Where to sit on the Delta A220

Delta’s new A220-100 entered service this week and thus far delivers on all the promises made. It is quiet inside. It offers wider seats and a mostly awesome new take on the in-seat entertainment system. Plus high speed wifi that delivers the speeds promised. But, like all planes, not all seats are create equally. Here are some thoughts on which are best based on my experiences during the first day of commercial service.

First Class

Yes, first class is better. But even among the 2-2 layout there are some seats which are better than others.

I hate to say it, but avoiding the bulkhead is probably a smart idea. The IFE screen is a little smaller but, more importantly, the foot room just isn’t the same. No cutout in the bulkhead really leaves passengers more cramped than the rows behind. If forced into row one consider that 1A only has one window while 1D (and all the other window seats) has two available.

Comfort Plus

Grab yourself some extra legroom (DL says 34″ pitch) in these seats. With only three rows of C+ seating on board there aren’t a lot of options nor variation among the seats.

The two-seat side is likely to be more comfortable in most cases but no guarantees. Row 10 delivers a tiny bit more legroom but with the downside of awkward underseat storage owing to the lineup of the first class cabin ahead of it. Plus, the screens are in the armrest so no moving map at takeoff and landing. But if you can put all your stuff overhead 10C gets extra space with the aisle shifting around it into first class.

Economy Class

One of the best things about the A220 is that the economy cabin is surprisingly comfortable. With 32″ pitch and an 18″+ seat width, large IFE screens and power available to everyone there aren’t a ton of bad seats on board. There are a couple pretty good ones, though.

At the exit row, for example, seats 16E offers “unlimited” legroom owing to the lack of seat directly in front of it at the exit. Seats 15A/B offer increased space on the other side of the aisle.

Welcome on board… the same #DeltaA220. I'm back in economy this time, exit row 15. There's a real tray table but the window shade doesn't go all the way up. No sidewall armrest, either. Oodles of legroom, but at a cost. #PaxEx pic.twitter.com/XmKkZIypTO

— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) February 7, 2019

But 15C/D are pretty tight. They looked a little more cramped than the regular economy seats, even though they’re adjacent to the exit. But they’re also not marked as exit seats on the map.

At the far back of the cabin the galley & lavs are a relatively normal setup for a single-aisle aircraft. There’s an added complexity on the A220 though, at least in the near term. The port side lav has a window inside, a “loo with a view” as the hashtag world has deemed it. While this is not unique in the aviation world it is relatively new to North America and the lines for people working on their laviator selfie were noticeable on day one of operations. That will likely dissipate pretty quickly but, well, it is a thing that created some extra queuing at the back of the plane.

That said, other than the lav lines the seats at the back aren’t all that bad. They aren’t appreciably louder than those up front, unlike on many other planes. The last couple overhead bins are used for company storage, though, so don’t expect to have those available for your bags in rows 27-29.

I swear that the A220 sounds louder up front than down back, but this app says otherwise. #DeltaA220 pic.twitter.com/8IuZCRUQYS

— Jason Rabinowitz (@AirlineFlyer) February 7, 2019

But, seriously, the most spacious economy class seat might be that lav, especially since it has a window!