A Look At Delta’s Short-Lived Airbus A310 Fleet

The A310 was the first Airbus aircraft to join Delta Air Lines’ fleet. The Atlanta-based carrier first flew it in November 1991. However, the airline would only fly the jet for a short four years.
Article link: simpleflying.c...
Video source links:
Pan Am's Ad 747 (Commercial, 1969, color) • Pan Am's Brand New 747...
Pan Am • Pan Am Safety Video Ai...
Delta 1990s commercial • Delta Airlines Commercial
A320 Delta • Delta Air Lines N371NW...
A330-300 Deltawww.youtube.co... xmeoASbjWwQ
Photo sources:
commons.wikime...
commons.wikime...
commons.wikime...
commons.wikime...
commons.wikime...
commons.wikime...
commons.wikime...
Website: simpleflying.com/
Instagram: / simpleflyingnews
Twitter: / simple_flying
#Aviation #Flight #Avgeek

[@SurveyCaptainAkari]

Those A310s looked nice in the 90's Delta livery

[@YourLocalLeadBassist]

Sophia yep

[@marcox2937]

Ikr

[@marcox2937]

Actually the whole fleet imo looked nice in their old 70s to 90s livery

[@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer]

I think the A310s would have looked nicer if they had bare aluminum bellies rather than gray paint.

[@reedcampbell5325]

The 90s Delta livery is one of my absolute favorites

[@TheLifetraveler1]

Agreed.

[@chait0669]

If you ask me, the A310 looks more like a fatter A320 lol. But it was still an iconic aircraft

[@shantanurana3423]

Chaitanya Sankar I agree

[@amkgskjsi3840]

Oh yeah it does look like a fatter A320

[@antomyh7875]

looks like a fatter 737 to me

[@user-dc4bl1cu2k]

There's a reason why the Airbus 310 is considered wide-body and Airbus 320 narrowbody

[@Amosandy100]

I flew a Delta A310 from JFK to Brussels in the early 90s. We were in the first row of business class. My seat was broken-ish. It fully reclined....literally into the lap of the guy behind me. They reseated him. 😁

[@widget787]

So it was Delta introducing Lie-Flat Business seats 😅.

[@vodkagorbatschow447]

I love these vids!!! Short, informative, brilliant quality. Keep it up!

[@itsnaveenn]

Yeah

[@widget787]

The A310 looked really hot in Deltas Widget livery! They flew from JFK to HAM, AMS, BRU, MAN, CPH, TXL, OSL, ARN and some more.

[@johnwrightington4854]

and NCE

[@widget787]

@@johnwrightington4854 yeah thats true, launched by Pan Am somewhere in the late 80s or even 1990 I think.

[@xamandasiberia]

And LIS 😉

[@NAP795]

I flew on twice on the A310’s on 2 Ferry Flights from Toulouse(Airbus Plant) France to Guayaquil, Ecuador in the early 1990”s. Was a wonderful and very smooth flights and a great aircraft at the time.

[@srowley85]

My father told me he flew a Delta A-310 from Nice to JFK. He said he liked it because it felt roomier than some of the other long haul planes of that era.

[@kurtboginski507]

Flew on the A310's several times between Detroit and London Gatwick. I recall that some of the cabin equipment had Pan Am logos on them.

[@ruste9565]

Indeed! Flew them between JFK and Stockholm Arlanda and I remember there were still Pan-Am logos in the galleys and in the belt buckles.

[@widget787]

I flew them HAM-JFK-HAM in the mid 90s, one flight was an ex Pan Am aircraft and the other one was one of the new ones Delta received diretly from Airbus.

[@radudeATL]

I truly miss that classic Delta livery. I still think it was the best look they ever had!

[@connerrolofson1585]

Not bad.

[@GallardoFreak888]

I wasn’t even born by the time the aircraft had left the delta fleet. I’m just surprised about the acquisition of the A350 as I’ve never seen a delta livery on that aircraft

[@raymondlowry8564]

I flew on these models several times, mostly the early AM flight from LAX to JFK. Also a few flights from JFK to Europe. I rather liked them, although I did experience a couple of flight cancellations because of equipment issues.

[@widget787]

The older A310-200s were not known for being the most reliable aircraft, they were maintained not so well at Pan Am. This is why Delta ordered nine new A310-300s, to replace the seven -200s and two more for expansion.

[@ELcinegatto87]

Flew on one of those ex DL/PA birds with AJ. Roomy and comfortable. Man I miss widebodies, especially smaller ones like the 762 and 310.

[@jeffreydeeds9225]

I crossed the pond to New York in one, riding in the next to last row in coach. It was a packed flight, with departure delayed by 3 1/2 hours, causing missed connections in the US. I was in the next to last row in coach, in cramped seating for 7 1/2 hours, counting the 55 minute wait for a gate at JFK. I like the livery it wore, and have flown on Delta many times. The A310 was the least comfortable plane in their fleet, imho. Great look back at nostalgia! Cheers!

[@widget787]

Sounds like one of the old Pan Am birds they had a denser configuration than the ones that Delta ordered new.

[@jeffreydeeds9225]

@@widget787 - I think so. I preferred Delta's L1011s at the time.

[@widget787]

@@jeffreydeeds9225 I never got to fly with one 😐. But at least I remember them and saw them in real life.

[@ScottRothsroth0616]

When Delta (“DL”) merged with Northwest (“NW”), DL received NWs A320s & A330s as well as the rest of NWs last fleet.

[@erik_griswold]

And A319s too. Thank goodness NW bought DL and saved it. Kept the name alive too!

[@JuanGarcia-vb3du]

Love the 1960's livery. They should do a couple of retro-planes like American and United.

[@johniii8147]

No they shouldn’t I just confuses the brand

[@avgeek578156]

Seems like delta is going all airbus now, awesome video

[@widget787]

It may look like it right now, but I dont think they would go all Airbus, they are too big to go all Airbus.

[@avgeek578156]

@@widget787 well with the 717, 737-700, 767-300ER, 772s all going from now till 2025, the majority of the fleet will be airbus, plus loads of airbus aircraft on order! But who knows! What's gonna happen!

[@widget787]

@@avgeek578156 thats the plan right now, but a lot will happen until the last Boeing aircraft leave the fleet. Delta is a highly likely customer for any MOM/797 or 767X Boeing could come along with in the next few years. Also I can still see the 737MAX in Deltas fleet and they have more than 100 737-900ERs, some of them just a year old, they will be in Deltas fleet until well into the 2040s.

[@Crazyuncle1]

In my opinion, from a passenger point of view, Delta is one of the two best US carriers. The other being South West.

[@connerrolofson1585]

United and American are still good airlines in America, but I could agree with you.

[@Crazyuncle1]

@@connerrolofson1585 I agree with you on United. Living in the Houston area I haven’t flown American in quite some time. The last time wasn’t exactly pleasant.

[@enriquelopez4863]

I really love these informative videos! Keep it up!

[@Tpr_1808]

Now Delta loves airbus

[@torgeirbrandsnes1916]

I flew the PA/DL A-310 in dec of 93. FBU-JFK. It was so so. Then we flew DL 767 JFK-ATL. It was an afternoon flight and it was almost empty. The last leg was ATL-MYR with a EMB 120. Nice aircraft. Some of my friends did not like them as pilots.

[@krugmeister7301]

Regardless what U Think.. THE A310 is the BEST from AIRBUS..A Workhorse and Tough Aircraft..

[@RR-pf7dr]

I flew one back in 1992 from PDX to LAX

[@lcfreer]

I flew one from Germany (Frankfurt?) to JFK in the summer of 1993. Was a nice flight!

[@widget787]

Could have been Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Berlin.

[@ruste9565]

Flew it in 1993 from JFK to ARN and back from ARN to JFK, I also remember there were still Pan-Am logos throughout the plane. I really liked the A-310 flew it on different routes, mostly inside South America, where I got to fly in First Class both in Ecuatoriana (R.I.P.) and Aerolíneas Argentinas (it’s fun to know I prolly flew in the same A-310 that Aerolíneas Argentina’s bought from Delta) , also flew them in the States with Delta a couple times on the JFK-MIA route IIRC, I preferred the AA Boeing 757s though, and to a lesser extent in Europe for longer routes. Have to admit as much I liked the A-310 I preferred when Delta switched to the 767 for the 2-4-2 seat configuration in Economy. As always great short informative videos, keep up the good work!

[@widget787]

The fuselage of the A310 is wider than the 767, so 2-4-2 in the A310 is about as comfortable as 2-3-2 in a 767. But I also have to admit that 2-3-2 is my favorite config as well in Eco.

[@ELcinegatto87]

Having flown on both the A310, A306, 757 and 767 countless times. I'm very surprised your preferred the narrow body 757 to the wide and comfortable A310. I'd take the A310 over the 757 all day. The A310 was a great plane.

[@monibstar]

I like A310s :) Thankfully because of my parents i got to fly in an Airbus A310 leased by Nepal Airlines Corporation from Hapagg Lyod of Germany :)

[@Ryan_D1994]

I think the A350 would suit the Widget livery

[@widget787]

Anything could suit that amazing livery.

[@AA-tz2bm]

What is widget

[@Ryan_D1994]

@@AA-tz2bm one of Delta Airline's old livery

[@AA-tz2bm]

Ryan Duffy thx

[@Ananth8193]

Cool video and it was very informative.Very much loved it❤️❤️❤️❤️..Does this A310 flew trans- Atlantic routes 🙄🙄🙄..

[@widget787]

They mainly flew transatlantic at Pan Am and Delta.

[@filledwithvariousknowledge1065]

Off topic I know but I got an Eithad ad about them flying to 50 destinations with a 787-10 in the background

[@guyfromkk]

Singapore Airlines also used to operate A310s on regional routes. I think the airline last operated the type in 2003.

[@adiabel517]

I did fly the 310 when I flew from JFK on my trips to Israel. If I remember correctly it was via Paris. I only flew one or two flights, no special memories, as I had for the L1011!!

[@Gameflyer001]

Another topic I'd like to figure out is why EL AL had 2 MD-11s in its fleet for around 3 years (think from 1998-2001). What routes were they on, why such a short timeframe, etc?

[@richardshiggins704]

I flew the A310s with LH , AF , TG and SR .

[@vibekestronstad7859]

Delta flew the a310 to Oslo fornebu in 1993

[@thomasburke7995]

The ones FedEx acquired were a nightmare. They were used to replace 727 that those markets that had unpredictable load factors and capacity. Constantly in the shop or down for the simplest of issues and instead of being a cost saver they were a drain on the budget. It took 2 727 airframes to recover just the small stuff. .. 310 fleet was the first to go once FedEx got the deal on the 757/767 modernization program was approved.. and know this the 727 -200 were still flying when all of the FedEx Express airframes were scrapped

[@ELcinegatto87]

Most of the ones Fedex got had bounced around from 3rd world carrier to 3rd world carrier, 4-5 sometimes even 6 or 7 times before they ended up with Fedex. Clearly those airframes weren't in the prettiest of shape. Granted Airbus still had to convert them in Hamburg, doing the cargo door modification on them. But they did offer some very unique performance advantages like carrying a lot of cargo out of very short strips like Burbank or John Wayne. I think even the A306F can get out of those strips too. Not sure about the 763F though. I suppose FDX thought the commonality of having the 310 and 306 in the fleet made sense since the flight crews were interchangable, same type rating and much of the parts and mx was similar on both. I read UPS was doing a big modernization program for their 306F fleet too. Not sure about their 75/76 fleet, I know FDX's 767s are a lot newer than theirs.

[@bryanbaker274]

I can't believe that Delta went from Boeing only aircraft from the late 1990s until 2007, now Delta is almost all Airbus.

[@johniii8147]

Delta still has plenty of Boeing aircraft. 767 757 737 800 and 900. It is true that clearly to add a business falling out but they haven’t ordered any in a little while from Boeing

[@coolclips9007]

YASSSS MORE DELTA

[@wink5599]

What about philippine airlines short lived 727

[@1huehue]

Might i been wrong? but i remember a fly in a A 300 in the early 80's Delta from Miami to Seattle with a stop in Atlanta, or you are talking about the A 310 only?

[@widget787]

Delta never operated A300s, must have been an A310 then -- but not in the early 80s as Delta only flew the A310 1991-1996.

[@imrozkamboj1613]

Pan am was so good!!

[@ELcinegatto87]

Pan Am was a shell of its former self by the end. Case in point their brand spanking new A310s took 4 month to "get back into shape" as the narrator put it by Delta since Pan Am had neglected caring for them and most of their fleet by that point since the writing was on the wall. Iconic airline, but by the late 80s Pan Am was a joke.

[@swiper1818]

Flew on them when still owned by Pan Am

[@sking2173]

Wasn't the 310 nicknamed "the lawnmower"?

[@muddyboots1881]

I find it quite interesting how 'second-tier' airlines (with all due respect) are able to keep these older birds in the air after they have been 'retired' by the big(ger) fleets - due to being non-profitable - with plenty of life left in them... Perhaps someone can enlighten me?

[@mirzaahmed6589]

Widebody aircraft with sub-4000 nm range? Seems so old and quaint in an age of A321XLRs with 4,700 nm ranges.

[@ELcinegatto87]

The A320 series only JUST got a 4000NM+ airliner, took them what 30 years since the introduction of the A320? I'd hardly call that an achievement. Besides your forgetting the A310 is a 1980s era airliner, and the -200 model was more or less the equivalent of a 767-200 non-ER. Unlike the 767 or the narrow body A320s, it could carry 2 abrest LD3 containers in the cargo hold and had a MTOW of nearly 300k lbs, the -300 could do 5000NM and had a MTOW of well over 300,000lbs. Apples and oranges. Different era, different airplane, different mission.

[@annndukumutua833]

The a310 was deltas first Airbus plane it shone deltas huge fleet of a220 a320 family a330 a350 it wasn't popular but it started deltas huge airbus streak orders

[@Horizon301.]

It didn’t. The merger with NWA did

[@Am_am_noob]

Did Delta also inherited PA A310 pilots? Or trained their own on A310?

[@widget787]

They inherited them. The A310s came in from Europe in the afternoon of November 2, 1991 as Pan Am flights and left back for Europe the same evening, operating as Delta Air Lines. Same crews, same aircraft, on most A310s they ripped of the Pan Am Logo and titles and added small Delta titles in those few hours before they left again. Pretty sad ...

[@jeff90210]

I think Air Transat still has them

[@tomstravels520]

They have 3 left but won’t fly again for passenger service. Been replaced by A321LR

[@Canleaf08]

Air Transat and their A310. Another rabbithole...

[@johniii8147]

It just made sense to replace the aircraft with the 767. It was a type that DL Already had plenty of experience with and I was just a better aircraft at the time. The former Pan Am aircraft or just a stopgap until they could take more deliveries of the 767. They bought Pan Am for the routes not the aircraft

[@widget787]

Delta was very serious in operating the A310, they were satisfied with them and planned to keep them. They can fly even thinner routes than the 767s as they are a little smaller. It was Deltas financial trouble that made them consolidate their fleet.

[@ELcinegatto87]

@@widget787 Not only that but the 310s, especially the -300s were newer and had better range than fairly large subfleet of older early-mid 80s delivered non-er 767-200s and 300s DL mostly used on domestic and transcon flying. And they could use the 310s on the long and thin routes as you put it which is what they did. Shame, as it was a nice airplane, modern for the time and very comfortable too.

[@erik_griswold]

NW had A330s when they bought DL and kept the name.

[@widget787]

Northwest did not buy Delta.

[@boscafeng2731]

Wow

[@seanluo8369]

Why did Northwest have so many Airbus planes yet not the A300 and A310?

[@Lee247Jamaica]

I didnt realize that air jamaica got them i fought they bought them from airbus

[@st0nk172]

Good old days when Airlines remove seat for more comfort, now they increase more seats for more profit lol 😂 😂 😂

[@connerrolofson1585]

that’s funny because you need comfort in an aircraft

[@ronimollick2643]

Start using SI units (Kilometres) instead of Miles.

[@SimpleFlyingNews]

Thanks for your feedback. - TB

[@ELcinegatto87]

​@@SimpleFlyingNews Being that this is an Aviation channel I would not take that advice. Especially since international Aviation uses a hybrid of metric and imperial units, taking the best units of each system. Kilometers is awful speed and distance unit. Miles is better in everyway. Stick with feet for altitude, miles for speed/distance please. Only Eastern Block/China uses full blown metric units for Aviation. Thx.

[@SummitRecords911]

my thoughts are what were the exact routes? and what were the exact routes out of Atlanta ? Thats the info I was most hoping for..

[@widget787]

They were based at JFK, operating to Brussels, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Nice, Lisbon, Copenhagen, Berlin, Milan, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Zurich and some others, additional they flew Cleveland - Detroit - London and a few intra european flights from Frankfurt. Also there were some domestic flights from JFK. I dont think they were seen very often at ATL.

[@SummitRecords911]

@@widget787 cheers mate. thx. would you happen to know delta's md-11 Atlanta routes in the 90s?

[@widget787]

@@SummitRecords911 routes I know are ATL-PDX-NRT, ATL-NRT, ATL-AMS, ATL-MAN, ATL-DUB-SNN/-SNN-DUB but also transatlantic flights from LAX and CVG/JFK and a lot of transpacific mainly from PDX but also from LAX I think.

[@SummitRecords911]

@@widget787 thx so much you have been a big help

[@SummitRecords911]

@@widget787 also, I loved the widget MD-11 livery best.

[@andrealders1297]

I flew a Delta A310 on 2-10-1993: DL-080 N DL JFK-AMS 3,638 18:10 06:25 DAL A312. Still looking for the registration !!! Anyone?

[@widget787]

All I can tell you is that this flight continued to HAM and that only seven Registrations are possible: N801-807PA.

[@cuongnguyenthac215]

i think a310 in delta is short live

[@VexifyGaming]

Hi

[@20kfeet]

Iran Air still has A310's

[@tomstravels520]

They have more A300’s than A310’s too

[@damnbobthebuilders]

20kfeet air Transat still had a few until may

[@derbagger22]

Seems universal that struggling airlines like to cram seats. I love Airbus A320 variants as they are widee and more comfortable than 737s. But I flew a Northwest A320 from Manchester, NH to Detroit in '08 and my knees were digging into the back of the seat in front of me, and I was as upright as could be. Every Delta plane, though, has had ample knee room. I do not believe I have been on an A310, though. An American A300, I have been.

[@johniii8147]

Delta never increased seat pitch on the 320 is on the merger so you wouldn’t have any better experience. That’s just your perception more than the reality of the situation

[@derbagger22]

@@johniii8147 No, you're wrong. I've flown on so many A319/20/21 I've lost count. So many JetBlue flights. Plenty of Delta flights, as well as other carriers. That one Northwest plane was crammed full of extra rows. No Delta I've flown was ever that crammed. Not a perception issue. Just simple facts.

[@johniii8147]

derbagger22 Nope you’re the one that I need to do your research. The northwest configuration has a total of 148 seats. The current Delta configuration on the same aircraft now have 157 seats even including comfort plus let’s get you a few more inches . Look it up it’s easy to find it’s Delta cramming even even more seats in as all airlines do now. It’s the standard 31 inches or 30 inches of pitch if you’re in economy. It wouldn’t be any better for you than it was when you say Northwest unless you pay the premium to set up in comfort +

[@derbagger22]

@@johniii8147 LOL Northwest configuration "has" a total of 148 seats? Whatever you say since they've not existed for over a decade. And even if you could "prove" the exact number of seats on the exact Airbus I flew on, there is a reason airlines give you an approximate pitch variance. None will guarantee a specific measurement. Being 6'1 and a pretty consistent 270 over the last 20 years, I feel every inch of the seat I'm in. Width and pitch. Certainly seat design can differ as well. But when I fly as often as I do I expect to at least be able to sit in an Airbus seat without armrests digging into my hips and seat backs making permanent imprints on my knees. Never had a problem on an Airbus until that Northwest flight. Not perception, facts.

[@johniii8147]

derbagger22 Google it dude it’s easy to find. You were just wrong accept it and move on

[@ludwigtails]

At 3:46 Uhh... I think you missed the A330neo

[@Bob39285]

That is still part of the a330 family, so saying the 330 twice is just being redundant for a short 5 minute video

[@tomstravels520]

FIR.... no I’m not going to

[@cameraman655]

Where is Atlanta ?

[@carly200]

in Georgia, the US state, not the country :-) why don't you use google maps?

[@grindlessenior]

america?

[@cameraman655]

carly200 Google is the antichrist, pure evil, owned by the CCP that set the plague onto the world.

[@carly200]

@@cameraman655 einfach zu dumm KZbin is owned by alphabet....

[@shantanurana3423]

Georgia

[@fimp2295]

Delta sucks