Delta Is Bringing The Airbus A330-900neo To New York-JFK

Delta Air Lines is bringing the Airbus A330-900neo to New York-JFK. The latest generation of the Airbus A330 series has traditionally flown out of Delta's transpacific hub in Seattle. This winter, however, Delta will be bringing the A330neo to its key East Coast gateway in New York - JFK on two routes.

Where is the Airbus A330-900neo flying out of New York - JFK?

Delta Air Lines will be flying the Airbus A330-900neo on a daily flight to Amsterdam (AMS) and on one of two daily flights from JFK to Tel Aviv (TLV), according to scheduling data from Routesonline. Traditionally, Delta flew an Airbus A330-300 with a lie-flat Delta One cabin but no premium economy product. While one of two daily flights from JFK to TLV is moving to an A330-900neo, Delta will maintain a second daily flight on the route with an A330-300.

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The A330neo will fly to Amsterdam starting on December 1st. The introduction of the aircraft on services to Tel Aviv will be on January 15th, 2021. These routes are part of Delta's international long-haul buildup of operations.

delta with klm — KLM, the flag carrier of the Netherlands, does not operate a domestic network, but Delta does. Photo: Getty Images

Why Amsterdam and Tel Aviv?

Amsterdam is a very important international gateway for Delta. Fellow SkyTeam carrier and transatlantic joint venture partner KLM operates its largest hub out of Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport (AMS). In Amsterdam, passengers can connect onwards across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia on KLM's iconic blue aircraft.

Tel Aviv is also an important destination for Delta. While the airline does not have a lot of onward connecting traffic out of Tel Aviv, there is a lot of demand to fly between the US and Israel.

Delta A330 plane — Delta is preparing to send notices to over 2,500 pilots on furloughs. Photo: Getty Images

With El Al's future currently in limbo, US airlines are seeing an opportunity to connect the two countries. There is, traditionally, a fair bit of travel demand between the US and Israel. Given the uncertainty around El Al, US airlines are jumping on the opportunity to launch flights and tap into that customer base.

Putting the Airbus A330-900neo on either route is not necessarily a capacity increase. But, instead, it is putting two new great products in service on key long-haul routes that will help drive Delta's return to profitability on international routes.

The Airbus A330-900neo

Delta took its first Airbus A330-900neo last year. In fact, Delta was the North American launch customer of the A330-900neo and has a plan to operate a total of 37 of the type. Delta traditionally uses this aircraft on flights to Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai, among others, out of its transpacific hub in Seattle.

The jet has Delta's two latest international premium products. First off, there are 29 Delta One Suites. These are forward-facing business class seats that lie-flat and come with a privacy door. This is in a 1-2-1 configuration.

D1 Suites — The Delta One Suite is the carrier's leading international business class product. Photo: Delta Air Lines

Next up, there are 28 seats in Premium Select. This is Delta's true international premium economy that is only available on select aircraft. This class is in a 2-3-2 configuration.

There are 56 Comfort+ seats. These are extra-legroom economy seats. Right behind this, there are 168 standard economy seats. Both Comfort+ and economy are in a 2-4-2 configuration, which is standard for the Airbus A330neo.