According to ch-aviation, Delta Air Lines has 163 Boeing 737-900ERs in its fleet. Thirty-three of these planes were formerly operated by Lion Air , an Indonesian airline. Because Delta needed to introduce these aircraft to its fleet as quickly as possible, they were not retrofitted when they joined the fleet.
Unlike the rest of Delta’s fleet, these planes were not all equipped with inflight entertainment and WiFi connectivity. When the planes arrived, they also has 12 first class seats, compared to 20 on Delta’s standard layout. The first of the 33 planes arrived in December 2022, and Delta has slowly been retrofitting the aircraft.
History of the 737-900ER in Delta’s fleet
Delta first ordered the 737-900ER from Boeing in 2011. In August, the airline announced it was purchasing 100 planes from the American manufacturer. At the time, it expected delivery of all of its planes between 2013 and 2018.
Photo: Philip Pilosian | Shutterstock
According to the airline, the -900ERs were meant to replace the Boeing 757 and 767s and Airbus A320s. The new 737s offered a 15 to 20% improvement in fuel consumption per seat over the other planes.
The -900ERs were the first planes in Delta’s fleet to feature the Boeing Sky Interior which was new at the time. The new interior featured