Flight Friday: Delta Mainline Utilization January 2024-March 2025

Delta 737-900ER

Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-900ER

Credit: AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Delta Air Lines turns 100 in 2025, and with the wrap up of MRO Americas in Atlanta, Delta’s home, this week’s Flight Friday breaks down the airline’s mainline flights by aircraft manufacturer and their aircraft class.

 

It’s no surprise that the narrowbody fleets contribute the bulk of Delta’s monthly flight cycles, which averages over 96,000 per month during 2024, and account for almost 92% of the fleet’s movements in the 2025 first quarter. The narrowbody fleet comprises over 750 aircraft, with a 47% Airbus, 53% Boeing make up. By quantity, the 737-900ER is Delta’s largest type in service with 160 aircraft, followed by its A321-200s with almost 125 in service.

The widebody fleet of almost 160 aircraft contribute about 8% of the flights, however they account for almost a quarter of all flight hours, due to the nature of operations with widebodies doing longer stage lengths. The manufacturer widebody split is in favor of Airbus, with almost two-thirds of the fleet made in Toulouse.

Delta still employs a feeder network, but it has begun to shrink that in recent years as the airline shifts passengers onto mainline services predominantly flown by the A220 and B717.

With recent economic uncertainty, this has added a level of complexity for Delta, as they are the only U.S. legacy carrier using Airbus aircraft to transport passengers round the globe.

This data was put together using Aviation Week’s Tracked Aircraft Utilization database.

Daniel Williams

Based in the UK, Daniel is Director of Fleet Data Services for Aviation Week Network. Prior to joining Aviation Week in 2017, Daniel held a number of industry positions analyzing fleet data.

FlightFriday

Flight Friday is compiled using data from Aviation Week Intelligence Network’s (AWIN) Tracked Aircraft Utilization module, the most comprehensive and accurate solution for global tracking of aircraft utilization. 

Based on recorded flight movements from ADS-B data, combined with AWIN’s robust fleet intelligence, users gain insight into the aircraft’s actual versus reported movement, down to the tail number. This unique solution provides users a more up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of aircraft utilization.