Delta Air Lines confirmed yesterday that it will move ahead with orders for 18 Boeing 787-800s, but will delay the first of the deliveries until 2020.
The airline said in an SEC filing that it had worked out an agreement with Boeing to defer delivery of all 18 aircraft until 2022.
Northwest Airlines had originally ordered the aircraft and Delta took on those orders when it bought the airline in 2008. Since then it has been a question of will they, wont they and even Boeing has wondered throughout last summer. The delays in the 787 programme had given Delta the opportunity to cancel the order outright after all Northwest was scheduled to take delivery of these 787s between 2008 and 2010.
Even contacts at Delta had hinted that the 787s were a burden during the summer, so what changed their mind?
Well yesterday the US and Japan signed off on the open skies agreement between the two nations. It is this agreement that has swung the 787-800 order for Delta. The Japanese are discerning travellers; they like technology and new aircraft, the 787-800 will carry up to 250 passengers on routes of up to 8,200 nautical miles and could easily make the non-stop flight from US cities to Japan.