What Are Delta Air Lines’ Longest Routes With The Airbus A350?

SkyTeam carrier Delta Air Lines is one of the world’s largest airlines and remains an integral part of the United States ‘Big Three. From its various hubs across the US, the airline deploys its state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900 on a number of long-haul routes, to which Simple Flying decided to analyze which were its longest. But first, a bit of history.

Delta Air Lines is one of the oldest continuously operating airlines in the world and the oldest in the United States, having made its first flight on June 17, 1929. It has over 10,000 employees, and its headquarters are based at one of the world’s busiest airports, Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).

Across the United States, Delta operates nine hubs, which are:

• Atlanta (ATL)
• Boston (BOS)
• Detroit (DTW)
• Los Angeles (LAX)
• Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP)
• New York John F. Kennedy (JFK)
• New York–LaGuardia (LGA)
• Salt Lake City (SLC)
• Seattle/Tacoma (SEA)

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Deliveries from 2017

The Sky-Team carrier received its first Airbus A350-900 in July 2017, which featured the Delta One Suites, which were to be introduced on selected widebody aircraft in the Delta fleet. These suites included a door to the aisle for enhanced privacy and additional storage space for carry-on items. The larger inflight entertainment screen and design were a big win for many of the airline’s most frequent passengers. These suites were eventually added to the carrier’s Boeing 777 fleet and the A330-900 in July 2019.

According to data from ch-Aviation, an online aviation database, Delta currently operates 27 of the A350-900, with another 12 on order, which will make up 39 of the widebody aircraft. 20 additional A350-1000 are also on order for the carrier, which will aid in the airline’s expansion plans and retirement of older aircraft.

Longest flights onboard the A350

With data fetched from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Simple Flying looked into the top five flights over 6,500 miles in July, and this is what Delta will be operating with its Airbus A350-900:

Atlanta to Johannesburg (8,433 miles)

The longest route is a solid 300 miles. The daily operation will connect the largest city in Africa to Delta’s largest hub. The service, which will cater for 8,525 passengers (seats) across the month, is equivalent to 71,891,325 available seat miles. Its schedule is as follows:

• DL200 departs Atlanta at 21:30 for a nearly 15-hour journey across the North and South Atlantic Oceans. Reaching Johannesburg O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) at 19:00 the next day.
• DL201 then pushes back from Johannesburg at 21:55 and arrives in Atlanta at 08:25 the following morning.

Atlanta to Cape Town (8,127 miles)

Another South African connection, Atlanta, is connected to Table Mountain, with 13 services across July, which will provide 3,978 seats in each direction across July, representing 32,329,206 ASM. The thrice-weekly service follows this schedule:

• DL210 departs from Atlanta at 20:45 en route for Table Mountain, arriving at Cape Town International Airport (CPT) at 17:50 the next day. This journey time averages 14 and a half hours.
• DL211 returns from Cape Town at 21:30, en route to Atlanta, landing at 07:25 the following day.

Photo: Gerard van der Schaaf | Shutterstock 

Los Angeles to Sydney (7,487 miles)

The longest A350 flight for Delta from the US West Coast serves as an air bridge between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD) in New South Wales, Australia. The flight is 7,487 miles as the crow flies, and the airline’s daily service represents 9,486 available seats in July. This equivocates to 71,021,682 ASM. Schedule as follows:

• DL41 departs from Los Angeles daily at 22:55 for an over 14-hour journey across the Pacific Ocean, and after crossing the international date line, arrives in Sydney two days later at 06:35
• DL42 operates the return service, leaving Sydney at 13:15 and touching back down in Los Angeles at 09:10 on the same day

Atlanta to Seoul Incheon (7,153 miles)

Serving a popular market between Georgia and South Korea, a twice-daily service is offered between Atlanta and Seoul. The flight’s point-to-point is 7,153 miles in distance and represents 135,706,716 available seat miles. Schedule as below:

• DL27 departs Atlanta at 23:55, traveling westbound, and arrives at Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN) at 04:30 after a nearly 14-hour journey.
• DL26 then returns passengers from Seoul at 18:40, touching down in Atlanta at 19:40 the same day.

Detroit to Shanghai Pudong (7,137 miles)

Catering for passengers in the Mid-West. Detroit’s daily service between Michigan and Shanghai caters to 9,486 available seats in July. This is equal to 67,701,582 available seat miles. 7,137 miles is the distance as the crow flies, and its schedule looks like this:

• DL389 departs Detroit Metropolitan Airport at 10:20, traveling westbound for arrival at Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) at 13:45 the next day, after a 15-hour journey.
• DL388 pushes back from Shanghai daily at 15:45 for arrival into Detroit at 18:15 the same day.

Have you traveled on any of these flights? Let us know in the comments.

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