Delta Air Lines is reconfiguring the cabins of nine Airbus A350-900s previously operated by LATAM to standardize its product offering across the fleet. One of these widebodies appears to have completed the process recently, as on July 7th, it was tracked departing Singapore for the United States, with at least one website changing its seating configuration status. At the same time, the carrier remains silent about the process.
Flight and aircraft details
On Friday, July 7th, the Delta Air Lines Airbus A350-900 registered N569DZ was tracked departing Singapore Changi International Airport for Los Angeles International. FlightRadar24.com data indicates that the jet left at 12:26 local time as flight DL9950, arriving at LAX at 12:58 local time. The flight-tracking website indicates that this A350 will continue to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport under the same flight number.
Aviation Flights notes that this aircraft has the manufacturer’s serial number (MSN) 027 and was built over seven years ago. Indeed, after its obligatory series of test flights, it was delivered to LATAM Airlines Brasil on March 18th, 2016, with registration PR-XTB. The aircraft would eventually shed its Brazilian registration in 2022, being picked up by Delta in September of that year. In April of this year, it was ferried to Singapore for repainting and cabin reconfiguration work.
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The first ex-LATAM A350 to complete its transformation?
It would appear that N569DZ is the very first ex-LATAM Airbus A350 to complete the transformation process. Planespotters.net now lists this aircraft as having a Delta seating configuration where it once had a LATAM layout. The widebodies from LATAM have (or had) a two-class configuration of 30 business and 309 economy seats. Delta’s standard configuration meanwhile has three classes: 32 business class seats, 48 in premium economy, and 226 in economy.
Simple Flying contacted Delta Air Lines with this information to confirm its authenticity. A Delta spokesperson states that the information is “not correct,” adding “We have no updates or news about A350 cabin refurbishments at this time.” At the same time, we’ve contacted Planespotters.net to get additional clarity on their listing.
As reported by FlightGlobal in January 2023, the A350s would be getting a “nose-to-tail cabin modification.” The website reported that the aircraft would get new seats, lavatories, galleys, and overhead bins.
“This partnership with Airbus Services will ensure the A350 cabins are harmonized with the rest of our international fleet…The A350 is a critical part of Delta’s network and this retrofit allows us to continue delivering the premium experience that our customers value.” -Kristen Bojko, vice-president of fleet, Delta Air Lines
Other A350s still flying with LATAM cabins
We provided a status update on Delta’s A350 modification process in April. So where are the jets now?
Pulling data from FlightRadar24.com and Planespotters.net, it looks like all other widebodies were also sent to Singapore sometime in the past year, but almost all returned to the US to resume passenger service. At the same time, Planespotters.net shows that all aircraft, except for N569DZ, still have LATAM seating configurations. This would indicate that the jets were painted but have yet to be fully transformed to the Delta standard.
Beyond the unclear status of N569DZ, N568DZ has been in Singapore since May 8th. All others (N570DZ through N576DZ) are operating passenger services with destinations including Dublin, Amsterdam, Lima, and more. N568DZ emerged from storage in early May 2023, and thus it’s unclear if the jet will be repainted and reconfigured or just repainted.
What do you think of this undertaking? Have you flown any of the ex-LATAM A350s with Delta Air Lines? Share your experiences by leaving a comment!
Sources: Planespotters.net, FlightRadar24.com, Aviation Flights, FlightGlobal