Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) has opted not to run transatlantic flights on narrowbody jets due to “brand issues,” Glen Hauenstein, the carrier’s president, said during a third-quarter investor call in early October.

In 2025, “we've chosen not to fly narrowbodies in the transatlantic [market] because of product and brand issues. And so we're not gonna go in that direction. But next year's capacity, I don't know. I mean, I think it's early in the game,” he said.

Hauenstein did not expand on what these issues entailed. Contacted by ch-aviation, Delta Air Lines said that his comments were in regard to the widebody transatlantic experience "being superior" from a brand perspective, not issues with the narrowbody fleet. Delta has not yet provided any long-term declarations about plans for the transatlantic fleet deployment, it said.

ch-aviation fleets data shows Delta’s fleet comprises forty-five A220-100s, thirty-five A220-300s, fifty-seven A319-100s, forty-eight A320-200s, 127 A321-200s, eighty-four A321-200NX, eleven A330-200s, thirty-one A330-300s, thirty-nine A330-900Ns, thirty-eight A350-900s, eighty B717-200s, seventy-seven B737-800s, 163 B737-900ERs, ninety-four B757-200s, sixteen B757-300s, thirty-nine B767-300ERs, and twenty-one B767-400ERs.

In the first three quarters of 2025, Delta Air Lines recorded total operating revenue worth USD47.3 billion, with a net profit of USD3.7 billion, according to the airline’s most recent financial results.

The carrier has seen sales trends accelerating across all geographies, “positioning Delta to close the year from a position of strength,” Hauenstein said, adding that while the company is monitoring potential impacts from the US government shutdown, it has not seen a material effect to date. Furthermore, its management is optimistic about the healthy supply and demand balance across the industry into 2026.