When airlines order a new fleet of aircraft, the assumption is usually straightforward – the aircraft arrive from the manufacturer, crews are trained, routes are assigned, and passengers begin flying on them shortly afterward. Yet Delta Air Lines’ newest Airbus A321neos have become an unusual example of how a single component can disrupt an entire fleet strategy. Rather than entering service with the premium cabins they were designed to showcase, several of the airline’s newest narrowbody aircraft spent months sitting in desert storage while the carrier searched for a way to make them operational.