By Shawn Gallagher
A very early good morning from Boston Logan Airport! This is a review of my recent quick hop back to New York City on a 6am flight. I would’ve rather been in bed than at the airport at 5 in the morning, but I’d rather get my traveling done in the morning and have the rest of the day to myself.
I flew the Airbus A220 on Delta Air Lines. This is my first time on an A220, so I was looking forward to it. Let’s go over what this aircraft has to offer.
Ground Experience At Boston
As I said, this was a very early morning. I arrived at the airport at around 4:40am.
I was also running on just 3 hours of sleep. I had a long day ahead!
The airport still had a good amount of people considering the time. Delta has several other 5:30 and 6am flights out of Boston.
I didn’t have any bags to check, so I went straight to TSA. I was through in about 5 minutes.
There were a few stores open in the terminal at this time. More opened at 5am. I had brought my own breakfast from my apartment, so I didn’t have to line up in the long line at Dunkin’ Donuts.
Here’s an Airbus A321neo heading to Denver, parked at gate A6.
My gate for the day was gate A9. I was flying Comfort Plus, so I got to board in Zone 3.
Related: Delta Air Lines Boarding Zones, Explained
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any views of my plane from Logan Airport. Here’s the plane after arriving at JFK instead. N126DU, an Airbus A220-100 delivered to Delta back in October 2019.
First Impressions Of The Airbus A220
The Airbus A220 has a unique 2-3 configuration. This is very good for all types of travelers. Whether you’re by yourself, with a partner, or in a group, you’ll find it easy to get good seats.
I sat in 11A, which is in the 2 section.
Legroom was good for my 6’1 self. My knees hit the seat in front of me when sitting in a regular economy class seat, but flying Comfort Plus does the trick.
Related: Delta Comfort Plus vs Main Cabin, What Is The Difference?
I highly appreciated this small pocket for the storage of small items. Putting everything in the regular seat pocket can be tight and obstruct legroom. I always think this is an underrated part of an economy class seat.
The Airbus A220s are equipped with IFE screens.
This aircraft can operate longer flights, such as east to west coast routes. These IFE screens will keep you busy.
We got some nice mood lighting after the safety video. We pushed back and left the gate on time.
The Short Flight
Taxi was pretty quick. The runway wasn’t far from the terminal. Before I knew it, we took off and were in the air.
The weather was unfortunately very bad. This meant that for safety, the flight attendants stayed in their seats and we didn’t get a drink service.
Not a huge problem though. It’s a short flight anyway, and I spent time watching some ESPN on the IFE.
We briefly got some breaks through the clouds and saw some blue sky. This would be the only blue sky I saw on this day.
Cruising altitude on this flight was 20000 feet.
The cabin stayed dark during the flight. It was very early in the morning, so it made it easy to get a little bit of sleep in for those who wanted to.
The cloud ceiling was very low, and it was raining pretty hard here in Queens.
We landed 30 minutes early though! It was a nice, smooth flight.
Related: How To Take The Long Island Railroad From JFK Airport To Manhattan
Concluding Thoughts
I thought the Airbus A220 was a great plane. The 2-3 configuration reminded me of the MD80s back when I was a child, which brought back some good memories. It also maintains the benefit of a smaller plane (quicker boarding), while carrying more passengers than a regional jet and having an up-to-date cabin.
I liked the seat itself as well. The IFE screens are always appreciated on domestic flights, and I liked the extra storage in the seat pocket.
I hope to fly this aircraft on a longer route next time. I could definitely do one in Comfort Plus.
All photos taken by the author.