Last week, Delta Air Lines held its Q3 2025 earnings call. During the call a senior Delta executive made some interesting statements regarding its plans for transatlantic flights and even took a swipe at American and United.
Delta Won’t Fly Narrowbody Jets on Transatlantic Routes due to “Brand Issues”
During the call, an analyst from Jeffries asked a question regarding the carriers plans for its transatlantic capacity next year. Specifically asking, given recent additions and route announcements from carriers like American and United, what the airline was thinking about competitive capacity, network planning, and the A330 and A350 products. Glen Hauenstein, President of Delta, responded:
“Well, I think our product is best in class in the transatlantic (market). We continue to monitor our relative performance in terms of Net Promoter Scores. It’s leading right now, and it’s going to get much better as we continue to deliver new airplanes with the Delta One Suites and with the enhanced Delta Premium Select and larger Delta Comfort+ cabin. So I’m really excited about the product we’re putting in the market. We’ve chosen not to fly narrowbodies in the transatlantic because of product and brand issues, and so we’re not going to go in that direction.”
Presumably, Hauenstein is referring to United’s increasing willingness to fly transatlantic routes using Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and American’s plans to introduce the Airbus A321XLR on transatlantic service in the near future.
Unlike American and United, Delta has not placed an order for any Airbus A321XLR aircraft despite being longtime Airbus customers. Almost all of the carrier’s new aircraft deliveries in recent years have been for Airbus jets and it is the only US operator of the A330neo and A350 aircraft.
While I can appreciate not wanting to operate narrowbody aircraft on longer flights, the fact that Hauenstein believes that Delta has a best in class product across the Atlantic is a bit of a head scratcher.
The A330s and A350s are great aircraft with Delta One suites but the Atlanta based carrier operates a large number of routes with the smaller Boeing 767. The 767 is a great ride in Economy but doesn’t have the best Business Class product in the market.
Personally, I’ve never given much thought to flying a narrowbody aircraft on a transatlantic flight vs. a widebody. I’d say that is primarily due to the fact that I’ve never really had the option. While I would prefer a widebody, if the pricing and timing was right, I’d happily give a transatlantic flight on a narrowbody jet a shot.
Summary
Delta Air Lines President Glen Hauenstein said during the airline’s most recent earnings call that it has no plans to operate narrowbody flights on transatlantic flights. Unlike American and United, Delta hasn’t ordered the Airbus A321XLR and won’t operate narrowbody transatlantic flights due to “product and brand issues”.