Delta Air Lines is ready to expand its CRJ550 services by deploying the aircraft from its hub in Detroit in a few weeks from now. The airline’s regional subsidiary Delta Connection started flying the reconfigured aircraft earlier this year from Salt Lake City.

Bombardier CRJ550 to fly to Detroit

Another one of Delta Air Lines
’ hubs is ready to receive service from the Bombardier CRJ550 aircraft, operated by SkyWest Airlines for the carrier’s regional arm, Delta Connection. Delta updated its website earlier this year to include the CRJ550 in its fleet and

debuted the aircraft with routes from Salt Lake City
soon after.

The carrier will deploy the aircraft type from Detroit to three airports in Michigan, with two of these services starting in November and one in January. Additionally, the airline will also add more CRJ550 services from Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport.

Delta Connection CRJ700 at ORD shutterstock_2360940301

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

Delta is scheduled to receive 19 Bombardier CRJ550 and will eventually add more destinations to the list of destinations where these aircraft will be deployed. The three new routes from Detroit are part of the government-subsidized Essential Air Service Program.

CRJ550 routes

Delta’s new CRJ550 routes were highlighted by AeroRoutes. These include:

  • Detroit – Delta County Airport (Escanaba, Michigan) – starting November 1
  • Detroit – Pellston Regional Airport, Michigan – starting November 1
  • Detroit – Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport, Michigan – starting January 3
Delta Connection CRJ700 shutterstock_131071835

Photo: Digital Media Pro | Shutterstock

There will also be more CRJ550 routes out of Minneapolis–Saint Paul from November 1, except for two that start in January. These include:

  • Minneapolis-St. Paul – Aberdeen, South Dakota
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul – Escanaba, Michigan
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul – Hibbing/Chisolm, Minnesota
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul – Marquette, Wisconsin (from January 3)
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul – Rhinelander, Wisconsin
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul – Williston, North Dakota (from January 1)

Premium configuration

The Bombardier CRJ550 aircraft is essentially a converted CRJ700. It has fewer seats, which allows it to have a lower maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) in accordance with clause requirements in pilots’ contracts in the United States.

The aircraft has up to 50 seats, 10 of which are in a premium cabin. Delta currently only has a handful of these converted aircraft but will receive more in the coming months for a total of 19 CRJ550. United Express, too, operates this type for its regional services through United express
.

Delta Connection (SkyWest Airlines) Bombardier CRJ700.

Photo: Austin Deppe | Shutterstock

These aircraft are operated by SkyWest Airlines, which began their reconfiguration after its contract with American Airlines expired. Delta, which also used to operate the smaller CRJ200 aircraft not too long ago, is using the CRJ550 on many routes that earlier saw the CRJ200.

It allows the carrier to serve smaller routes that still have some demand for premium seats but not a large enough overall demand for a bigger plane. The airline first deployed the aircraft from its hub at Salt Lake City International Airport to destinations such as Bert Mooney Airport, Cedar City Regional Airport, Elko Regional Airport, and Yellowstone Airport.

As of now, it is not clear how many CRJ900s have been configured into CRJ550s, but more of these planes are due to join Delta’s fleet in the coming months. Their decreased capacity makes them suitable for small-town markets, so it will be interesting to see which of Delta’s destinations will see the CRJ550 in the future.

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