For quite some time now, there have been rumors of Delta Air Lines placing a wide body aircraft order, including finally picking up Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. While we’ll see if it materializes this time around, there are some pretty reliable rumors that an aircraft order could be announced on Friday, during the carrier’s Q4 earnings call.
Delta plans Airbus wide body aircraft order
Reuters is reporting that Delta and Airbus are finalizing negotiations for a new wide body aircraft order, which could include both A330neo and A350 aircraft. It’s also believed that Delta will order Airbus A350-1000s, which is the largest variant of the jet, and would be the carrier’s new flagship aircraft. It’s not yet known what the exact breakdown would be between planes, but the order is expected to be for dozens of jets.
Delta has historically acquired aircraft opportunistically, and the airline has often opted to purchase used planes, or wait until it could get a great deal on new planes. However, with the recovery that we’ve seen in demand, airlines are placing orders even if they can’t get amazing deals, in order to secure delivery slots.
How this would fit into Delta’s current long haul fleet
For context, Delta’s flagship aircraft is currently the Airbus A350-900. The airline has 28 of these in its fleet, with another 16 on order, including the secondhand A350s that Delta has acquired from partner LATAM.
Delta’s other primary new long haul jet is the Airbus A330-900neo, as Delta has 27 of these in its fleet, with a further 12 on order. During the pandemic, Delta retired its fleet of Boeing 777-200s, which was the carrier’s longest range aircraft.
Beyond the A330-900neo and A350-900, Delta’s long haul fleet also consists of older generation A330s and 767s. The airline has 66 Boeing 767s, including 45 767-300ERs and 21 767-400ERs. These simply don’t offer a great premium cabin passenger experience, especially in business class. Furthermore, Delta has 42 older generation A330s, including 11 A330-200s and 31 A330-300s.
This is purely speculation on my part, but here’s how I see this playing out:
- I think Delta will place a substantial Airbus A330-900neo order, as these jets will be used to replace most existing Boeing 767s and older generation Airbus A330s; I don’t see the airline ordering the A330-800neo, since the economics of the jet don’t make sense for Delta
- I think Delta will expand its Airbus A350-900 fleet, as this will continue to be the backbone of the carrier’s long haul fleet
- I also think we’ll see Delta finally order some A350-1000s; this plane has amazing range and economics, and could be used in many of Delta’s most important high demand markets
Bottom line
Delta is expected to place a wide body aircraft order with Airbus in the very near future. It’s expected that Delta will order multiple wide body jets, including the Airbus A350-1000.
While Delta tries to be opportunistic with acquiring planes, delivery slots for A350s are hard to come by, so there might not be all that much of an opportunity. With Delta’s aging long haul fleet of 767s and older generation A330s, an order makes sense.
What are you expecting from Delta’s prospective Airbus order?
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