Narrow-Body Showdown: Delta A220 vs. American 737 MAX

Delta has been touting its passenger-friendly Airbus A220 for months now. Yesterday, the airline finally released cabin specs and photos for the new aircraft that will start revenue flights in January.

On the other end of the spectrum, rival American has not enjoyed great press during its rollout of a cramped and uncomfortable Boeing 737 MAX which began flying late last year. (See my review of AA’s 737 MAX in the last row of economy.)

Both aircraft are new to the market narrow-bodies and are flying (or will soon fly) between key U.S. domestic markets. However, they couldn’t be more different from a customer experience perspective. It is a clear reflection of two airlines with differing strategies.

With info and photos on Delta’s A220 now out in the wild, just how passenger-unfriendly is American’s 737 MAX? 

Let’s take a look at the stats.

1) Delta A220 vs. AA 737 MAX: Seat Width

American 737 MAX

• First: 21″ wide
• Main Cabin: 16.6″-17.8″ wide
• Main Cabin Extra: 16.6″-17.8″ wide
  

Delta A220

• First: 21″ wide
• Economy: 18.6″ wide
• Comfort+: 18.6″ wide

Delta A220 Economy cabin.

On a narrow-body, seat width is often not within an airline’s control. Delta’s Airbus has a clear advantage, with a nearly as wide fuselage featuring a 3-2 seating layound, versus the standard 3-3 on Boeing’s 737 MAX. Not only are seats wider on the A220, there are significantly fewer middle seats.

American 737 MAX Main Cabin.

There’s up to a two-inch difference in seat width between the two airlines. American’s 16.6″ number is likely the bulkhead row that contains an immovable armrest with the tray table, reducing seat width. However, combine both the cabin arrangement and the inch or so difference in seat width, and you have a clear advantage to Airbus and Delta.

Advantage: Delta

2) Delta A220 vs. AA 737 MAX: Seat Pitch

American 737 MAX

• First: 37″ pitch
• Main Cabin: 30″ pitch
• Main Cabin Extra: 33″ pitch

Delta A220

• First: 37″ pitch
• Economy: 30″-32″ pitch
• Comfort+: 34″ pitch

An earlier version of this post stated Delta had a first class pitch of 36″. A Delta representative reached out to clarify that pitch is actually 37″, the same as the American 737 MAX.

Last row on AA’s 737 MAX.

Seat pitch is entirely an airline decision (no aircraft manufacturer finger-pointing here). Legroom and seat comfort are two areas where customers, media, and even flight attendants have been pretty vocal against American’s new jets. It’s not just the 30″ of pitch throughout an economy that has frequent flyers bothered; it’s the lack of padding in those seats. “Slim-line seats” with less padding creates more opportunity to squeeze in more passengers while creating an impression that legroom is still decent. Your legs may go on without severe cramping; instead American has sacrificed your back.

There are yet to be any passengers onboard Delta’s A220, so we don’t have any real-world data on seat thickness. From photos, it appears, however, that Delta is retaining the same style economy seats currently used on its narrowbody fleet.  Delta offers a range of 30″ to 32″ pitch in economy, so it appears many passengers will enjoy greater personal space on Delta.

Notice how there’s no hard bulkhead behind First on Delta’s A220.

In the extra-legroom economy sections, American also has an inch less legroom than Delta. American does match Delta in terms of first class pitch at 37″, though complaints about American’s actual seat comfort in first have cast shade on Doug Parker’s future vision for first class service. Of note, neither airline is using a true bulkhead to separate first and economy cabins.

A roomier extra-legroom economy section and 32″ pitch in some regular economy seats undoubtedly makes Delta’s new jet a more roomy ride in back.

Advantage: Delta

3) Delta A220 vs. AA 737 MAX: Amenities

American 737 MAX

• Seatback Screens: No
• Satellite Wi-Fi: Yes
• Large Overhead Bins: Yes

Delta A220

• Seatback Screens: Yes
• Satellite Wi-Fi: Yes
• Large Overhead Bins: Yes

Delta A220 seatback screens.

Delta’s strategy has been to introduce or refit all its mainline aircraft with individual seatback entertainment. The A220 comes straight from the factory with screens and Delta Studio available at every seat. Gogo 2Ku satellite-based Wi-Fi is accessible throughout the cabin as are personal power ports.

The A220 also comes with huge windows, nearly as big as the wide-body Airbus A350. The cabin, therefore, seems even more spacious than it is. While no Delta-specific overhead bin information was released, the A220 is known to have spacious storage for all carry-on rollerboards.

Tablet holder instead of a seatback screen on AA’s 737 MAX.

American thinks seatback screens aren’t a necessary part of the passenger experience. Instead, they say streaming is the future–new narrow-bodies like the 737 MAX aren’t even delivered with seatback screens, and older aircraft are getting stripped of their equipment. However, like Delta, gate-to-gate Wi-Fi and power ports are available.

Overheard bins are also notably large and should help avoid flights being pushed off the gate late due to lack of overhead space.

AA 737 MAX overhead bin.

I value seatback screens and put the clear advantage here again to Delta.

Advantage: Delta

4) Delta A220 vs. AA 737 MAX: Lavatories

American 737 MAX

• Number of Lavatories: 3
• Passenger to Lavatory Ratio: 57:1

Delta A220

• Number of Lavatories: 3
• Passenger to Lavatory Ratio: 36:1

While the number of lavatories is the same, the American’s 737 MAX can seat 63 more passengers. That means more waiting in lines for the bathroom and less space in the aisle.

Of course, the minuscule size of American’s 737 MAX lavatory has been the butt of all jokes (excuse the pun). There’s no denying they’re small and have the added issue of sink water pressure that’s too strong, spraying everywhere.

AA 737 MAX lavatory.

Delta has different plans for its A220. While these photos might have been taken with a wide-angle lens, it’s pretty clear Delta’s lavatories aren’t American 737 MAX sized. The fact there’s counter space is already a clear advantage. Heck, one of the two rear lavatories even has a window in them!

Delta A220 lavatory (with a window).

Advantage: Delta

The Upshot

This contest ended as a total Delta passenger experience domination. There’s a clear difference between the airlines’ fleet strategies, and it’s not pretty. Delta wants to entice customers to fly and reward loyal flyers with a product that shows pride. Meanwhile, American is trying to scrape by with a bare-bones experience in the hopes its customers won’t notice.

I think one of the most telling things was a response by Delta CEO Ed Bastian during the launch event yesterday. When asked whether the A220 on the LaGuardia-Dallas route was intended to flaunt before American’s major southern hub, he said:

We don’t flaunt anything in the face of our competitors. We’re doing this for our consumers.

Delta 1, American 0.