dailynewsnblog
Delta Air Lines has 178 widebody aircraft. According to ch-aviation, it has 40 Airbus A350-900s, 39 A330-900s, 36 Boeing 767-300ERs, 31 A330-300s, 21 767-400ERs, and 11 A330-200s. Twin-aisle equipment accounts for 18% of Delta’s fleet, which is 3% lower than for United Airlines. Two widebody variants are on order: A350-1000s and 787-10s.
Delta’s first A350-900 was delivered in July 2017 (N501DN), while the most recent arrival took place in December 2025 (N5321DN). Nine of the airline’s 40 A350s were acquired from LATAM. They each had 339 seats, which was Delta’s highest-capacity offering. They had an inferior and less competitive hard product, including in business. As all nine frames have been retrofitted or are undergoing the process, only the 275-seat and 306-seat layouts exist now.
These Routes See The A350-900 Beginning In June
Cirium Diio was used to compare the 
SkyTeam member’s schedule between January 2025 and April 2026 with what’s available from May 2026 until December 2026. This process identified five additional A350 routes, two of which will see the variant in June. Only some of the airport pairs are new to its network.
Between June 2 and September 6, Delta will deploy the A350 between Detroit and Paris CDG. A real SkyTeam route, it’ll be the first time the Airbus widebody has been deployed since 2023. Flights on the 306-seat configuration will operate daily in June and July, three to five times a week in August, and daily for a brief spell in September. It’ll be on DL96 to France, which was operated by the A330-300 last year.
On June 6, Delta will lift off from Los Angeles to Hong Kong. Covering 6,309 nautical miles (11,684 km) each way and timed at up to 15h 45m, flights will run daily year-round on the 275-seat A350-900. This high-premium configuration has 40 fully flat beds in Delta One (1-2-1), 40 Premium Select recliners (2-4-2), 36 seats in Comfort+ (3-3-3; 34″ pitch), and 159 seats in main cabin (3-3-3; 31″ pitch).
Delta last served Hong Kong from Seattle. One-stop flights via its then-Tokyo Nartia hub existed between 2010 and 2014, followed by nonstop service until 2018. Joining Cathay Pacific and United from Los Angeles, it’ll be the first time three carriers have operated since American pulled out in 2020. Yet, United seems to underperform, hence extending its two daily flights to Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City to help fill up its aircraft. This is the challenging environment that Delta will face.
|
Frequency |
Los Angeles To Hong Kong; Local Times* |
Hong Kong To Los Angeles; Local Times** |
|---|---|---|
|
Daily |
11:05 pm-5:05 am+2 |
9:25 am-7:55 am (same day arrival) |
|
* June 6-12 |
** June 6-12 |
15 New Routes In 7 Days: See Where Southwest, United & Breeze Fly Now
From small, rural airports to popular tourist destinations, these 15 new routes span the country.
Three Routes Will See The A350 From September
Subject to the war in Iran and all the consequences spanning from that, Delta expects to reintroduce service from Atlanta to Tel Aviv on September 6. While flights are scheduled and bookable, they may be pushed back if the situation is insufficiently safe or otherwise unappealing. The A350 was last used on this long route in 2023. That was the first time the market had nonstop flights since 2011, when the 777 was used.
Currently, Delta plans three weekly flights to Tel Aviv. The 275-seat configuration is due to run until October 23. The next day, the higher-capacity but less premium 306-seat alternative will replace it, and operate through the rest of the northern aviation winter season.
Then there’s Atlanta to Riyadh, which is, of course, a brand-new route in the airline’s network. The first flight is due to take off on October 2023, with more details in the next section. Finally, on December 2, Delta will use the A350 from Atlanta to Milan Malpensa, but it’ll only operate until January 3. The 767-400ER operated in this period last year. Like some other entries, this route also last saw the A350 in 2023. But while it was previously on the ex-LATAM 339-seaters, it’ll now be on the much-improved 306-seat configuration.
Most Exciting, There’s Atlanta To Riyadh
The first flight in this brand-new market, which has never been served by any airline before, will take off on October 23. It will mark the first time that a US airline has flown to Saudi Arabia since TWA pulled out a quarter of a century ago, in 2001. It’ll also be Delta’s second destination in the Middle East, after Tel Aviv, although it previously flew to Amman, Dubai, and Kuwait.
As the existing market is tiny, it’ll rely even more than usual on connecting traffic. Despite this, Delta’s interest in this long route is driven by many things. They include massive funding from the Saudi Air Connectivity Program, its codeshare agreement with Saudia, and its strategic partnership with the country’s new flagship carrier, Riyadh Air. While the first week will have a daily service, flights will reduce to three times weekly thereafter. The 275-seat A350-900 is down to operate.
