Delta Air Lines is currently in talks with Airbus regarding a major widebody order in near future, sources claim. The airline is planning to replace its older ageing fleet with new twin-aisle aircraft in addition to increasing capacity post pandemic.
It is said that the new order of widebody jets is mainly due to an increase in the transatlantic as well as international travel post-pandemic. As compared to Q1 of 2022, Delta Air Lines has increased seats on international routes by over 20%.
“Additionally, 75% of all global seats are already booked,” said Glen Hauenstein, president, Delta Air Lines. "We are excited with the momentum we’re seeing and expect record revenues and profitability for the summer travel season. We are currently operating at our largest transatlantic schedule ever. This increase in schedule is driving new levels of demand across the entire travel industry. In turn, this is forcing airlines to look for new aircraft to meet the demand as well as replace older aircraft.”
The airline is looking to order both the A350s and A330neos. An agreement has yet to be reached, although the potential order could reach dozens of aircraft. The airline already has a total of 32 Airbus A330s and A350s combined on order, with sixteen each. The airline currently operates 28 Airbus A350s in two different configurations.
Delta Air has a fleet of 63 A330 planes with 22 of them A330neos with increased fuel efficiency
The airline's eleven older Airbus A330-200 aircraft have an average age of 18 years. The airline's 31 Airbus A330-300 aircraft have an average age of 14 years.
The airline might consider replacing its ageing B767s. The airline currently has 66 of these aircraft in its fleet. The 45 Boeing 767-300ERs in its fleet have an average age of 27 years. The 21 Boeing 767-400ERs in Delta's fleet have an average age of over 22 years.
Recently, Delta announced it would be increasing its frequency of specific routes to Europe. The airline also extended its New York to Geneva route till January 2024. Plus, the airline is also planning to increase the frequency from both Boston to Dublin and Atlanta to Paris is set to increase.
The new aircraft order will help the airline meet this increased demand in future