Delta to base first CS100s in New York

Delta Air Lines will fly its first Bombardier CS100s in New York, says president Glen Hauenstein.

"The first one's going to go to New York," he says during the Atlanta-based carrier's second quarter earnings call today.

Hauenstein declines to comment on what markets the CS100 will serve or whether it will open new routes in 2018, when the first aircraft arrives.

Delta has a firm order for 75 CS100s and options for another 50 aircraft that it placed in April 2016.

The SkyTeam Alliance carrier operates dual hubs at New York John F Kennedy International and New York LaGuardia airports.

Deliveries of the CSeries are unaffected by the on-going dispute between Boeing and Bombardier over government subsidies for the programme, says Delta chief executive Ed Bastian.

"We do not intend to slow down any of the deliveries that we have planned for the CSeries," he says when asked about the dispute. "We’ll be taking our first this coming spring."

The CS100, which will be configured with 110 seats, will initially be used to "free up" 76-seat regional jets in Delta's feeder fleet that can in turn be used to replace 50-seat regional jets, says Hauenstein.

Delta serves 58 cities from JFK and LaGuardia with 70- or 76-seat regional jets in July, FlightGlobal schedules show. Routes include shuttle flights to Boston and Washington National, as well as longer segments to Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston.

FlightGlobal schedules

The airline is limited to 223 76-seat regional jets under the scope clause in its pilots contract, which does not become amendable until December 2019.

Delta had 217 regional jets with 76 seats in its feeder fleet at the end of March, its most recent fleet plan shows. It had another 104 aircraft with 70 seats, which are subject to a separate cap.