Delta’s A330neo Begins Flying Today (Several Days Early)

by Chris Dong

Passengers onboard Delta Flight 589 today from Seattle (SEA) to Shanghai (PVG) will be in for a nice little surprise — their plane is getting an unexpected upgrade from an ancient Boeing 767 to a brand-new Airbus A330neo.

Delta Debuts A330neo Early

Instead of the July 15 date it was slated for, Delta will be launching its first of 35 Airbus A330-900neo aircraft several days early.

While the inaugural flight for the Airbus A330neo was originally expected to be on July 1, it was announced back in May that it would be pushed back to July 15. Delta generously allowed flight changes to accommodate those that expected to be onboard the inaugural.

Now, with the inaugural A330neo today (instead of July 15), I’m sure those that wanted to be on the first flight will be disappointed. A Delta spokesperson told Point Me to the Plane:

The A330-900neo is ready to begin revenue service a few days earlier than initial planned and Delta has made the decision to deploy it early so we can free up 767-300ERs as operational spares to support our busy summer operation. There will be an open house on July 15 for the aircraft. Limited festivities on today’s departure.”

delta a330neo inaugural

Screenshot from FlightRadar24 clearly showing the A330neo

Delta’s Airbus A330neo 

This is Delta’s second new Airbus aircraft this year, after the Airbus A220 launched back in February. The A220 was delayed too — but that was due to the U.S. government shutdown. I was onboard the A220 inaugural, and I can say it was a blast. 

The A330-900neo is similar to Delta’s current A330-300 but the “neo” part (new engine option) means the aircraft has new, more efficient engines that allow for a longer flying range, 7,200 miles.

This new Airbus will also be the first for Delta to have memory foam cushioning throughout the plane as well as Delta’s own proprietary in-flight entertainment system that is Wi-Fi based. Gogo 2KU satellite WiFi is also equipped on the new bird.

Finally, this plane will also have all of Delta’s seating products including Delta One Suites (with full closing doors in business class), Premium Select, Comfort+, and Main Cabin.

  • 29 Delta One seats
  • 28 Premium Select seats
  • 56 Comfort+ seats
  • 168 Main Cabin seats
delta a330neo inaugural

Seat map for today’s SEA-PVG flight (A330neo)

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