Delta will be the first US airline to take delivery of the Airbus A220, which is an absolute joy to fly. Not only does the plane have low operating costs, but given that we’re talking about Delta, the cabin will be very nice as well, with a proper first class cabin, TVs at every seat, power ports, Wi-Fi, and large lavatories.
Delta was supposed to start service with the Airbus A220 as of January 31, 2019, operating flights from New York LaGuardia. Unfortunately Delta has made the decision to postpone A220 service due to the government shutdown. As Delta explains:
Delta has made the decision to postpone the service debut of the Airbus A220 due to delays in certification processes that are required by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
No customer impact is expected as a result of this equipment change and no flights will be canceled because of A220 certification. The flights will be operated by other aircraft and changes are expected to be fully visible in schedules on Sunday.
So we unfortunately don’t know when the A220 will actually be in service, since it all depends on when the government shutdown ends.
Of course the government shutdown has had significant impacts on aviation. Alaska Airlines has just announced that they’re delaying flights to Paine Field due to the government shutdown. The TSA has seen a record number of screeners call in sick. Earlier today LaGuardia had delays due to a shortage of air traffic controllers.
We’re getting to the point where we may well have a national emergency on our hands, though I think there are differing opinions as to what that emergency is.
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