Traditionally the phrase "regional jet" has meant cramped cabins and limited service, probably on a flight that feels far too long to be stuck in such a narrow tube. That's all changing. As I've covered before, the new crop of regional aircraft are (for the most part) reinventing what a small plane can be, with bigger cabins and overhead bins, larger windows and more. Leading that charge, on the somewhat larger end of the scale, is the A220, born in Canada as the CSeries and later bought up by Airbus and renamed. Though many are partial to the original name, it's clear that one positive effect of the Airbus acquisition has been a step up in sales success. That means more airlines are getting them (and expect many more to soon).
Delta has quietly incorporated a fleet of 26 of the smaller A220-100 in a little less than a year, and will eventually fly 95 of them, including some of the larger -300 variants. And that's very good news for passengers. On a recent flight from San Francisco to Seattle, the obvious choice might have been Alaska Airlines, a longtime favorite on the route and an all-around great airline. But it turns out Delta is flying mostly A220s on this route these days, and that was too good an opportunity to pass up.
This little jet, apart from being one of the best-looking planes out on the tarmac, feels surprisingly spacious inside. The cabin interior is fresh and bright, and everything is clean and new. The windows are enormous. The seats are comfortable and, whether you love or hate blue leather upholstery, they certainly look a lot more 'premium' than on pretty much every other airline in the US.
Its 12 first class seats are arranged in a two-by-two configuration, which might cause concern if you know that the airline's 737 and A320 aircraft, which are wider, also have the same number of seats across. However the seats on the A220 don't feel narrow at all, and according to Delta they're the same width as on the 737, and just a half-inch narrower than on the A320. Legroom is similar to other mainline planes as well, at 37 inches. It's not an inordinate amount of space but it doesn't feel cramped, no doubt in part thanks to the lovely, light-filled cabin.
There is a large screen in the seat-back with plenty of entertainment options, fast WiFi is available, and there's even streaming TV and other entertainment choices available on your own device if you'd rather not look at the provided screens. It's nice to have options. There's also power at every seat - both USB and standard outlet varieties.
The plane is whisper-quiet on takeoff, aside from some unique noises made by the special ' geared turbofan ' engines as they spool up. Inflight the plane remains quiet, though the A220 does have a distinctive rumble while cruising. It's not a scientific comparison, but I would say the new A320NEO from Airbus is actually a quieter plane overall. But here we're splitting hairs.
Then there's the Delta service, which complements the very pleasant aircraft. Flight attendants were courteous and professional. On a short flight like this you don't need much aside from friendly, efficient interactions and Delta provided that. Service is likely the most variable thing at any given airline, but most accounts of Delta these days indicate that this sort of positive experience is definitely the norm.
Delta prices its premium cabins very aggressively in many cases, meaning the front of the plane is more within reach than ever, but you can't really go wrong on this plane in Delta's "Comfort+" premium economy or even standard economy. That's thanks to the fact that you get a two-by-three seating configuration in both of those, meaning only one middle seat per row, and of course the rest of the plane benefits from the quiet, airy cabin as well.
Especially when you consider that this plane can fly over 3,000 miles (though it doesn't currently operate such long flights for Delta), it was important that the airline outfitted this plane comfortably. In that mission Delta has certainly succeeded, and if this is what small aircraft are going to be like, here's hoping they add hundreds more.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
