It’s been a busy few days for Delta. Apart from their large CSeries order yesterday, hosting the media in Atlanta (checks… hmm… seems my invite for that event was lost in the post), Delta has announced
a follow-on order for more Airbus A321aicraft
Delta Air Lines Airbus A321ceo – Rendering, Airbus
Delta will be adding a further 37 Airbus A321s to their fleet. These will be based on the current engine option models, fitted with CFM56 powerplants and fitted with Sharklets.
It brings Delta Air Lines order of A321 aircraft to 82 frames in total.
Delta have been operating the Airbus A321s since March.
For Delta, they’re happy with the order as it allows them to remove the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 fleet.
According to Ed Bastian, Delta’s incoming chief executive.
“The order for the A321s is an opportunistic fleet move that enables us to produce strong returns and cost-effectively accelerate the retirement of Delta’s 116 MD-88s in a capital efficient manner.”
And the loser over the past few days? It’s Boeing. No new orders picked up for anything from the Boeing catalogue in the recent spending round.
Boeing’s smallest product – the Boeing 737-700 appears to be too big for the role the CSeries is going to play, whilst the A321s competitor – the Boeing 737-900ER didn’t get a look in.
Considering how hard Delta bargains with manufacturers, it wouldn’t surprise me if cost and time of getting these new planes were also a factor.
Still, more orders and more modern planes should help make the Delta frequent flyer’s life a bit better when travelling.
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