lucrative mail route to another airline that bought out Delta Air Services. Undaunted and with cash available, Travis, Woolman, and other investors purchased back the crop dusting rights from Delta Air Services' new owners.

Delta moved its headquarters to Atlanta, Georgia

The new airline, the Delta Air Corporation, won a mail contract in 1934 that stretched from Fort Worth, Texas, to Charleston, South Carolina. Passenger flights resumed soon after, and in 1941, the airline moved its headquarters to Atlanta, Georgia, where it remains today.

Photo: juanpabloms | Shutterstock

Delta Air Lines has continued to grow and is now the third-largest airline in the United States, operating over 5,400 daily flights to 325 destinations in 52 countries.

The Airbus A350-900

After initially ignoring the threat the Boeing 787 Dreamliner posed to the Airbus A330, the European planemaker sat up. It took notice when airlines began asking Airbus to build an aircraft that could compete with this new offering from Boeing. After initially toying with the idea of giving the Airbus A330 new engines similar to the Boeing 787, the idea was dropped, and a new design was initiated.

On December 1st, 2006, Airbus directors approved building three variants of the A350: the A350-800, the A350-900, and the A350-1000. Powered by new Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, the Airbus A350 made its maiden flight in Toulouse on June 14th, 2013.

The new twin-engine widebody received its type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on September 30th, 2014, and two weeks later was approved for ETOPS 370. The Airbus A350 became the first aircraft to fly beyond the ETOPS 180, allowing it to fly on one engine for up to six hours. The Airbus A350-900 entered service with launch customer Qatar Airways in late 2014, making its first commercial flight between Doha and Frankfurt on January 15th, 2015.

Delta Air Lines ordered the Airbus A350 to replace its Boeing 747s

On July 13th, 2017, Delta Air Lines became the first North American carrier to receive the Airbus A350-900. Delta Air Lines ordered the Airbus A350 as a replacement aircraft for its aging Boeing 747s. Configured with 306 seats, Delta Air Lines offers three classes of service on its A350s: business class, premium economy, and economy.

Photo:LukeandKarla.Travel | Shutterstock

Business class: 32 redesigned Delta One suites are enhanced for privacy and comfort in business class. Every Delta suite offers a flatbed seat with direct aisle access and a sizable inflight entertainment screen.

Delta premium select: Delta's premium economy features 48 seats with more legroom than standard economy. Configured in a 2-4-2 layout, each seat is 18.5 inches wide and has a 38-inch pitch.

Delta economy: Delta Air Lines economy offering on its Airbus A350-900s has 226 standard 18-inch wide seats configured in a 3-3-3 layout.

Below is a seat map of the type along with several photos of the different offerings.

When reporting on the delivery of Delta Air Lines first Airbus A350-900, Chicago-headquartered company statement distributor PR Newswire quotes Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian as saying:

"The Airbus A350 sets a new standard of flying experience for our customers, representing years of product innovation as Delta continues to transform into a leading global carrier. Our new flagship A350 fits well in Delta's long-haul network, combining an exceptional customer experience with strong operating economics and fuel efficiency as we retire older, less-efficient aircraft."

Delta Air Lines first Airbus A350-900 flight was from DTW to NRT

Basing its first Airbus A350s at its Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport(DTW), Delta plans to start flying between Detroit and Tokyo before adding flights to Korea and China. On October 30th, 2017, Delta operated its first A350 commercial flight when flight 275 took off from DTW for the 13-hour, 20-minute flight to Tokyo Narita (NRT). As of 2024, Delta Air Lines has 28 new and used Airbus A350-900s.

Photo:Oleh Yatskiv | Shutterstock

Used Airbus A350-900s

• N568DZ - December 16th, 2015, LATAM Airlines Brasil, Acquired by Delta Air Lines on December 17th, 2021
• N569DZ - March 18th, 2016, LATAM Airlines Brasil, Acquired by Delta Air Lines on September 15th, 2022.
• N570DZ - September 30th, 2016, LATAM Airlines Brasil, Acquired by Delta Air Line on September 20th, 2021
• N571DZ - November 16th, 2016, LATAM Airlines Brasil, Acquired by Delta Air Line on July 9th, 2021
• N572DZ - April 30th, 2018, LATAM Airlines Brasil, Acquired by Delta Air Line on September 17th, 2021
• N573DZ - December 20th, 2016, LATAM Airlines Brasil, Acquired by Delta Air Line on October 12th, 2021
• N574DZ - March 21st, 2019, Qatar Airways, Acquired by Delta Air Lines on July 15th, 2021
• N575DZ - September 24th, 2019, Qatar Airways, Acquired by Delta Air Lines on June 22nd, 2021
• N576DZ - December 12th, 2021, Qatar Airways, Acquired by Delta Air Lines on August 12th, 2021

Airbus A350-900s delivered new to Delta Air Lines

• N501DN - August 5th, 2017
• N502DN - September 1st, 2017
• N503DN - November 1st, 2017
• N504DN - November 29th, 2017
• N505DN - December 12th, 2017
• N506DN - December 22nd, 2017
• N507DN - February 21st, 2018
• N508DN - March 6th, 2018
• N509DN - April 13th, 2018
• N510DN - May 25th, 2018
• N511DN - June 14th, 2018
• N512DN - January 26th, 2019
• N513DZ - March 1st, 2019
• N514DN - September 16th, 2020
• N515DN - September 16th, 2020
• N516DN - January 25th, 2022
• N517DZ - January 31st, 2022
• N518DZ - November 21st, 2022
• N519DN - December 15th, 2022

Having moved most of its Airbus A350-900 operations to its primary hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Delta Air Lines has a further six Airbus A350-900s on order.